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Eschatology in a Secular Age: an Examination of the Use of Eschatology in the Philosophies of Heidegger, Berdyaev and Blumenberg John R

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Eschatology in a Secular Age: an Examination of the Use of Eschatology in the Philosophies of Heidegger, Berdyaev and Blumenberg John R University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School January 2013 Eschatology in a Secular Age: An Examination of the Use of Eschatology in the Philosophies of Heidegger, Berdyaev and Blumenberg John R. Lup, Jr. University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the History Commons, Philosophy Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Scholar Commons Citation Lup, Jr., John R., "Eschatology in a Secular Age: An Examination of the Use of Eschatology in the Philosophies of Heidegger, Berdyaev and Blumenberg" (2013). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4532 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Eschatology in a Secular Age: An Examination of the Use of Eschatology in the Philosophies of Heidegger, Berdyaev and Blumenberg by John R. Lup, Jr. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Philosophy College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Charles Guignon, Ph.D. Joanne Waugh, Ph.D. Michael Gibbons, Ph.D. Steven Turner, Ph.D. Date of Approval: February 14, 2013 Keywords: Being, History, Infinity, Progress, Teleology, Time Copyright © 2013, John R. Lup, Jr. DEDICATION There have been a number of people who have helped me reach this goal in life but I could not have accomplished this work without the encouragement of my friends and patient endurance of my family members. I am grateful for the encouragement and support by those who are no longer here to see this accomplishment, particularly to my father-in-law, Fred W. Smith, Jr., who was a continual inspiration for many years. I especially dedicate this work to my three children—Kristen, Jessica, and John— and most importantly to my wife Jan. I thank you all for the sacrifice you made during these many years. I could not have completed this task without your encouragement, understanding, support, and your love. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank all who served in making this work possible: Cathleen Cottrell for her help in proof-reading the early drafts; Darlene Corcoran for being a valuable resource and liaison in the Philosophy department; Drs. Gibbons, Turner, and Waugh for their willingness to serve on my committee; and especially my advisor and mentor, Dr. Charles Guignon, for his guidance along the way, for the inspiring and illuminating conversations at his home, and for his encouragement and belief in the project from the beginning. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .......................................................................................................................... iv Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 The Meaning of Eschatology ................................................................................ 5 Eschatology and Teleology .................................................................................. 7 Apocalypticism and Millennialism ....................................................................... 8 Messianism and Parousia ................................................................................... 12 Cyclical or Linear Time ..................................................................................... 12 Chapter Two: Eschatology in Western Thought ............................................................ 14 Eschatology of Babylon, Persia, and Greece....................................................... 15 Jewish Eschatology ............................................................................................ 19 Pagan Eschatological Influences on Judaism and Christianity ............................ 21 Neo-Platonism and the Sibylline Oracles ............................................................ 23 Early Christian Eschatology to Constantine ........................................................ 26 Montanists and Manicheans .................................................................... 30 Origen, Cyprian and Lactantius .............................................................. 31 Augustine........................................................................................................... 37 Eschatology in the Middle Ages ......................................................................... 41 Joachim of Fiore ..................................................................................... 44 Later Middle Ages and Renaissance ....................................................... 51 Renaissance Period ............................................................................................ 52 Protestant Eschatology ....................................................................................... 57 Luther and German Radical Movements ............................................................ 59 The Theologia Germanica ...................................................................... 60 Radical Movements ................................................................................ 63 Jacob Boehme and the German Pietists .............................................................. 64 Puritan and Radical English Millenarianism ....................................................... 68 The Rediscovery of Cyclical Time and Infinity .................................................. 73 The Rise of a “Secular Eschatology” .................................................................. 80 The Rise of Postmillennialism ................................................................ 84 From Millennialism to Secular Progress ............................................................. 85 Eschatology in Romanticism and German Idealism ............................................ 89 German Idealism .................................................................................... 94 Marx and Nietzsche ................................................................................ 97 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 99 Chapter Three: Heidegger’s Eschatology of Being ...................................................... 103 i Early Theological Influences: Weiss, Schweitzer, and Overbeck ..................... 105 Early Philosophical Influences: Dilthey and Husserl ....................................... 113 Eschatology in the Religion Lectures (1920-1921) ........................................... 118 Phenomenological Explication and Complex of Enactment .................. 122 The Proclamation of Revelation ............................................................ 126 The Parousia ........................................................................................ 128 Distress ................................................................................................ 131 The Antichrist....................................................................................... 135 Heidegger’s Eschatological Critique of Jaspers, Spengler, and Husserl ............ 138 Jaspers’ Psychology of Worldviews ....................................................... 138 Spengler’s The Decline of the West ....................................................... 142 Husserl’s Phenomenological Teleology ................................................ 151 Eschatology in Being and Time ........................................................................ 162 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 165 Chapter Four: Berdyaev’s Eschatological Metaphysics ............................................... 174 Objectification of Being and the Overcoming of Dualism................................. 176 Berdyaev’s Critique of Heidegger .................................................................... 180 From Cosmocentrism to Anthropocentrism ...................................................... 182 The Eschatological Contribution of Christianity and Its Failure ........................ 187 The Return to Jacob Boehme............................................................................ 193 The Kantian Revolution ................................................................................... 198 The Problem in the Metaphysics of German Idealism ....................................... 201 Berdyaev’s Existential Eschatology ................................................................. 212 The Age of the Spirit and Creative Newness ......................................... 215 The “End of the World” ........................................................................ 218 History as Prophetic Messianism .......................................................... 220 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 222 Chapter Five: Blumenberg’s Transformed Eschatology .............................................. 224 The Debate over Secularization and Eschatology ............................................. 224 Karl Löwith’s Secularization Thesis ................................................................
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