Author: Welz Claudia
Publisher: Routledge Ltd
ISSN: 0039-338X
Source: Studia Theologica, Vol.62, Iss.1, 2008-01, pp. : 4-24
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Abstract
Phenomenology describes everything that appears to consciousness in the how of its experiential givenness, that is, as a phenomenon. But is it adequate to describe the presence of the transcendent God as a phenomenon? This is the guiding question of my exploration. It proceeds in three steps: First, Husserl's reasons for excluding divine transcendence from the field of phenomenological research and Heidegger's criticism of so-called “onto-theology” and “metaphysics of presence” come into focus as background for the debates on the (im)possible gift and the “theological turn” in French phenomenology. Second, Marion's description of God's presence as givenness of a self-giving “saturated” phenomenon is discussed in confrontation with the counterarguments by Levinas, Derrida, Husserl and Heidegger. Third, as a conclusion of these discussions, a model of theology as semiotic “phenomenology of the Invisible” is outlined, taking into account that God's transcendence can become phenomenal either in or in contrast to the ambiguity of appearances.
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