Immanuel Kant
Based on the writings he has produced and the message of reason he conveys, Immanuel Kant is undoubtedly one of the finest thinkers of the modern era. As seen by his writings on ethics, Kant was able to communicate his ideas with great clarity and eloquence.In his essay on enlightenment, Kant makes the case that because people are less eager and courageous to utilize their own brains, they are captives of others. He continues by saying that having the fortitude to make decisions on one's own without consulting others is more important for enlightenment than intelligence. Immanuel Kant was never married therefore lacked basic insight on family values. Kant was also biased in some way. For instance, when the King of Prussia asked him not to write more on the orthodox religion he headed to the call and ceased further exploration of the topic. The language Immanuel Kant used was not for ordinary readers but those who were more learned making it hard for him to be easily understood.The new argument by Immanuel Kant on enlightenment tends to posit that before his new definition of enlightenment, the previous generation was not enlightened and was living in spiritual darkness as a result.
Hegel
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Georg Wilhem Friedrich Hegel was an idealist German philosopher. Hegel argues that only the mind is real and that its key feature is that it gives freedom. He further adds that anything that is incomplete can be free and the mind being real is therefore infinite in nature. This consequently means that, nobody can claim to be free if they are not aware of what they are doing; hence, an infinite mind is self-aware. Hegel further posits that philosophy should make people more aware of the events around them so that the mind can assume its utmost power and ability.Hegel's method presents a dialectic structure that tends to point out errors arising due to abstract nature of things or their incompleteness making it easy to identify any existing contradictions.Dislikes:
In the dialectical scale developed by Hegel, religion was ranked lower than philosophy in the hierarchy. This fueled the already building dissent among the Christians that Hegel's view on theism was contradictory since he stated that an infinite mind is real yet he also states that an infinite mind is not different from an incomplete one. This clearly presents the second proposition is a denial of the first proposition.
Ludwig Feuerbach
Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach challenges the concept of Christianity as an egoistic and inhumane religion. He presents a new type of philosophy that tends to accommodate self-awareness of human beings. This new philosophy too captures the concept of matter being the only reality addressing the issue of human self-awareness.Feuerbach argues that trying to define the essence of humans in total isolation of his spiritual or material nature is a misguided approach. Rather, the role of philosophy is to develop relationships with other members of the universe hence establishing its unique essence. Human beings crave for a sense of belonging and will only discover their essence in their own community.Feuerbach further argues that religion is a way through which human beings establish themselves higher than other creatures in the hierarchy of beings. Feuerbach continues to say that religion is a fantasy illusion of the human mind which he has of himself and is infinite in nature and uses it to create essence of his own. Emotions and beliefs developed as a result of religion help humans to reveal their true character and thus their essence. Philosophy must then develop a new sense of power for the man comprising of truth and good virtues.
Moltmann view of hope with us
Jürgen Moltmann started off as a young German soldier battling the horrors of Nazi regime and now offered hope to many contrary to Christian churches which focused on individuals only. Moltmann demonstrates how the Bible promises to give us a new future with the coming of Jesus Christ.He offers a new orientation for theology by shifting the focus of the church to the future of the world. When Christians are reminded of the death and resurrection of Jesus, they gain hope of a better future even after tragedies.Moltmann exposes to the love of the Holy Spirit in the Holy Trinity where the Son is separated from the Father and goes through agonizing pain but are ultimately rejoined with the hope that all evil in this world will be overcome. Jürgen presents God as a passionate being who is involved in the happenings of the world thereby giving hope to the Christians.Plato together with other philosophers tend to analyze the events in the present times based on the discernible qualities but the Bible, through its apostles argue that we should not ponder about the present issues and their qualities but to put our focus on the future and expect the best out of it. This way, there is establishment of hope among the Christians.Christian theology cultivates faith among the believers and this is what keeps them going on as they wait on God's promise. But Jurgen states that it is impossible to develop action without a sense of new thinking accompanied with accurate planning emanating from hope.
Moltmann's two-nature Christology and Trinitarian interpretation of the cross
Jürgen argues that the Holy Trinity; made of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit live in each other and have their own distinct characteristics making them stand out from each other but still remain connected in their interaction.Moltmann disagrees with the Christian monotheism which tends to favor political monarchism. He alternatively suggests that the trinity should be adopted as the real theological doctrine of freedom. He argues that monotheism limits our understanding of God as one powerful character but it presents a different alternative vision of Him in a Trinitarian view.Moltmann interprets the trinity to be symbolic to the three freedoms that human beings enjoy. These are the political, communion and religion. The political freedom is usually interpreted to mean supreme power. But Moltmann challenges this understanding by saying that this perspective portrays God as a character who has autonomous rule over His creation and only sees them as subjects there to serve Him. It is merely a relationship between a subject and an object. The second freedom is the communion which simply means the relationship between Father and the Son. The goal of this type of relationship is to spur love and cement their oneness. It creates a sense of liberation and a spur of love. The third freedom of the humans is passion. This type of freedom is majorly concerned with the relationship between a creature and its future. Put into perspective, this is the type of relationship that human beings have with God in the presence of the Holy Spirit.Jurgen Moltmann simplifies the Holy Trinity and relates it to the freedoms human beings enjoy namely: political freedom which signifies the relationship with the Father, the Communion which signifies the relationship with the Son and lastly, religious freedom signifying a relationship with the Spirit.
Moltmann's interpretation of monotheism
Jürgen Moltmann disputes the existence of a strict sense of monotheism since this creates impossibility to the existence of Christology which makes room for Sabellianism or Arianism. Moltmann further adds that there is really no distinction between monotheism and monarchism since they are simply one and the same thing.Moltmann views monarchism as the possession of power which is exercised over the subjects of a supreme God. This creates an antagonistic understanding because it is hard to understand the concept to harmonize the idea that the Father is the one solely responsible for the task of creation and the Son is the one with the responsibility of responding. There is a sense of precedence which is developed in the Father portraying Him as reserved and loving in nature. This way Moltmann brings out the Father as the divine one in the Holy Trinity.The portrayal of the Father as supreme puts into question the relationship that really exists in the Holy Trinity. The resultant effect is that the monarchy of the Father in the Holy Trinity is affirmed and this discredits the perspective that the trinity is social in nature and there exists equality among the Father, the Son and the Spirit. Regardless of the appearance of the trinity as equal in divine life, the Father's monarchy is explicitly evident.Moltmann argues that within the trinity, the Father is the source of origin for both the Son and the Spirit while He himself comes from none of them hence has no origin at all.
References
Feuerbach, Ludwig and George Elliot. “The essence of christianity.” Elliot, Ludwig and George. The essence of christianity. New York: Prometheus books, 1989. 609-613.
Friedrich, Hegel Georg Wilhelm. “Philosophy of the Mind.” Hegel W.F.G., William Wallace, Arnold Miller and Ludwig Boumann. Hegel’s Philosophy of the Mind. oxford: Clarendon press, 1971. 258-280.
Jurgen, Moltmann. “the crucified God: the cross of christ as the foundation and criticism of christian theology.” Jurgen, Moltmann. the crucified God: the cross of christ as the foundation and criticism of christian theology. london: SCM, 1984. 35-64.
Jurgen, Moltmann. “The Trinity and the Kingdom:the doctrine of God.” Jurgen, Moltmann. The Trinity and the Kingdom:the doctrine of God. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993. 65-96, 98-102.
kant, immanuel. “critic of pure reason.” kant, immanuel. critic of pure reason. boston: bedford, 1929. 8-33, 242-248.
Moltmann. “theology of hope: on the ground and the implication of a christian eschatology.” Jurgen, Moltmann. theology of hope: on the ground and the implication of a christian eschatology. london: SCM, 1967. 7-31.
