Over God (moeten) spreken*Uitgewerkte versie van een lezing t.g.v. de viering het vijftigjarig bestaan van het Theologisch Seminarie ‘Hydepark’.

Abstract

The author distinguishes a detached talk about God and an existential talk of God. This existential way of speaking from God is the characteristic language of the Christian community that understands itself primarily as being constituted by Gods agency and secondarily as an institution. The form of life of the Christian community as a locus of Divine agency presents the relational context to the individual believers that helps them to define their personal identity in relation to their fellow believers and, finally, to God. The talk of God in this Christian form of life is of a personal nature which implies the appropriateness of a personal concept of God. The author discusses alternative immanentist concepts of God (the model of Braun and that of Fichte) and Nietzsches non-realist argument against the usefulness of the Christian concept of God. An alternative to these traditional arguments is found in an application of a remark of Wittgenstein on religious belief. It is possible to understand the nature of Christian tradition in terms of an ongoing interaction between its members which started with the interaction between Jesus and the early community of believers. It is argued that existential talk of God is a form of a performative continuation of the first performative act of Christ which created the community of believers.