Hegel's theological legacy, a descriptive reassessment of Hegel's philosophy of religion in the light of Karl Barth's critique

Abstract

With a view to reassessing Hegel's theological legacy this thesis revisits the classic threefold critique that christian theologians have brought against Hegel. Taking up that critique as it is articulated with particular sharpness by Karl Barth the thesis demonstrates: (i) that Hegel honours the christian insistence on the difference between God and created reality; (ii) that Jesus Christ in his historical particularity is determinative for Hegel; (iii) that Hegel's insistence upon necessity with respect to God is consistent with the christian tradition's insistence on the freedom of God. The occasion for this reassessment of Hegel's theological legacy is the recent publication of significantly revised editions of Hegel's Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion (1983ff), Lectures on the History of Philosophy (1986), and The Letters (1984). These have served as the primary resources for this thesis.