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Freedom and the „Creative Act‟ in the Writings of Nikolai Berdiaev: an Evaluation in Light of Jürgen Moltmann‟S Theology of Freedom

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Freedom and the „Creative Act‟ in the Writings of Nikolai Berdiaev: an Evaluation in Light of Jürgen Moltmann‟S Theology of Freedom View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by St Andrews Research Repository UNIVERSITY OF ST. ANDREWS ST. MARY‟S COLLEGE FREEDOM AND THE „CREATIVE ACT‟ IN THE WRITINGS OF NIKOLAI BERDIAEV: AN EVALUATION IN LIGHT OF JÜRGEN MOLTMANN‟S THEOLOGY OF FREEDOM A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF DIVINITY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY PAUL A. SCARINGI ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND SEPTEMBER, 2007 DECLARATIONS I, Paul A. Scaringi, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 100,000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. Date: Signature of candidate: I was admitted as a research student in September 2003 and as a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in June 2004; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St. Andrews between 2003 and 2007. Date: Signature of candidate: I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of St. Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date: Signature of supervisor: Date: Signature of supervisor: ii COPYRIGHT In submitting this thesis to the University of St. Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. Date: Signature of candidate: iii To Eileen iv In Memoriam John H. Scaringi April 1929 – May 2006 v Great authors keep repeating themselves. Something profound lies in this. They are working through a few big thoughts and intuitions. These come from the heart; they rise up; and one tries to sound the music in a thousand different ways. It is a thought, a set of thoughts, or one complex thought, that is lived through many years. Jeremy Driscoll, O.S.B., A Monk‟s Alphabet vi CONTENTS Acknowledgments . xi List of Abbreviations . xii Abstract . xiii Chapter 1 – Context, Influences, and Ultimate Questions . 1 §1 Introduction . 1 §2 Nikolai Berdiaev . 2 1. A Biographical Sketch . 2 2. Russian Philosophy . 3 3. The Silver Age . 5 4. Influences . 6 A. Philosophy . 7 B. Theology . 9 C. The Arts . 11 5. Personalism/Existentialism . 12 §3 Jürgen Moltmann . 13 §4 Summary . 15 Chapter 2 – A Vision of Freedom . 16 §1 Introduction . 16 1. Orientation and Style . 18 2. Intuition . 21 3. „Spiritual‟ Experience . 23 §2 The Search for the Origins of Freedom . 24 1. The Mystical Approach . 26 2. Integral Knowledge . 29 3. Symbolism . 31 4. German Mysticism . 35 §3 The Ungrund . 36 §4 Summary . 43 Chapter 3 – Motivations . 45 §1 Introduction . 45 §2 The Justification of God . 46 1. The Legend . 47 2. The Justification of God . 49 vii §3 The Justification of the Person . 53 1. Personality . 54 2. Personality, Incarnation, and Theandric Existence . 56 §4 Summary . 59 Chapter 4 – Freedom within the Created Order . 61 §1 Introduction . 61 §2 Freedom . 62 1. Embodied Freedom . 64 2. The Fall . 68 A. Autonomy . 69 B. Heteronomy . 73 C. Slavery . 76 §3 The God-Man . 77 1. Grace . 78 2. God-manhood and Theosis . 81 3. Theandric Freedom . 84 A. Interrelatedness . 84 B. The Necessity of Autonomy . 85 C. Love . 86 D. Sobornost‟ . 87 §4 Spirit . 90 §5 Summary . 95 Chapter 5 – The Creative Act . 97 §1 Introduction . 97 §2 The Beginning Stages of Creativity . 99 §3 Foundations of the Creative Act . 102 1. Meonic freedom . 102 2. Imago Dei . 103 3. Silent Expectation . 107 §4 The Creative Act in the Material World . 109 1. Inner Creativity . 110 A. Imagination . 112 B. Contemplation . 113 C. Humility . 115 2. Outer Creativity . 117 A. Objectification . 117 B. Transfiguration . 120 C. Realization . 123 D. Ethics . 128 3. Interdependence . 129 §5 Summary . 131 viii Chapter 6 – Jürgen Moltmann‟s Theology of Freedom . 133 §1 Introduction . 133 1. Berdiaev‟s Theological Orientation . 133 2. Moltmann . 135 §2 The Genesis of Freedom . 138 1. Creating Space for Creation . 139 A. Zimzum . 139 B. Love . 140 C. The Question of Passibility . 142 2. Trinity . 144 A. The Triune God . 144 B. Perichoresis . 145 (a) Interpenetration . 146 (b) The „Broad Place‟ of the Trinity . 148 3. The Passion of the Father . 149 4. The Son . 151 A. Bearer of Sin . 152 B. Solidarity . 152 C. The Crucified and Resurrected Liberator . 153 5. The Holy Spirit . 155 A. The Wellspring of Life and Relation . 156 B. The Giver of Freedom . 157 6. Summary . 159 §3 Freedom within the Created Order . 159 1. The Object of Liberation . 160 A. The Human . 160 (a) God‟s Image . 160 (b) The Imago Trinitatis . 163 (c) The Person‟s Relation to the Trinity . 163 B. Nature . 164 2. Freedom „From‟ . 166 A. Freedom from Sin . 166 B. Freedom from Oppression . 168 3. Freedom „For‟ . 170 A. Creativity . 170 B. The „Project‟ of Freedom . 173 4. The Horizon of Freedom . 176 §4 Summary . 177 Chapter 7 – A Critique of Berdiaev in Light of Moltmann . 179 §1 Introduction . 179 §2 Critique, Assessment, and Reconfiguration . 180 1. Methodological Assumptions . 180 2. Bifurcation and the Mystical Approach . 182 3. Spirit . 186 4. Sobornost‟ . 188 ix 5. Justification of the Person . 192 6. Justification of God . 196 7. The Ungrund . 199 8. Embodied Freedom . 203 A. Modality of Existence . 207 B. Subjective-relational . 209 C. Tragedy . 211 9. The „Creative Act‟ . 213 A. Contributions . 214 (a) Interdependence of Creativity and Freedom . 214 (b) Theological Discourse . 215 (c) Positive Freedom . 215 (d) Love . 216 B. The Equivocal Areas within Berdiaev‟s „Creative Act‟ . 217 (a) Materiality . 217 (b) Genius . 220 (c) Basileia . 221 C. A Suggestion . 223 §3 Summary . 225 Chapter 8 – Conclusion . 226 Select Bibliography . 230 x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would not have been able to undertake and complete a project such as this without the support and prayers of family and friends, who, while being too numerous to list, have my sincere gratitude. There are, however, certain individuals I wish to acknowledge who have had a direct impact on this research: Dr. Thomas Graves, Dr. John Kinney, Dr. Stephen Brachlow, and Prof. Jeremy Begbie have all, in rather different and yet important ways, provided guidance, challenge, and support in helping to frame and shape this research. Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Pugh Mills and the community at Grace Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia provided encouragement and support, both in prayers, communications, and finances to send us overseas. The Very Rev. Robert Gilles and the community at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, St. Andrews made us part of their community and held us in their prayers and kindness. Mrs. Patti Guthrie flawlessly handled the logistics for us to live overseas for four years and made this process manageable. Prof. Michael Partridge gave numerous hours to this project in expertise, productive dialogue, and enthusiastic support. Eileen, my wife, who made this project possible, has been unwavering in her support, steadfast in her love, and the one person who never lost faith that this could be accomplished. xi ABBREVIATIONS Berdiaev: BE The Beginning and the End: Essay on Eschatological Metaphysics BM The Bourgeois Mind and other Studies in Modern Life DM The Destiny of Man DH The Divine and the Human DR Dream and Reality: An Essay in Autobiography DT Dostoevsky EOT The End of Our Time FMW The Fate of Man in the Modern World FS Freedom and the Spirit MCA The Meaning of the Creative Act MH The Meaning of History RI The Russian Idea RSRC The Realm of Spirit and the Realm of Caesar SF Slavery and Freedom SS Solitude and Society SR Spirit and Reality TNE Towards a New Epoch TR Truth and Revelation Moltmann: CG The Crucified God ET Experiences in Theology GC God in Creation GSS God for a Secular Society HG Humanity in God MN Man RRF Religion, Revolution, and the Future SL The Spirit of Life TKG The Trinity and the Kingdom of God TRANSLITERATION The Library of Congress system of transliteration has been used in the spelling of Russian names and words (hence Berdiaev instead of Berdyaev), except with names widely known by other spellings, e.g. Dostoevsky. The New Revised Standard Version has been used for all Biblical quotations. xii ABSTRACT This project revisits the work of Nikolai Berdiaev, one of the first Russian Silver Age religious philosophers to be widely read in the West. The focus of this research is his thought on freedom and the „creative act‟. We will argue that Berdiaev‟s vision of freedom contains two types of freedom – a freedom understood within the created order and a freedom „outside‟ of creation. It will be shown that in the former type, the reader finds a nuanced and insightful multi-layered conception of human freedom, which offers intriguing possibilities for exploring freedom and its implications for humanity. It will also be demonstrated that this type of freedom is closely related to his innovative view of creativity.
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