Javorskiy D.R. Theology in a Post-Secular Context: Origins, Problems, and Prospects
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/lp.jvolsu.2020.2.1
Dmitriy R. Javorskiy
Doctor of Sciences (Philosophy), Professor, Department of Philosophy,Volgograd State University
Prosp. Universitetsky, 100, 400062 Volgograd, Russian Federation
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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9198-4847
Abstract. The article reconstructs the cultural conditions of the possibility of theology as a specific intellectual practice. The author proceeds from the understanding of the divine as non-anthropic, that is, beyond the control of man, but at the same time exerting an irresistible influence on him. In this context, the divine appears as unintelligible, which casts doubt on the project of theology as a form of cognition of the divine. However, despite this, in the ancient Greek Poleis, the divine becomes the subject of theology as a contemplative practice; it is the contemplative attitude to the deity that allows making the divine an object of cognition. A contemplative attitude to the divine has accompanied theology throughout its history. However, it is supplemented by a practical (liturgical) attitude. The secularization of Western European culture led to the separation of theology from religious practice. In modern times, there is a specific form of theology (crypto-theology) that allows thinking about the divine and its attributes, regardless of the experience of communion with God. Besides, extra-institutional theology is being formed, free from dogmatic restrictions and even a kind of amateurish theology, whose representatives did not have special, "school" training. All these transformations eventually led to the crisis of theology and the decline of its influence. At the same time, at the beginning of the XIX century, there were conditions for the emergence of a "modern theology" that responds to the challenges of secularism. In the second half of the twentieth century, the topic and problems of modern theology were also influenced by the programs of "overcoming metaphysics" (M. Heidegger) and "deconstruction" (J. Derrida). Modern theology basically positions itself as post-metaphysical and generates more or less radical projects of phenomenological theology (J.-L. Marion, J. Manoussakis) and negative theology (J. Derrida).
Key words: theology, overcoming metaphysics, God, modern theology, negative theology, phenomenological theology.
Theology in a Post-Secular Context: Origins, Problems, and Prospects by Javorskiy D.R. is licensed under Attribution 4.0 International
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