Christ Of Culture

Part II. "Culture-Protestantism" and A. Ritschl

Time of Cultural Protestantism -"19th century moved on from Kant, Jefferson and Schleiermacher to Hegel, Emerson, and Ritschl, from the religion within the limits of reason to the religion of humanity"
-criticism of its tendencies with Kierkegard and F.D. Maurice
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Albrecht Ritschl More
Stays close to New Testament Jesus (Unlike Jefferson and Kant) -felt Theology needs to get content from the New Testament only
sees the human situation in terms of man’s conflict with nature (will of man to gain mastery over nature)-Popular thought celebrates as the greatest human achievement the victories of applied science and technology over natural forces
"concerned more with the effort of the ethical reason...to direct individual and social life toward the ideal goal of virtusous existence in a society of free yet interdependent persons."
In the ethical realm man faces a double problem: 1. he needs to subdue his own nature, 2. he also needs to overcome the despair which arises from understanding the indifference of the natural world on his own interests
sees dualities, but no real conflicts between culture and nature
Christianity with 2 Foci 1.justification or the forgiveness of sins; 2. ethical striving for the attainment of the perfect society of persons.
Ritschl found no conflict in duality of the church and of cultural community;
Only by engagement in civil work for the sake of the common good, by faithfulness in one’s social calling, is it possible to be true to the example of Christ. (opposite of Tertullian)
God and man have in common the task of realizing the kingdom; and God works within the human community through Christ and through conscience rather than on it from without
largely by means of the idea of the Kingdom of God Ritschl reconcilled Christianity and culture.
Christ of culture, guide men in all there labor to realize & conserve their values
interpreted Christ through culture but also he also selected from culture those elements which were most compatible with Christ. (He did not establish contact between Jesus Christ and the capitalistic, nationalistic, or the materialistic tendencies of the time).
expressed that Christ accomplished some things for men which they could never accomplish for themselves in culture, (ie forgiveness of sin, immorality info)
he cannot hope to conquer by his labor, the system of nature that opposes him.
loyalty to Jesus leads to active participation in every cultural work, and to care for the conservation of all the great institutions.

Walter Rauschenbusch’s social gospel, Harnack, Garvie, Shailer Matthews, D.C. Macintosh, Ragaz Jesus as the great exponent of man’s religious and ethical culture…
idea that the human situation is characterized by man’s conflict with nature.
Man the moral being confronts impersonal natural forces, mostly outside of himself but partly within him. Jesus Christ as a great leader of the spiritual cultural cause of man’s struggle to subdue nature, and aspirations to transcend it.

Go to: Christ Of Culture | Introduction | Part I: Accomodation to Culture in Gnosticism and Abelard | Part II. Culture-Protestantism" and A. Ritschl | Part III. In Defense of Cultural Faith | Part IV. Theological Objections


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