Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Troeltsch, Ernst'

Churches are always already in crisis. In this study, I take the current crisis of churches as a point of departure in order to offer a critical and constructive account of church as open(ed) community. In conversation with Ernst Troeltsch (1865-1923) - a conversation which concentrates on a hermeneutical-constructive rather than a historical-critical retrieval of his interdisciplinary thinking - I argue that the communities which constitute church need to be elasticised in order to engage the 'finite other' (the creature) and the 'infinite other' (the creator). My study counters common characterisations of the current crisis of churches in which diversification is interpreted as the reason and de-diversification is interpreted as the response to crisis. In these characterisations, churches are closed off against the 'other'. In three parts which examine the controversial but connected concepts of 'religiosity', 'community', and 'identity', I suggest that the sociological closure against the finite other and the theological closure against the infinite other are connected. Taking trust as a central category, I argue that both the finite other and the infinite other are constitutive of church. Trust opens identity to alterity. Thus, I advocate a turn in the interpretation of the identity of Christianity - from identity as a 'propositional possession' to identity as a 'performative project'. The identity of Christianity is 'done' rather than 'described' in the practices of church. Church, then, is a 'work in movement', continually constituted through the encounter with the finite and the infinite other in Jesus Christ. My study contributes to ecclesial practices and to reflections on ecclesial practices in the current crisis of churches through the elasticisation of ecclesiology. It retrieves Troeltsch's interdisciplinary thinking for the controversies which revolve around the construction of community today, opening up innovative and instructive approaches to the investigation of the practices of Christianity past and present.

This thesis attempts a systematisation of Troeltsch's work which takes as its starting point the distinctive philosophical and theological problems arising from the modern conditions of humanity and society. These centre on the fundamental conflict of autonomy and the need for authority - the impasse of the Enlightenment. The theologian's vocation is to attempt to re-integrate the individual within absolute structures of authority without denying the individual's autonomy. Troeltsch 1 s project is seen as in some ways anticipating that of Maclntyre in After Virtue. Troeltsch does not attempt to recreate the medieval synthesis, nor to isolate Christianity from the world, but to combine the relative structures of the modern world with the absolute structures of authority embodied in Christianity. The basis for Troeltsch's solution rests upon his philosophy of religion, which owes its distinctive character to Kant and the critical idealism deriving from him. Troeltsch moves beyond Kant, however, in his notion of the interpenetration of the spheres of practical and theoretical reason. This interpenetration alone allows for the survival of the autonomy of the individual. The attempt to grasp reality sub specie aeternitatis, the a priori of religion, is restricted by human finitude. This finitude determines the shape of Troeltsch's systematic theology, which rests upon the relation of the human will to the divine will, of the relative to the absolute. It is the responsibility of human beings to attempt to progress towards the absolute, to adopt the divine will, even in the knowledge that this can never be fully achieved. Faith and hope are realised in ethical activity. The realisation of the absolute is the creation of the most universal context for ethical action, whereby each individual might reshape reality unfettered by all finite claims on absoluteness, and thereby be united with divine creativity itself.

L'ouvrage du theologien et historien allemand ernst troeltsch (1865-1923), les doctrines sociales des eglises et des groupes chretiens (1912), qui constitue le coeur de la these, retrace l'histoire des differentes theories que les chretiens ont elabore pour comprendre et definir leur necessaire inscription dans la realite seculiere. Afin de rendre compte de cette tentative de conciliation des demarches apologetique et scientifique, nous avons consacre un premier volume au conflit qui oppose la foi et la raison du xiie au xviiie siecles, a l'etude des pensees de la religion elaborees parallelement en france et en allemagne au xixe siecle, lesquelles debouchent sur une semblable objectivation scientifique du phenomene religieux et, enfin, au contexte allemand du tournant 1900. Le second volume est dedie a l'etude troeltschienne du christianisme dans ses rapports a la realite politique et sociale. De la naissance du christ jusqu'au xviiie siecle, plusieurs doctrines sociales ont ete concues qui circonscrivent quelques grands systemes ethiques et definissent un processus d'integration croissante des chretiens a la sphere seculiere : reconnaissance de l'ordre naturel et valorisation du retrait monastique (catholicisme medieval), acceptation resignee et compromis avec le pouvoir temporel (lutheranisme), implication positive et repli sur l'interiorite de la foi (calvinisme). L'interet de ce panorama est de mettre en lumiere la dimension socialement conservatrice des trois grandes confessions chretiennes qui appartiennent toutes au type-eglise, et de souligner le lien existant entre le courant neo-calviniste sectaire ascetique et le processus d'edification de la societe moderne capitaliste et democratique. Troeltsch opere une relativisation originale de la problematique qui associe, dans la posterite weberienne, le protestantisme et la modernite occidentale
The text from ernst troeltsch (1865-1923), the social teaching of the christian churches (1912), is the major theoretical work on which my thesis is based on. This german theologist has completed a comprehensive study of the social doctrines of christian religion, from their evangelical origins to the eighteenth century. He made his task to relate, in the capacity of en historian, the successive theories and attitudes of christianism towards the secular world. The perspective that is of interest to me is the one that encompasses the social and political principles of christian religion, the troeltsch's analysis is particularly relevant from this point of view. Before studying his results, a first part is dedicated do the history of the conflict between faith and reason from the 12th to the 19th centuries. This development lightens the tentative that troeltsch has made to conciliate the apologetical and scientifical approaches, that is the views of both the theologist and the historian. In his work, troeltsch evidenced the existence of two main christian social doctrines : the catholic social philosophy is based on the patriarcal and organic ideas and is a conservative doctrine to which lutheranism is linked, in as much as it also defines an unitarian civilization ; ascetic protestantism emerged from the conjunction of the neo-calvinist movement and the protestant sects. The latter is considered by troeltsch as the only christian form which can be related, from certains aspects, to the capitalist and democratic society

This study is centered on the social question as addressed and defined by Ernst Troeltsch (1865--1923) and by Max Weber (1864--1920); it pertains mainly to the rise of religious modernity and its conditions of possibility; based on a comparative analysis of the socio1ogy of religion of Troeltsch and Weber, it deals with the question how religious modernity has to be thought from a sociological perspective.
Along with modern historical science and scientific rationality in general, the social question challenged religion in the nineteenth century; this study brings out the originality of Troeltsch's vision of a modernity compatible with belief in the future of religion.
Motivated by the debate on the social question, Troeltsch's concern was the social foundations of the Christian doctrine in its relation to secular domains of activity, and this calls for a new outlook on the issue of the relation between religion and culture.
Eventually, the comparative approach of the sociological thought of Weber and Troeltsch pursued in the present work, while providing new insight into Weber's views on religion, brings about a better understanding of Troeltsch as a theologian and a philosopher of religion.

Cette étude porte sur les questions épistémologiques d’Ernst Troeltsch (1865-1923) concernant la méthode en théologie. Elle s’intéresse plus particulièrement aux problèmes soulevés par la méthode historique tels que Troeltsch les souligne dans trois de ses écrits : « La situation scientifique et les exigences qu’elle pose en théologie » (1900) ; « À propos de la méthode historique et de la méthode dogmatique en théologie » (1900/1913) ; et « L ’absoluité du christianisme et l’histoire des religions » (1902/1913). Emst Troeltsch y traite du problème des normes spirituelles dans la modernité. Il critique le supranaturalisme et l’historicisme comme deux solutions normatives insatisfaisantes et suggère pour les remplacer une philosophie de l’histoire qui est une conception évolutive et croyante de l’histoire.

La recherche effectuée pour cette thèse a pour but d’établir que c’est en développant, dans la Dogmatique de 1925, une interprétation christologique de l’histoire, interprétation dont l’objectif était de résoudre théologiquement, mais autrement que Barth, le problème posé par Troeltsch à partir de la critique, par l’histoire des religions, de la prétention du christia-nisme à l’absoluité, que Tillich a posé les fondements de sa réflexion future sur la rencontre du christianisme avec les religions. Dès lors, la réflexion élaborée dans les années soixante, loin de représenter un tournant dans la pensée de Tillich, comme on l’a trop souvent laissé entendre, suite aux déclarations de Mircea Eliade, en constitue plutôt l’un des fruits les plus mûrs, susceptible d’apporter une contribution à la fois originale et non encore entrevue, à la recherche contemporaine en théologie des religions

Née de l’interrogation engendrée par le mouvement d’historisation caractérisant la modernité et de la prise de conscience progressive par la pensée de sa propre historicité, la question hautement polémique de l’historisme s’est posée de façon d’autant plus incisive que s’y cristallisent de nombreux débats, initialement méthodologiques, jusqu’à ce qui a été nommé la « crise de l’historisme » dans le premier tiers du XXe siècle. Initialement porté par le questionnement de l’historiographie sur elle-même ainsi que des sciences sociales naissantes, l’historisme marque en effet, à travers la diversité même de ses acceptions, la difficulté pour la pensée de s’autoréfléchir en se gardant tout autant de l’écueil spéculatif propre à l’ancienne philosophie de l’histoire que de son envers positiviste tel qu’il menace de dissoudre le sens même de la réalité historique. L’enjeu est alors pour la philosophie de mettre sa propre réflexivité à l’épreuve sans céder ni à l’écueil objectivant et au spectre du relativisme
Arised from the reflection which appeared through the historicisation led by the Modernity and the progressive realization of the radical historicity of thought, the highly polemical question of historicism comes up in the most incisive way in many debates until what was called the “crisis of historicism” at the beginning of the XXth century. Initially brought by the methodological reflection of the historiography on itself and of the nascent social sciences, historicism evinces through the diversity of its meanings the difficulties which philosophical thought is confronted with in order to reflect itself without yielding neither in the speculative reef specific to ancient philosophy of history nor in its reverse positivist propensity, which the danger to dissolve the sense of historical reality. The stakes are then for philosophy to put its own reflexivity to the test without giving to the delusion of a radical objectivity nor the spectre of relativism

The contemporary debate concerning the Christian theology of religions has been profoundly shaped by Alan Race’s three-fold typology of exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism. Although the insufficiency of this typology’s descriptive and critical capacity has become increasingly acknowledged within the field, widespread agreement about its replacement remains elusive. This thesis argues that a replacement can be found in Hans Frei’s five-fold typology of Christian theology, which differentiates between a range of approaches to theology, from theology as philosophical discourse (Type 1) to theology as quarantined, Christian self-description (Type 5). It is suggested that the more basic question posed by Frei’s typology of how Christian theology is understood in relation to philosophy and other external discourses, provides a better means of accounting for the different positions in the Christian theology of religions within 20th century ecumenical movements. It is shown how Frei’s typology emerges from his emphasis on both the limitations and the significance of external discourses for Christian theology, an emphasis which results from his construal of the mystery of Christ’s universal presence as a function of the particular incarnation in Jesus of Nazareth. Chapter one considers the philosophical foundations upon which Race’s typology is constructed, with particular emphasis on Troeltsch’s historicism, Hick’s epistemology of religious experience and WC Smith’s phenomenological hermeneutic, concluding that they determine the typology’s apologetic approach. It is shown how these commitments lead Race’s typology to differentiate between types of Christian theology primarily in relation to the philosophical viability, as Race understands it, of their Christology. Chapter two focuses first on the theology of Hans Frei and his analysis of the relationship between Christology and historicism, epistemology, and hermeneutics. It is suggested that Frei’s focus on the ordering of the relationship between Christian theology and external discourses, while undermining Race’s approach, affirms the possibility of a theologically valuable relationship between Christian theology and external discourses. Moreover, unlike Race, Frei’s emphasis on the significance of external discourses for Christian theology is derived in light of, and not in spite of, a faith in the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Chapter three looks at Frei’s fivefold typology as a better means of accounting for the differences Race posits between exclusivists, inclusivists and pluralists. It is argued that in following Frei’s typological logic and the historical, epistemological and hermeneutical considerations characteristic of a Christian theology between types three and four, an approach to the theology of religions emerges which addresses the question of the universality of divine revelation – the central concern of Race’s typology – while also showing the inadequacy of Race’s typology and its prioritisation of philosophy. This will be shown by applying Frei’s typology to 20th century ecumenical movements and the positions on the theological significance of non-Christian religions that have emerged therein. Though Frei did not directly take up the issue of the Christian theology of religions, chapter three will demonstrate how his typology of Christian theology is of particular importance for this discussion. For his typology highlights the central question driving the theology of religions – how the ‘internal’ discourse of Christian self-description in reference to the gospels’ history-like witness to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ relates to the historically contingent, public world outside the church. The conclusion will point toward a constructive proposal for a theology of evangelism and interfaith dialogue in pluralist societies of the 21st century, drawing on the ecumenical discussion viewed in relation to the theological and typological insights of Hans Frei.