Ethische Identitat Und Christlicher Glaube. Theologische Ethik Im Spannungsfeld Von Theologie Und Philosophie
Journal article by Thomas R. Kopfensteiner; Theological Studies, Vol. 65, 2004
Journal Article Excerpt
Ethische Identitat Und Christlicher Glaube. Theologische Ethik Im Spannungsfeld Von Theologie Und Philosophie. by Thomas R. Kopfensteiner ETHISCHE IDENTITAT UND CHRISTLICHER GLAUBE. THEOLOGISCHE ETHIK IM SPANNUNGSFELD VON THEOLOGIE UND PHILOSOPHIE. Christof Mandry. Mainz: Matthias-Grunewald, 2002. Pp. 314. 36. The relationship between philosophy and theology has long been a focus in both Catholic and Protestant circles. Mandry, in this publication of his dissertation under the direction of Dietmar Mieth from the University of Tubingen, presents four thinkers to highlight the varying ways the two disciplines have been construed with specific reference to moral theory: from the Catholic perspective, Franz Bockle and Klaus Demmer; from the Protestant perspective, Gerhard Ebeling and Wolfhart Pannenberg. Unlike others (e.g., Martin Honecker, Erny Gillen, and Herbert Schlogel), however, M. does not bring these thinkers into conversation with each other. The central interest in the study is Paul Ricoeur and how his work, primarily his Oneself as Another (1992), provides a nuanced understanding of the relationship between theology and philosophy. The relationship between moral theology and dogma is a central theme of Catholic moral theology. Thinkers like Bockle--and similarly Alfons Auer and Josef Fuchs--have aimed to protect the autonomous nature of moral discourse by underscoring the need for a rational justification of any moral claim. While engaging the language of modernity, these thinkers stand clearly in the effective history of a neo-Scholastic understanding of the natural law. In distinction to them is someone like Demmer who questions the notion of revelation operative in those who propose an autonomous ethic in the context of faith. He offers a more theological methodology; faith provides a radically new horizon for the believer that leads to a fundamental change in her way of thinking. For M., the difficulty is that this position may be understood in a way that handicaps the universality of any moral claim (68). In the Protestant world, the relationship between theology and philosophy is behind the now classic exchange of letters between Ebeling and Pannenberg in the early 1970s concerning the "crisis in ethics" or how they interpreted modernity's separation of ethics from theology, and the resultant reduction of moral norms to human values. Influenced by the theology of Wilhelm Herrmann, Ebeling argued for the ethical basis of theology. Moral claims are not justified by authority but by rational evidence. Consequently, theology does not create a unique Christian ethos but must consider what is shared by all humanity. Pannenberg sees in this accommodation to modernity the danger of making theology independent of or supplemental to moral experience. For him, our understanding of reality should take precedence over the recognition of moral norms. This means that the moral consciousness of the believer presupposes the truth of the Christian message. The moral relevance of the gospel follows from the truth about God and God's revelation in Jesus Christ (108). In part 2 of the book, M. turns to Ricoeur in order to restructure the relationship between philosophy and theology. Unlike other analytic or deconstructive approaches, Ricoeur's synthetic project has been used effectively to bridge a whole series of antinomies: the particular and the universal, tradition and ideology, goodness and rightness, etc. Specifically, M. focuses on the relationship between ethics (understood as aiming at the good life with and for others) in just institutions and the power of religious discourse to effect a radical change in the moral subject (281). For Ricoeur, the idea of narrative is the link between description and prescription. In other words, our description of the world is never pure but always shadowed by meaning. But the same is true for the self's act of prescription. That is, our practical actions and strategies are of necessity shaped by the central narratives that constitute our self understanding. M. uses Ricoeur's concept of the "economy of gift" to go beyond the traditional disputes about the relationship between philosophy and theology. The economy of the gift indicates an economy in the sense of a dialectical exchange between religion and ordinary moral experience and understanding that is never resolved but rather creates a hermeneutical spiral and is rendered more or less productive. The economy of gift describes an ethic of unfolding human transformation in relation to the divine offer of grace. Grace disrupts and disorients our self-understanding in order to raise the possibility of our own new being in the world.M. presents an accurate description of Ricoeur and contributes to the growing scholarship surrounding his thought. It is unfortunate, however, that, given the limitations of a doctoral dissertation, M. ... |
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