UPThèses

English

Christian mediation: what is theological-political alterity in history ?

The present work is laid out in three sections, each of which develops a part of the overall thesis. First section: the origin of political modernity has been the object of numerous philosophical interpretations. At the heart of these interpretations, the concept of secularization has proven to be as decisive as it is contentious. In order to put this concept to the test, this first section seeks to show the value of the hermeneutical fruitfulness to be found in Christian political theology, whose central notion is that of mediation; it does this on the one hand through the multiple paradigms of this latter, and on the other hand by confronting it with several twentieth-century political philosophies. The second section, which is the most important in terms of volume, sets out on a critical examination of the political theology of the jurist Carl Schmitt: to what extent does it offer elements which respond to questions concerning the adequacy of Christian political theology vis-à-vis the modern secular paradigm prevalent in today's political environment? to what extent does it lead to an impasse which needs to be obviated in order to work out a new way of relating Christianity and politics and historical thought? In order to answer this question [translator's note: these questions?], the third section adds various considerations. First of all, it proceeds with an investigation of Rosenzweig's philosophy exhibited in L'Etoile de la Rédemption [The Star of Redemption], notably with regard to his concept of people (Jewish or Christian). Secondly, it details the theories of Rosenzweig and Schmitt with regard to diverging agreement: the place of the Jew outside of history versus the place of the Christian within history. A concept which the two authors take in diametrically opposed directions. It is by taking the measure of these diverging agreements that one arrives at the conclusive thesis, namely the working out of a theory of “the political man”, can find room for flexibility, providing a link between religious transcendence and the autonomous and secular grounding of a political philosophy of democracy.

Keywords : Political theology, theology of the political man, Christian image of history, historical temporality, Christian, secularization, differentiation / diversification, autonomy .