CHAPTER I: THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
CHAPTER III: GOOD AND THE “FUNDAMENTAL PARADOX OF CHRISTIANITY”
CHAPTER IV: EVIL AND THE THEODICY
CHAPTER V: CAESAR’S – TO CAESAR
CHAPTER VIII: CHRISTIANITY AND THE PRESENT
CHAPTER X: THE “IMMACULATE CONCEPTION”
Dr. Serguey Zagraevsky
God is no murderer
The Original was published in Russian: ALEV-V Publishing House, Moscow, 2001. ISBN 5-94025-014-9. 280 pages.
INTRODUCTION
My previous theological book was named “Jesus of Nazareth: the life and the teaching”. It was mainly devoted to the teaching of Christ, as whose followers we, Christians, consider ourselves.
I received a number of readers’ comments for that book. It was the most gratifying for me that many readers began to perceive Jesus Christ in a new way – not as an infinitely far and terrible judge, but as a human, who was crucified for his teaching of good and love. If that is the case, I can consider the purpose of the book “Jesus from Nazareth” as achieved.
Time has passed. The passions for the beginning of the third millennium and the increased interest of people to the person and the teaching of Christ were over – so to speak, the subject “went out of the fashion”. Neither the “Last Judgement”, nor the “Second Coming” took place, and people engaged in their ordinary business.
I also faced a certain “vacuum”: during that time neither new facts of Jesus’ life, nor new interpretations of his teaching appeared, disputes on the “Shroud of Turin” will be held for some more decades (possibly centuries), and it seemed to be nothing new to write about. That is why I engaged in the memoir book “My 20th century” and deviated from christological researches.
However, not for long. The point is that the words “we, Christians” do not suppose an answer to the question: why are we Christians? Only since many of us were baptized in childhood or were taken to a church by a grandmother?
For contemporary people, who are highly experienced and not inclined to overestimate traditions, normally, it is not enough. People need their own understanding that the actuality of Christianity does not decrease (furthermore, increases) under the conditions of the rapid scientific-technical progress, the genetic engineering, the computerization of all areas of knowledge etc.
Exclusively theological methods of analysis of Christ’s life and teaching turned out to be insufficient for that. It became necessary to form an integral philosophic worldview and to show that the nowadays’ humanity does not know any spiritual alternative for Christianity.
In this book, I have engaged in this subject.
My friends and opponents often call my system as “Metaphysical”. Well, since there is a tradition to name integral worldviews like this (moreover worldviews which include relations with God), then I am a metaphysician. And I am not afraid of this “label” – aren’t we tired of the absence of modern integral worldview systems, which include relations with God, in the philosophy of the 20th century?
I must note that here, as in all my previous books, I completely refuse of the usage of the specific philosophic language. Any human with any educational level, who is interested in the subject of this book, must have the possibility to read it. Even if he does not agree with something, even if he does not understand something at once – there will be an occasion for the reflection and for the forming of an own worldview. We are in for a research of questions of morality (as the basis of intersubjectivity), and it is possible in no circumstances to place for the overwhelming majority of readers an insuperable obstacle of strictly specialized terms.
Of course, it is possible to write even about Russian poet and bard Vladimir Vysotsky: “The human existence is simulated by Vysotsky not simply in border situations, but in bifurcational ones, setting simultaneously the ontological uncertainty of the perspective of the resolution of the opposition “Life-Death” and the opened horizon of the moral choice between the real existence and transformed forms of subsistence” (M.A.Mozheiko).
However, it is possible to write about Kant, and about Descartes, and about Augustine, and about Jesus Christ in a normal language, which is comprehensible to everyone, and loses neither analyticity nor philosophic depth at that.
The main question of this book may be formulated so: who are we, where did we come from and where are we going?
To answer this question, it is necessary to form on the Christian basis a system of philosophic views, applicable both in theory and in practice. And the concept of practice includes questions, which may seem estranged from the real life – such as the existence of God, the creation of the world, the origin of the humanity, the predestination of people and eternal life.
These questions are even not century-old, but millennium-old. All philosophers, all theologians of all times and peoples tried to give answers, and many of them fairly succeeded.
However, we live in the epoch, which is unique in its contradictions and pluralism of opinions on any question, furthermore on so serious one. That is why we can not do without a moral “tuning fork” – and in European civilization that is Christianity.
Christian theology is a greatly complicated and many-sided science, and it has the history of two thousand years. But today we can look at it in an unprejudiced way and stop trying to undo an unimaginable number of “Gordian knots”, which were tied up even by the medieval “Fathers of the Church”. Such knots can be undone neither by us nor by somebody else. They can only be cut.
We may say the same about a great number of stereotypes, which are embodied in our consciousness in connection with Christianity, furthermore with the faith in God.
It is not necessary to look long for examples – they are met all around. When everything is going well, we say: “Thank God”. But when something is going wrong, we say, – “Goddamn”, name the situation “God-awful” and do not think, how radically we change the context of the name of our Lord because of some minor everyday problems…
So, let us cut “Gordian knots” together.
CHAPTER I: THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
God is no murderer: Serguey Zagraevsky © 2002
CHAPTER I: THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
CHAPTER III: GOOD AND THE “FUNDAMENTAL PARADOX OF CHRISTIANITY”
CHAPTER IV: EVIL AND THE THEODICY
CHAPTER V: CAESAR’S – TO CAESAR
CHAPTER VIII: CHRISTIANITY AND THE PRESENT
CHAPTER X: THE “IMMACULATE CONCEPTION”