Discerning: Politics and Reconciliation
William T. Cavanaugh
121228
We assume that politics and religion are two separate spheres of discourse. However, they are both so tires of conflict and reconciliation.
Scattering. How Hobbes and Locke have described and influenced politics. THe essence of modern liberal political orders is that the law is meant to protect the freedom of individuals from interference, not to promote any particular conception of the good (Hobbes). The priority of freedom over the good makes conflict inevitable.
Gathering. The Biblical story is not a tragedy. It starts with a state of good with a fall. There is a possibility of reconciliation with God. In modern politics, human beings are essentially individuals in a state of alienation and tries to protect them and their property from one another. In the biblical story, humans are essentially one.
Liturgy.