ヘーゲルとキリスト教

Abstract

In his tutorial period Hegel was occupied with a personal interpretation of Christianity, or more exactly, of the "religion of Jesus" in contradistinction to the "Christian religion." He presents Jesus as a "belle ame" teaching a pantheistic philosophy of life. But the question arises whether or not Jesus' destiny itself can be interpreted in terms of the same philosophy. Rejecting the common Christian solution, Hegel would rather regard Jesus as hero in a tragedy, but difficulties come up which lead him to reflect anew on politics. During his professorship at Jena he conceives first an ideal ethical state (Sittlichkeitsstaat) which is totalitarian and absorbs religion into politics. But later he admits more of the liberty of individuals into his state ( Moralitatsstaat), where the Christian religion comes to be allowed a spiritual authority. It seems that he then had a strong personal motive to go beyond politics and seek truth in religion. Over against the French revolution and its fruits being reaped by Napoleon, politics becomes for Hegel no more than politics. The model of reality he transfers from the political society to a community of "belles ames, " where no legal and moral laws supervise, but all members are reconciled with each other by mutual confession and remission of sins. This idea of religious community serves Hegel as criterion and ideal of the truth of religion. And its nearest approximation he finds in Christian communion. Hence the characteristic features of Christianity as Hegel conceives it. The God transcendent is no true God. The redemption by Christ is only metaphorically true. Also the famous dictum that philosophy changes into "concept" what religion conceives in the form of "imagination" means that philosophy emancipates members of the Christian communion from transcendental faith and eschatolological hope so that they may attain here and now perfect reconciliation with God the Spirit.