Date Thesis Awarded

5-2024

Access Type

Honors Thesis -- Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelors of Arts (BA)

Department

Religious Studies

Advisor

Alexander Angelov

Committee Members

Randi Rashkover

Aaron Griffith

Abstract

This work will seek to outline a metaphysic of love in Apocalyptic/Barthian Christian theology by using Martin Heidegger’s phenomenology. Apocalyptic/Barthian Christianity is a school of thought within Protestant theology which was spearheaded by Karl Barth. The core tenet is the centrality of Jesus Christ to all forms of knowledge. God chose to reveal himself through the history of Christ, and thus it is theology’s goal to redirect all of its truth valuations to this revelation. Christ’s death was the most important, because God separated Himself from Himself in the greatest act of pain for any created being—God’s love is best understood through His own decision to become humiliated and suffer for the sake of humanity.

The essay begins in the realm of abstract contemplation of God’s triune form. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are defined entirely by their relationship with each other. Love begins in God, because it is defined through God’s relationship with Himself. Humans can only mirror this relationship in their pursuit of authentic love, they cannot foster it. Heidegger’s phenomenology comes into play when trying to find more concretely how this love manifests itself in relationships. Heidegger posited that human being is itself existence. We are defined primarily by our actions and relationships. The most important factor of our existence is the way we exist with other people. It is the goal of this essay to take Heidegger’s framework of being and combine it with Barthian theology to show that true being is encountered in relationships which mirror the Trinity.

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