We now briefly introduce the ‘new political theology’ of Johann Baptist Metz (1928-2019), a contemporary of Ratzinger’s and a defining figure in 20th-century German theology. The third article presented a brief introduction to the political thinking of an eminent contemporary Catholic theologian, Joseph Ratzinger, the subsequent Pope Benedict XVI. The second article focused on Reinhold Niebuhr, one of the most influential twentieth-century American protestant pastors.
Baptiste metaz series#
The first article in this series examined the anti-modernism of the Neo-Calvinist theologian Abraham Kuyper, a former prime minister of the Netherlands. We hope that these articles will increase public interest in these inspiring figures. Consequently, the political insights of modern theologians will be presented with a special focus on the Christian origins and sources of their ideas. Secondly, we believe that to answer the questions raised above, one should be able to study acknowledged theologians and philosophers who are well-versed in the wisdom of the Christian faith and base their political arguments on it. Our series of articles seeks to rekindle interest in those authors, firstly because we believe that they receive less attention than they deserve, and without forgetting the extensive academic literature on them (since most of them attract serious scholarly interest) we argue that their ideas are underrepresented in public discourse. What approach should Christians take to modern politics? What are their obligations in contemporary public life? Which Christian values should be endorsed in modern democracy and which political instruments may be used to further those values? Several Christian philosophers, theologians, and politicians have in the past sought to provide answers to these crucial questions.
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