Richard Kearney’s Concept of the Possible God in the Perspective of Antinomic Reinterpretation

This article offers an antinomic reinterpretation of Kearney’s concept of the possible God through a systematic analysis of its principles, which are so-called double identity and via tertia. Firstly, I briefly summarize the main themes of Kearney’s concept, represented by his seeking of middle ways between different one-sided antipoles (theism and atheism, metaphysics and negative theology, etc.). Secondly, I discuss the main antinomies following from via tertia: 1) God’s and man’s desire, 2) God’s strength based on his weakness, 3) a kenotic theology of the cross coming from the concept of the weak God, and 4) the call for hospitality as an ethical consequence of the previous point. Thirdly, I concentrate on the weaknesses and inconsistencies of a such approach, and finally, I try to show that antinomic thinking enables us to solve these problems and even bring Kearney’s concept closer to his original intentions. In conclusion, I briefly offer several possibilities of further developing these themes.