ABSTRACT

The debate about secularization in recent decades has challenged long-held assumptions about Western modernity and the purported decline of religion in modern societies. However, the impact of this criticism on the idea of history has so far not received as much attention as it deserves. Jayne Svenungsson’s analysis of the influence of biblical motives on contemporary political theology illustrates one way in which the concept of history might be rethought in the wake of the crisis of the secularization thesis. In dialogue with Karl Löwith’s classical argument that modern philosophy of history and the idea of historical progress are secularized versions of Christian eschatology, she argues that the prophetic vision of history as a struggle for a justice that supersedes every current law or moral system is a viable and promising alternative that ought to be considered in contemporary discussions of politics and history. Svenungsson’s analysis thus amounts to what one might call a postsecular challenge to a secular historical discourse.

摘要

近几十年来关于世俗化的辩论挑战了长期以来关于西方现代性和现代社会宗教衰落的假设。然而，这种批评对历史观念的影响迄今并未受到应有的重视。Jayne Svenungsson 对圣经动机对当代政治神学影响的分析说明了在世俗化论题危机之后重新思考历史概念的一种方式。在与 Karl Löwith 的古典论点对话时，现代历史哲学和历史进步的观念是基督教末世论的世俗化版本，她认为，历史的预言性愿景是为正义而奋斗，取代每一个现行法律或道德体系，这是一种可行且有希望的替代方案，应该在当代政治和历史讨论中加以考虑。因此，斯文农森的分析相当于对世俗历史话语的后世俗挑战。