De roepende: een theologisch onderzoek naar het appèlkarakter van de relatie God, de ander en ik

Abstract

This study tries to investigate the relationship wih God and the other, in a way that is recognisable for our present times. It will consider this relationship from the point of view of the ongoing call or appeal. It is striking that the notion of 'God's call' is almost completely absent in present-day theology. The notion of vocation probably comes the closest, even though it is not used much anymore, and seems to be relegated to the realm of pious language. The disappearence of the notion of appeal in theology seems to run parralel to the modern thought that is still very influential in our society, i.e. that human beings are seen predominantly as 'autonomous subjects', who shape their own life and the world around them, and for whom the other only fulfills the role of 'another self'. Nevertheless, in our times renewed attantion is emerging for the idea that people make calls upon each other, or that the appeal is a constituent event for human beings and society. This observation corresponds to this century's movement of philosophical thought, that leaves room for the fact that a person can be addressed 'from outside'. According to this school of thought a person is seen, not so much as a 'subject determinded in itself' but rather as 'someone addressed by the other'. This attention for the 'completely different' over which I have no control but which comes towards me as a question, makes me aware of the need for a response. Reality is not the totality of self-sufficient entities and individuals, but is rather characterised by a continuously interlocking pattern of request and response. The present study investigates to hat extent the so-called 'appelative nature of relity' can contribute to a contemporary interpretation of 'God's calling' - a fundamentally biblical concept.

(For an overview of the content of the six chapters: see the summary in English at the end of the book, pp. 265-269)