Guds återkomst. En studie av gudsbegreppet inom postmodern filosofi

Sammanfattning: In recent years, a somewhat unexpected development has taken place within parts of contemporary Western philosophy. The question of religion in general and of God in particular, for a long time regarded as a past stage in the history of intellectual life, has returned into the very center of contemporary philosophical reflection. In this dissertation, this development is explored with particular regard to the question of God. The aim of the study is twofold. First, it examines the historical and intellectual premises for this development. Second, it offers a constructive critical analysis of the concept of God as it appears in some contemporary philosophies. The point of departure in this critical analysis is that of systematic theology. The study is divided into five chapters. Chapter one offers a short introduction to the study. In the following two chapters, the historical and intellectual premises for the renewed theological reflection within parts of contemporary philosophy are examined. Chapter two focuses upon the wider philosophical context that has made possible this development, and argues that this context is related to the somewhat disputed notion of postmodernism. Chapter three completes this discussion by exploring some of the central ideas and philosophemes that underlie the "return of God". The two final chapters offer a critical analysis of the concept of God as it appears in the work of two contemporary philosophers, Jacques Derrida and Jean-Luc Marion. In chapter four, a general presentation of the theological aspects of Derrida and Marion's thought is given. In chapter five, the contemporary philosophical conception of God - as exemplified by Derrida and Marion - is critically contrasted with some of the features that are of central importance in parts of contemporary theological discourse on God. In contrast to the philosophical discussion of God, which sometimes tends to be abstract and contextless, the contemporary theological reflection stresses the importance of language and embodiment.