Studia Koszalińsko-Kołobrzeskie (Jan 2015)

Nie taki prosty. Meandry linearnej koncepcji czasu w chrześcijaństwie

  • Zbigniew Danielewicz

DOI
https://doi.org/10.18276/skk.2015.22-15
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 22

Abstract

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The paper discusses the notion of time – one of fundamental importance in Christianity (John Paul II) – interpreting it as linear. The problem lies in the question whether the linear conceptof time exhausts its full doctrinal interpretation. The author looks for the conceptual origins of linear time and pinpoints the crucial sources: the modern scientific revolution (the discoveryof the depths of time stretching from 6 thousand years to 13.7 billion years), post-Enlightenment weakening of the idea of Providence, cultural transformations and exchanges leading tolearning about other perspectives on time. The author is inclined to support the thesis that the linear concept of time as a Bible-based one, and as formulated in the 20th C. by Oscar Cullmannand related to the historic-salvific orientation of modern theology, can only be accepted under some conditions, i.e. once one acknowledges the influence of the aforementioned modern sources on its formulation. These sources broaden the interpretation of the origin of this problematic concept.

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