This paper traces the origins of the phrase “God is dead!” back to Hegel and Luther. It proceeds in the following four steps: Section I investigates the appearance of the theme of God’s death in Lutheran theology. Section II elaborates on Hegel’s adaptation of this theme in the context of his early work Faith & Knowledge. In section III, the paper continues on how the theme of the death of God developed from Luther to Nietzsche via Hegel, before concluding, in (...) section IV, by indicating the link between Protestantism and modern atheism. (shrink)

This collection brings together seven essays that link the work not only with other philosophers, such as Adorno, Heidegger and Westphal, but it is also related to the so-called 'non-metaphysical' approach to Hegel and to the debate on the 'ethics of belief'. Questions are raised about Kierkegaards' 'Fear and Trembling' and religious diversity, historical criticism, and authorial intent, and the work is approached from within poetry (Erik Johan Stagnelius) and drama (Paul Claudel), and also from within one contributor's personal experiences (...) with theological education. In this way, the seven contributions brought together in the present book offer something of a panoramic view on 'Fear and Trembling', a view that may inspire to either turn or return to Kierkegaard's most famous book, and let oneself, for the first time or once more, be challenged, disturbed, and maybe even repelled by this text that reflects on a father that is, or at least seems, willing to sacrifice his only son because God ordered him to do so. (shrink)

The possibility of a naturalistic explanation of religious phenomena (including Christianity) which is offered by natural science gives the question of the uniqueness of Christianity a new urgency, for it raises the question of whether an irreducible otherness in Christianity vis‐à‐vis a generally‐human, natural religiosity (which may be explained naturalistically) can be demonstrated. In what follows, we shall discuss the answer of two contemporary thinkers to this question: that of the Italian philosopher Gianni Vattimo and that of the French‐American literary (...) critic and fundamental anthropologist René Girard. There is also an interesting link between both thinkers, as we shall see below – Vattimo has stated that it was his reading of Girard which made him return to Christianity after having abandoned it earlier in his life. (shrink)

In today's world, the boundaries within which Christian theologians operate are becoming ever more permeable, and Christian theology is increasingly influenced and challenged by multiple “outside” factors. In Western Europe, two such factors stand out in particular: the so-called “turn to religion” in continental philosophy and religious diversity. Theologians working with contemporary continental philosophers and theologians engaging the multireligious world tend to work quite separately from one another. The aim of the present book is therefore to initiate a conversation between (...) these two groups of theologians. The question of truth was chosen because it is both a key issue in contemporary-philosophical debates (in the continental and analytic traditions) and one that arises in complex and problematic ways in the praxis of, and theoretical reflection on, interreligious dialogue. Some of the pressing questions that are addressed by the contributors to this volume are: What is truth? What is theological truth? How does the issue of truth arise from interreligious encounter? To what extent can or should the nature of truth be discussed explicitly during interreligious dialogue? Or should the question of truth be rather postponed in the interest of successful interreligious encounter? Is there a hermeneutical concept of truth and, if so, how can it be of help for theological reflection on the question of truth and on the role and place of truth in the context of dialogue between religions? (shrink)

One of the remarkable developments in the contemporary study of Paul is the dramatic interest in his thought amongst European philosophers. This collection of insights from leading scholars makes accessible a discussion often elusive to those not already conversant in the categories of European philosophy"--Publisher description.