Presence Of Evil Research Articles

Divine ambiguity: A philosophical inquiry into God’s uncertain decisions

The debate surrounding the nature and attributes of God as presented in the Bible has garnered significant attention and critique from various philosophical perspectives like Friedrich Nietzsche, Bertrand Russell and David Hume. This philosophical critique emphasises the inconsistency in the nature of God and challenges traditional theological beliefs. The expression of regret by the God of the Bible in Genesis 6:6 raises philosophical dilemmas regarding divine attributes and the problem of evil. The contradiction between God’s regret and the affirmation of his creation as good underscores fundamental questions about divine omniscience, omnipotence and benevolence. The presence of evil and suffering in the world poses a significant challenge to the notion of a loving and all-powerful God. Examples of human suffering, such as slavery, colonisation, apartheid and natural disasters, further highlight the complexity of reconciling divine attributes with the existence of evil. Philosophically analysing biblical narratives, such as the story of Job, Noah’s flood and the plagues of Egypt, raises ethical concerns regarding divine justice and the moral agency of humanity. Additionally, the indiscriminate punishment of innocent individuals in these narratives challenges the credibility of a benevolent and compassionate God. The philosophical inquiry into the problem of evil and natural disasters underscores the need for a nuanced understanding of divine attributes and their implications for human existence.Contribution: The study encourages reflection on key questions about the nature of divinity, the morality of divine actions, and the compatibility of traditional theology with rational thought. It highlights how inconsistencies in certain biblical accounts challenge those trying to balance faith with reason and scientific understanding. While some may view these narratives as metaphors or allegories, others find it difficult to align them with their intellectual beliefs, resulting in tensions between religious faith and scientific rationality.

The Concept of Creatures’ Freedom in Process Theology: A Study on David Ray Griffin's Contributions

This document delves into the realms of Process Theology, especially emphasizing David Ray Griffin's pivotal role in reshaping our understanding of the divine. Rejecting the classical depiction of God as an omnipotent and omniscient entity, it advocates for a portrayal of God as deeply involved in the evolutionary process of the universe. This approach marks a significant shift from traditional theism, proposing instead a reciprocal relationship between God and creation, where influence is mutual rather than one-directional. Process theology is notable for its application of process philosophy, which views the universe as a series of ephemeral 'actual occasions'. These instances embody the interplay between being shaped by past events and navigating towards future self-determination. Griffin’s introduction of panexperientialism further extends this narrative, suggesting that all entities, however simple, engage in a form of experiential existence, thereby challenging the traditional binaries of consciousness and volition. The relationship between the characteristics of the divine and the freedom afforded to creatures is carefully examined. Griffin posits a God whose modus operandi is relational and evolutionary, promoting a model of divine interaction that favors persuasion over coercion. This innovative perspective sheds light on the nature of theodicy, portraying a God who empathizes with the plight of creatures, thus affirming the significance of free will and the capacity for goodness amidst challenges. Griffin's rendition of Process Theology offers a refreshing narrative that reconciles the presence of evil with a benevolent divine essence, presenting God as an integral part of creation's fabric. It paints a universe where divine love, creaturely autonomy, and the complexities of existence are closely knit, offering a hopeful and empathetic view on the divine's role in the cosmic saga.

РЕПРЕЗЕНТАЦИЯ КОНЦЕПТА ЗЛА В ФИЛЬМЕ «ЛЮТЕР»

This article delves into the persona of the German reformer Martin Luther (1483–1546) as portrayed in the eponymous German-US production of 2003. The creators, including director Eric Till and screenwriters Camille Thomasson and Bart Gavigan, alongside the stellar cast, aimed to present Luther in his most humanistic light. However, in pursuit of attempting to craft a “man-centric film,” they compromised historical accuracy. Nonetheless, even in this watered-down version, two issues surface: a political struggle (both against Papal Rome and among his peers) and a psychological one, centered on Luther’s autonomous manifestation of auratic evil within his psyche. While a degree of historical authenticity resonates concerning the political power play (between German religious-political Protestantism led by Luther and the Roman Catholic Church under the Pope), the psychological dimension extends to the religious-state realm. Luther, though, is depicted one-dimensionally: as an entirely positive and progressive figure concerned solely with the moral and ideological renewal of the church institution (despite actually acting in the interests of Elector Frederick the Wise); also, there is a complete absence of critical scrutiny regarding certain chauvinistic aspects of Luther’s beliefs in the film. The article authors endeavor to elucidate the validity of the cinematic concept, prompting a critical appraisal of critiques on the film Luther and scholarly works on Luther the reformer’s historical import. This scrutiny exposes the incongruity between the cinematic personalities and their historical counterparts, necessitating an in-depth analysis of the film’s dramaturgy. In conclusion, the authors articulate the presence of evil as a concept in the actions of Luther and his milieu.

Indigenous Rhythms in Mamang Dai’s The Black Hill

Indigenous rhythms are new genre which mainly focuses on tribal literature. Indigenous people are referred as tribal in India, are ethnic group of people whose members share a cultural identity that has been shaped by their geographical region and they generally regarded as the original inhabitants of a territory or region. Indigeneity displays a strong association between people and their rootedness to their surroundings, material or emotional connection to the land. The bioregionalist thinkers and practitioners help human beings to reconnect themselves with the land and places because they are part of them and without them survival is not possible. Mamang Dai belongs to Arunachal Pradesh, a state inhabiting Northeast India. Her novel The Black Hill captures the forgotten tales and terror of history in the Abor and Mishmi hills. The novel covers the time and space of both the pre-colonial and the post-colonial world. By this she gives a glimpse of the changing situations and atmosphere of the places which is an interesting part of the study. Land is considered as a precious asset, sacred and revered among the tribal people of Northeast India. The land is not simply a surface but it is a home and pride of the tribal people. Even before the period of colonization, different tribes were at war with each other because of land inheritance, fishing and hunting. The love for their native land which they called home is the first thing the people protected when the British troops migluns tried to take possession as unused underused or empty-areas of rational deficit. This study focuses on the land, folklore, language, presence of evil, status of women and resistance of foreign rules.

Whence Does Good Come? Notes on Plato’s Moral Psychology

In my study, I investigate some questions related to Plato’s discussion of the origins of Evil in the individual’s soul and of the possible solutions to the presence of Evil in it. The lack of the correct equilibrium between the parts of the soul exposes the individual to the moral degeneration; conversely, exclusively the correct equilibrium between the parts of the soul leads the individual to the correct composition between the parts of the soul. In particular, exclusively the development of the rational part of the soul, and its consequent leadership over the other parts, brings the indivi-dual to the right formation of the soul. The development of the rational part of the soul will not come about by itself: it needs an appropriate education, which can be reached only after a long and difficult process. The development of the rational part of the soul can be reached only through the disciplines preparing the philosophical education and through the philosophical education itself. The development of the rational part of the soul brings the individual nearer to the dimension of Being, thus opening for the individual a new dimension of experience, of knowledge and of life. At the same time, the philosophical education diminishes the attention of the individual’s soul for the dimension of Becoming. The cultivation and strengthening of the rational part bring about a progressive diminution of the force of the other parts of the soul, in particular, of the appetitive part of the soul. I concentrate my analysis on passages of Plato’s Republic.

Archbishop William King’s Critique of Manichaeism in the Treatise "On the Origin of Evil" (1702)

This paper examines the Irish philosopher, theologian and divine William King’s (1650–1729) discussion of Manichaeism in the essay De Origine Mali (On the Origin of Evil) (1702). King intended to demonstrate that the Manichaeist solution to the problem of the origin of evil, consisting in assuming the existence of two opposite principles of, respectively, good and evil, leaves the problem untouched and, therefore, cannot compete with the orthodox view, according to which the presence of evil, despite appearances to the contrary, is compatible with the one and perfect principle of all creation. Following preliminary remarks about the text, context, and King’s terminology, this paper argues that his criticism is flawed.

Evil, Death, and Some African Conceptions of God

The age-old philosophical problem of evil, especially prominent in Western philosophy, as resulting from the intellectual irreconcilability of some appellations of God with the presence of evil – indeed, of myriads of evil – in the world, has been debated upon by many African religious scholars; particularly, philosophers. These include John Mbiti, Kwasi Wiredu, Kwame Gyekye, E. B. Idowu and E.O. Oduwole. While the debate has often been about the existence or not of the problem of evil in African theology, not much philosophical discussion has taken place regarding death and its implications for African conception(s) of God. This paper attempts to contribute to the discussion of those implications. It explores the evilness of death, as exemplified in the African notion of “evil death,” and argues that the phenomenon of death presents itself in complex but interesting ways that do not philosophically ground its characterization as evil. Therefore, the problem of evil would not arise in African thought on account of the phenomenon of death.

Evil, Excess and Transcendence

This article aims to overcome the prevailing philosophical views that understand evil from an ontological or metaphysical perspective through the reconciliation of being or God with the presence of evil in the world. In this sense, the phenomenological approach offers an adequate and renewed process to rethink the phenomenon of evil. To this end, I will show how the ontological treatment of evil as a deprivation of good corresponds neither to the way evil appears in experience nor to the recognition of the evidence of evil as a positive and effective reality that empirically rules and distorts relations within the world. This ontological consideration also fails to account for the transcendence of evil in its excessive condition, since this excess constitutes it as a phenomenon of radical exteriority to consciousness. Moreover, the overbearing and surprising presence of evil in the world demands from conscience a special spiritual penetration that does not justify evil, but rather exposes and condemns it. This can only be carried out in the disposition of the living to resist evil and to remain in the sphere of ethical difference, which consists of living in the good and for the good through the eradication of evil.

Encounter with Evil Through the Monograph Tracing Brcko’s Jews by Tamara Vijoglavin Mančić

In 2022, the Department for the Public Register of the Government of Brčko District of BiH, Section for Archive, and the Jewish Community of BiH, published the monograph Tracing Brcko's Jews (Monograph), authored by Tamara Vijoglavin Mančić. It is, in Brcko's circumstances, a valuable and rare publication which, in a concise, graphic, well-documented, and methodical way, brings back from oblivion the tragic fate of the Jews, who made a significant contribution to the economic and cultural development of the city, and who were, at one historical moment, most brutally exterminated from the area of Brcko. Today, there are no traces of their habitation in Brčko, nor a "place of memory" of their tragic fate. As such, the Monograph Tracing Brcko's Jews is a historiographical miniature of snatching from oblivion the presence of Evil in these parts. And much more than that. Because in her "places of silence" we can read off the lack of our freedom to face the Evil in ourselves and around us. And you can't escape from Evil, because it is always potentially within us. We must confront Evil, both within us and around us. Therefore, these "places of silence" ask for a change one's existential positioning. Otherwise, a new Evil is at the door, with whose arrival we will again be either victims or criminals. Or both.

Melville's Wisdom: Religion, Skepticism, and Literature in Nineteenth-Century America by Damien B. Schlarb

Reviewed by: Melville's Wisdom: Religion, Skepticism, and Literature in Nineteenth-Century America by Damien B. Schlarb Ariel Silver Damien B. Schlarb Melville's Wisdom: Religion, Skepticism, and Literature in Nineteenth-Century America Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021. xiv + 252 pp. In his reading of the Book of Genesis in The Beginning of Wisdom (2003), Leon Kass is guided by philosophia, the love and pursuit of wisdom. He quickly acknowledges that scripture is not often read in this manner, especially by scholars of the Bible, whose training in higher criticism has led them to focus more on textual sources and the "sensibilities and prejudices of an ancient people" (2). These source critics read the Bible much as do literary critics—as literature more than as an aid to wisdom. Melville was neither a biblical scholar nor a literary critic, but in his elegant new book, Melville's Wisdom, Damien Schlarb contends that Melville seeks to demonstrate through his literary work that the Hebrew Bible can be read in a "reflective and philosophic spirit" (Kass, Leon R. The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003, p. 2) and that this manner of reading is modeled on the wisdom literature found within the biblical text. In his effort to recover the language and ethics of biblical wisdom, Schlarb asserts that Melville charts a course between the "Scylla of epistemological deadlock and the Charybdis of moral relativism" (20), leading him to theological as well as cultural insight. Literature begins to function as a new form of exegesis, which Melville deploys to try to deeply understand both the biblical text and the religious culture emerging in the midst of modern life. This spirit of philosophia animates Melville, and leads him, through the wisdom literature of the Bible, to what Schlarb calls the "hermeneutics of contemplation" (19). Like Ahab circling the leviathan, drawing ever closer, numerous scholars have sought to apprehend the acute nature of Melville's relationship to the Bible. This search began in earnest after World War II with the publication of Melville's Use of the Bible (Nathalia Wright, 1949) and Melville's Quarrel with God (Lawrance Thompson, 1952), works devoted to the ways in which Melville read biblical prose and poetry. Later works attended more to the religious, political, and cultural milieu informing Melville's biblical interpretations. The [End Page 108] more recent religious turn in literary studies has deepened this search and made it both more incisive and more expansive. In Melville's Bibles (2008), Ilana Pardes seeks to bring together these two previous strains of scholarship on Melville and the Bible: his reading of biblical texts and his reading of cultural contexts through his literary oeuvre. Melville's Bibles focuses principally on Moby-Dick, as does Jonathan A. Cook's Inscrutable Malice (2012). Where Pardes sets biblical texts and characters in Moby-Dick in conversation with multiple modes of biblical exegesis in antebellum America, Cook focuses more on the moral and religious questions which animate Melville's engagement with biblical sources. Melville's interrogation of theodicy—the attempt to reconcile divine justice with the presence of evil—leads him directly to Job. The omnipresence of Job in Moby-Dick points to Melville's interest in biblical wisdom, a genre that informs not only Job, but also Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. In Melville's Wisdom, Schlarb expands beyond Job and Moby-Dick to uncover the ways in which Melville works out his epistemology of skeptical devotion through the body of wisdom literature. At a time when the emerging modern world sought to both affirm and displace religious culture and the language of scripture, Melville discovered in the wisdom texts of the Hebrew Bible a contemplative approach that could lead to syncretic knowledge apart from either the dogma of religion or science. Having discovered that both superstition and empiricism are irredeemable, Melville looks instead for an approach that can respond to his inexhaustible call for inquiry and introspection. Wisdom, grounded in experience and reflection, transcends explanatory systems to arrive at its own moral vector: ambiguity and multiplicity. As Schlarb explains in his discussion on the Book of Job: "What remains in the wake of religious and scientific fervor...

God, Evil, and Meticulous Providence

James Sterba has constructed a powerful argument for there being a conflict between the presence of evil in the world and the existence of God. I contend that Sterba’s argument depends on a crucial assumption, namely, that God has an obligation to act according to the principle of meticulous providence. I suggest that two of his analogies confirm his dependence on this requirement. Of course, his argument does not rest on either of these analogies, but they are illustrative of the role that meticulous providence plays in his argument. I then investigate the ethical principles Sterba invokes in his use of meticulous providence and suggest that not only do we often not predicate goodness of human persons based on these principles of obligation, but that these principles are much too stringent to function to determine moral obligations and moral goodness. From there, I contend that to think that God has a similar obligation regarding meticulous providence in order to be good encounters several serious problems, especially with respect to the soul-building Sterba wants to preserve. I conclude by considering Sterba’s reply in terms of a limited application of meticulous providence.

WORDSWORTH AND THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

Almost all the Romantic poets, with the possible exception of Byron, have accepted the existence of evil and considered pain and suffering as a part of human life. The sources of evil and suffering are diverse: socio-economic imbalance, political crisis, personal failures and disappoints of the poet, and, above all, a sense of alienation from social, economic, philosophical and religious dimensions. Wordsworth in his poetry has recorded the presence of evil in life and consequent human suffering. The tragic elements in Wordsworth’s poetry demonstrate this inescapable pattern of human destiny. The spirit of Wordsworth’s poetry lies, in the face of all individual, social and political evils, in denouncing warfare, in upholding democratic ideals and in finding a solution to the problems of evil and suffering that mankind has always confronted. He tried to find in his despair a consolation which lies in love for humanity, love for Nature, the transfiguration of vision, and a belief in an afterlife. Wordsworth undertook to reconstitute the grounds of hope for mankind in a world full of pain, sorrow, and despair. From a reading of his poetry, one can be familiar with Wordsworth’s conception of the true end of man, which can be applied to the social, moral and metaphysical issues of our time. The purpose of this paper is to show that although Wordsworth’s approach to the problems of evil and suffering follows theological and philosophical archetypes, his solutions are essentially aesthetic and humanistic.

Some Observations on Ahriman and his Miscreation in the Bundahišn

Abstract The Bundahišn (Primal Creation) is one of the most important surviving Zoroastrian works in Pahlavi Middle Persian. In this book, the evil spirit Ahriman and his demons play a crucial role in the cosmogonic drama from creation until the end of times, according to the well-known Zoroastrian dualistic system. This article describes the forms and the effects of the onslaught of Ahriman and his evil creatures, and how Zoroastrians explained the nature and the presence of evil and its real influence on the good creation and creatures of Ohrmazd as found in the Bundahišn.

Beyond Big Bad Wolves: Revisiting the Origins of Evil and Literary Monsters

Two educators considered the presence of evil in literature and challenged assumptions that humankind is inherently evil via student engagement and literary studies.

Caring about Other People

Caring about Other People

Проблема зла в исламе: между теодицеей и анти-теодицеей

The article demonstrates that Islam is far from the extremes of theodicy and anti-theodicy, which equally take God away from responsibility for the existence of evil and suffering in the world. Following Judaism in proclaiming God the primary source of both good and evil, Islam originally rejects theodicy, transferring all responsibility for evil to man, since, in this case, the metric of di-vine omnipotence will be incomplete. The Islamic worldview is not satisfied with all kinds of privat-ization theories that justify the all-goodness of God by the fundamental absence of evil in the world, for a variety of reasons, including the lack of good. Islam is also not a variant of the anti-theodicy, which asserts that monotheism is generally unable to explain the appearance and presence of evil in the world. Therefore, it is necessary to abandon either the symbolism of divine omnipotence, which means a departure from monotheism, or the recognition of the presence of evil and suffering in the world, which is also absurd. This position makes it possible to preserve the foundations of Islamic tawhid and en-dow a person with a certain measure of human responsibility for their intentions and actions. According to the author, the roots of the presence of many confessional, theological and philosophical approaches to understanding the problem of evil in the world lie the misunderstanding of the nuances of distinguishing between the concept as of “original cause” and “cause”, “source” and “original source”, which are meaningless in science, but extremely important for religion and theology. In this way, we emphasize the complex dialectic of the divine and the human in the un-derstanding of evil that exists in Islam, which distinguishes it from classical theodicy and anti-theodicy, common in modern analytical theology.

Oscillation du bonheur entre le libre arbitre et la Providence divine dans "Zadig ou la destinée" de Voltaire

" Zadig ou la destinée " est un conte oriental, avec des noms arabes chatouillant la curiosité des orientalistes assoiffés de découvrir cette contrée. Ce conte est échelonné sur vingt-et-unchapitres qui allient intérêt et plaisir. Une foule dʼaventures surprenantes se reproduisent comme des poupées russes jusquʼà ce quʼelles atteignent le but tant souhaité par le protagoniste, qui est le bonheur. Zadig possède toutes les raisons pour lʼêtre, mais ni sa fortune et sa jeunesse, ni son beau et sa gentillesse ne peuvent le secourir sans lʼintervention de la Providence. Voici les thèmes autour desquels tourne notre recherche. A vrai dire, Voltaire sʼest aventuré à traiter le problème philosophe et social le plus problématique qui soit. Il peut revêtir autant de conceptions quʼil y a dʼhommes sur la terre et de surplus nʼa aucun dénominateur commun. Plus le temps passe et la vie se brouille et sʼenchevêtre, plus le crédit de ce conte augmente aux yeux de ceux qui sʼy cramponnent tel un remède palliatif.
 Puis " Zadig ou la destinée " franchit les frontières de la littérature pour pénétrer dans les domaines de la philosophie, de la théologie, de la sociologie ainsi que lʼéthique et la politique. Mais par son art, son expertise et sa sagacité, Voltaire a pu marcher aisément dans un champ de mines sans rien risquer.
 Les événements de ce conte se déroulent sur trois scènes, à partir de Babylone, puis lʼEgypte pour finir par lʼArabie. Durant ses déplacements, Zadig a essuyé de toutes sortes de souffrances et une déception démesurée de la part des hommes qui ont essayé de le trahir et lʼenvoyer à lʼenfer . Cependant, ces aventures didactiques et éducatives étaient ses " fleurs du mal"; il a partout rencontré le déni en échange à sa charité. Ce héros a rencontré tout cela avec patience et endurance jusquʼà la fin de lʼaffaire quand il est devenu le roi honorable de Babylone avec sa bien-aimée, la reine Astarté.
 Voltaire professe la croyance en un Dieu unique qui gère le système cosmique avec sagesse et équité. Cette Omnipotence, qui nous dépasse et à laquelle nous devons obéir avec crainte et modestie, dispose de ce que les êtres humains proposent.
 Zadig a appris que le libre arbitre est relatif; et ce que lʼon croit hasard ne lʼest pas ainsi ; plutôt cʼest le jugement équitable de la Providence . Aussi a-t-il fini par croire quʼil nʼy a point de mal gratuit ; du mal pourrait naître le bien.
 Enfin, " Zadig ou la destinée " adresse un message de valeur à tout aspirant au bonheur et à la tranquillité de ne point chercher à savoir ni le comment ni le pourquoi de ce qui lui arrive.
 Cette recherche est divisée en cinq thèmes principaux :
 
 LʼOrient chez Voltaire.
 Lʼactualité des thèmes voltairiens.
 La chasse au bonheur.
 Aventures didactiques et éducatives.
 La liberté individuelle et la Théodicée.
 
 Dans cette étude, nous utilisons la méthode thématique, explicative et analytique.

An Argument for the Non-Existence of the Devil in African Traditional Religions

In this essay, I will argue that the discourse over the existence of the Devil/Satan has no place among the religious cultures in sub-Saharan Africa. This may be contrasted with the numerous efforts in the dominant philosophy of religion tradition in the Anglo-American sphere, where efforts toward the establishing grounds for the existence of God have occupied and commanded so much attention. On the other hand, it seems to have been taken for granted that Devil, the One who is antagonistic of God, among the Abrahamic monotheisms, is assumed to exist and does not require serious intellectual elaboration. For my aim, I explore the traditional Yorùbá and Igbo religious cultures to foreground that God. In the traditional belief system of these two religious cultures, there is no place to entertain the idea of a necessarily antagonistic entity, popularly called the Devil.Whereas I recognise previous scholarships that have served to show that Èṣù and Ekwensu in each of these religious cultures are not synonymous with Devil in the Abrahamic monotheisms, I move beyond these to establishing the ontological framework which endorses the absence of a Devil, even when evil lingers in the world. If the argument that there is no Devil/Satan in these religious cultures is proved valid, then it is pertinent to tender the origin and persistence of evil in the world. For this task, I explore the process-relational character of Yorùbá and Igbo theology to reinforce my conviction concerning the peoples’ belief in the existence of God in Chukwu and Olódùmarè, the presence of evil in the world, without encountering the philosophical problem of evil.

Islam, Atheism and Anti-natalism: A critical analysis

The fact that every one of us in this life has to face difficulties, pain, sadness cannot be denied. Quran and Hadith also accept the presence of evil and calamities in this world. There comes the question in our mind that how is the evil present in this world although the world is created by Allah (S.W.T), and He is the merciful and controls everything in the universe. If somehow, the evil was present Allah (S.W.T) could have ended it, but we see that the reality is different. The existence of evil has been used by people as a justification for not believing in God since ages. In today’s world we see people who believe in Anti-natalism and consider life as an evil and in order to save ourselves from the evil they suggest that humans should not procreate. This article has been written after studying the arguments of people who do not believe in God and are the followers of Anti-natalism. The study concludes that evils, pains, and sadness are natural product of this world, and these evils are not a part of Allah’s (S.W.T) creations. Moreover, the changes are part of the existence of the universe and humans, and these calamities cannot be used as an excuse for not believing in God or justify believing in Anti-natalism.

The sovereignty of revelation: On Paul Ricœur’s hermeneutics of revelation

In this article I overview Paul Ricœur’s understanding of divine revelation on the basis of some of his relevant writings. I argue that Ricœur’s hermeneutics of revelation has two aspects: on the one hand Ricœur’s explains the complex ways of acquiring and interpreting divine revelation especially with respect to the Bible; on the other hand, he acknowledges that revelation, originating in God’s freedom, is immediately given. In Ricœur’s view, the understanding of this immediacy is tainted by the presence of evil in human understanding which hinders the realization of revelation itself. As a critique of this standpoint I argue that the immediate givenness of revelation is logically and phenomenologically presupposed in our interpretations. Any hermeneutics of revelation entails a phenomenology of revelation. This phenomenology contains both the self-founding of human beings and, at the same time, the recognition of the absoluteness of the divine. Husserl’s phenomenology offers a way to the understanding of the immediacy of revelation through his central term of Eigenheitlichkeit. Ricœur understands this term not as genuine reality but rather as appartenance, ‘belonging to’, and reshapes its meaning in line with a hermeneutical naturalism. This explains his difficulty to conceive properly the sovereignty of revelation and the importance of phenomenology in the understanding of its immediate character.