Christophe Chalamet

The emergence of a school around the theology of Albrecht Ritschl remains an important aspect of modern Protestant theology. On the basis of previously unpublished correspondence between Ritschl and some of his most celebrated students, we are able to investigate anew the circumstances under which the Ritschlian school was formed, and to ask why Ritschl's theology attracted a new generation of theologians and historians of theology. By focusing on Wilhelm Herrmann, one of the most significant systematic theologians of the Ritschlian school, this article shows how Ritschl's attempt to overcome apologetics and classical metaphysics as well as his way of correlating religion and morality opened a distinctive and appealing alternative to the various theological schools of his time.

What is it that led Ernst Troeltsch, who for a time belonged to Albrecht Ritschl’s school, to break from the professor he so admired? On the one hand, Troeltsch found fault with Ritschl’s historiography of early Lutheran theology. Where Ritschl saw Melanchthon as someone who had distorted Luther’s original reformatory insights, Troeltsch praised Melanchton for having clarified and systematized Luther’s thought. Troeltsch’s critique of Ritschl’s historiography is as closely connected to Troeltsch’s own theological program as was Ritschl’s interpretation of the development of early Lutheran theology to his own theological intention. The second half of the article examines Troeltsch’s program by looking at the debate between Troeltsch and Julius Kaftan, a prominent Ritschlian in those years, on the supernatural basis of Christianity, the place and scope of metaphysics in theology, and the “absoluteness” of Christianity.

Dans cette leçon inaugurale, l'auteur se penche sur l'Évangile, compris au sens large de «promesse», comme objet et comme source de subversion. Deux textes bibliques illustrent chacun de ces deux aspects : le livre de Job et la parabole matthéenne des ouvriers de la onzième heure (Mt 20, 1-16). Une troisième et dernière partie porte sur la relation entre révélation et mystère. Le style oral a été en partie conservé. In this inaugural lecture, delivered on September 24, 2012 at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Geneva, the author develops the theme of the Gospel — understood broadly as «promise» — as both the object and subject of subversion. Two biblical texts are taken as illustrations of these two aspects: the book of Job and Matthew's parable of the vineyard workers of the eleventh hour (Mt 20:1-16). A third and final part focuses on the relation between revelation and mystery. The original style of the lecture has been partly maintained.