Zbawienie wobec historii. Próba teologicznej rehabilitacji pojęcia utopii
Salvation Towards History. An Attempt at a Theological Rehabilitation of the Term Utopia

Summary/Abstract: Christian theology teaches that eternal salvation cannot be defined in terms familiar to us. Therefore, it can be described as utopia – in accordance with the etymological meaning of the word. That is how the tension between this and another world, which is present in the Christian teaching, becomes more apparent. Does it cause the depreciation of history, as critics of religion in the 19th century wanted? The article presents some nodal points in the Christian philosophy which are important for the development of the doctrine. They reveal the problem of the relation between earthly life and eternity and highlight the significance of history. In the Church reception, a reflection which avoided both extremes always prevailed: it did not separate eternal salvation from its connection with history and it did not equate eternal salvation with a stage of history. The article emphasizes the theological justification of this perspective: it is Christology captured in the frame of the doctrine of the Church and the teaching about the relation between God’s freedom and freedom of a human being.

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