Berger Peter L. The Heretical Imperative. Contemporary Possibilities of Religious Affirmation

Anchor Press, 1979. — 220 p.Early in the book, he makes the major point: "In premodern situations there is a world of religious certainty, occasionally ruptured by heretical deviations. By contrast, the modern situation is a world or religious uncertainty, occasionally staved off by more or less precarious constructions of religious affirmation... For premodern man, heresy is a possibility... for modern man, heresy typically becomes a necessity." (Pg. 28)He suggests that religion can be understood as "a human projection because it is communicated in human symbols. But this very communication is motivated by an experience in which a metahuman reality is injected into human life." (Pg. 52) He urges a "revitalization" of liberal religion, as "a fruitful third option between the neo-orthodox reconstructions on the 'right' and the capitulations to secularism on the 'left'... this position means a reassertion of the human as the only possible starting point for theological reflection and a rejection of any external authority... (and) a reassertion of the supernatural and sacred character of religious experience." (Pg. 154)His ultimate conclusion is that Christian faith means "the conviction that the core contents of the Christian message provide the fullest and most adequate interpretation of one's own experiences of God, world, and self." (Pg. 182)