Clarifying the concept of salvation: a philosophical approach to the power of faith in Christ's resurrection
Résumé
Clarifying the Concept of Salvation In this paper, I shall propose a philosophical clarification of the statement « faith in the resurrection of Christ saves men from sin », by presenting some of the main arguments and hypotheses of my recent book The Ways of Salvation (Paris, 2010; see the presentation of the book on my web page: http://www.caphi.univ-nantes.fr/Les-voies-du-salut-Un-essai). The concept of « salvation » is still very present in ordinary language as well as in some modern or contemporary philosophy far removed from Christianity, which nevertheless uses this concept, but generally without specifying its sense. This calls for clarification. It is therefore necessary to distinguish two aspects in the word « salvation » : (a) a negative aspect, by which salvation is understood as liberation and deliverance, rescue, in addition to being torn from a situation of danger where we come under an important threat ; (b) a positive aspect, the granting of something good, the entry into a situation considered as beneficial, desirable, the moving from a state of misfortune and hardship to a status of happiness and fulfillment. For other reasons, the notion of salvation also calls for a clarification in the field of Christian theology. Indeed, if the idea that Christ is the Savior and saves from sin has never been seriously challenged, the question of the modus operandi of salvation has become difficult since, especially in Latin Christianity, the theory of « satisfaction », inherited from Anselm of Canterbury’s Cur Deus Homo, is being called into question and has been subject to numerous criticisms. A pattern has emerged from many publications over the past fifty years : it would be necessary to « give back the resurrection of Christ, in the treaties [of salvation], the crucial place that it should never have lost (…) to [show that] the resurrection has in itself a salvific dimension » (Henri de Lubac). But this perspective has not really been fully developped and argued. I intend to develop this thesis, using an analysis which looks at differents beliefs about death through a pragmatic lens. This is to say that I am interested in the efficiency of these beliefs in the lives of those who adopt them. My argument will go through the following steps: (1) The natural human belief concerning death is that it is the end of life, and that we must, as such, be afraid of it. (2) This frightened belief that death is the end of life has some « dyspraxics » effects. This is to say that it leads to morally wrong acts which can be called « bad deeds » or « sins » (eg, greed, lust, pride). This state of a man committing sins corresponds to the negative situation described by type (a), from which he needs to be « saved ». I will clarify this causal connection between fear of death and sins by analysing an argument developed by Lucretius at the beginning of the De rerum natura, III. (3) A belief indicating that death is not the end of life and that we should thus not be afraid of it is, on the contrary, an « orthopraxic » belief. This is to say that it liberates from the morally incorrect acts provoked by fear of death, and that it activates, or should activate, at those who embrace this belief, a series of intellectual and emotional processes which improve the human existence. The Christian belief that death has been defeated by the Christ is, to the highest degree, an orthopraxic belief of this kind. Leaving the negative state described in (2) and entering into the desirable state described in (3) through the action of an external agent (Christ) and the adhesion to a revelation (of resurrection) can thus be understood as one aspect of salvation as conceived by Christianity.
Domaines
| Origine | Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s) |
|---|---|
| Licence |