Author: ZHANG Xu, Professor, School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China.
Abstract:
2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Jürgen Moltmann’s The Crucified God (1972). The theme of the last chapter of this book is new political theology. The essence of this new political theology is the messianic theology of the Cross, and a critique of Christian political religion and Schmitt’s political theology. Nearly three decades later, there have been a third wave of political theology and the so-called Messianic Turn in the contemporary philosophy. Among them, Giorgio Agamben's critique of Schmitt appropriated Walter Benjamin’s messianic thought, showing the close relationship between Moltmann’s messianic theology and the messianic turn in political philosophy today. The three waves of political theology in the 20th century involved many famous philosophers and theologians, such as Carl Schmitt, Erik Peterson, Walter Benjamin, Karl Löwith, Jacob Taubes, Ernst Kantorowicz, J.B. Metz, Jürgen Moltmann, Dorothee Sölle, Jacques Derrida, Giorgio Agamben, Jan Assmann, etc. This paper attempts to reveal the permanence of the Theological-Political in the contemporary thought through a comparative study of Moltmann and Schmitt.
Keywords:
Political Theology, the New Political Theology, Jürgen Moltmann, Carl Schmitt, Giorgio Agamben
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