Modernity and Its Effects on Philosophical Theology: Heidegger, Tillich, and Marion

The secularization hypothesis postulates among other things that modernity is characterized by an increasing unintelligibility of the 'traditional' concept of God. What this concept is thought to imply (e.g. an eternal... [ view full abstract ]

The secularization hypothesis postulates among other things that modernity is characterized by an increasing unintelligibility of the 'traditional' concept of God. What this concept is thought to imply (e.g. an eternal being who created and sustains the universe) has lost its place in our understanding of the world and life. Prominent philosophers and philosophical theologians have not been deaf to this current of thought, producing a range of intriguing responses. My presentation explores the strategies of three important modern thinkers who dealt with the issue of bringing God back into the picture. First, I explore Heidegger's notion of the absence of God: its inaccessibility due to what he terms the "metaphysics of subjectivity." I will also mention his thoughts concerning the possibility of reacquiring the divine. Second, I will consider the advantages and limitations of Tillich's 'existentialist' re-appropriation of the ancient idea of God as the ground of Being. Last, I will consider Jean-Luc Marion's problematization of any concept of God and his startling claim that prior even to saying that "God exists" we must rather say "God loves." In the course of the presentation, I will hope to move beyond exhausted assumptions about the concept 'God' and invite my audience to appreciate the relevance of the question of God and ponder it a little more deeply.