Resources of Christianity

by François Jullien, Pedro Rodríguez (Translator)

Christianity is bound up with the very idea of the we cannot evade it even if we would like to. While many people no longer believe in Christianity, we cannot deny that it has left a deep imprint on Western thought. But how might we develop a philosophy of Christianity that is not a Christian philosophy? How can we take a view that is external to the traditions of apologetics and criticism? For there is a question that concerns us all are the coherences of Christianity still useful for thought, and especially for thought about existence?

To address this question, Fran�ois Jullien considers Christianity as constituting a set of resources. Resources are available to all and can be used by those who discover and exploit them; they belong to no one. Christianity offers us resources inasmuch as we can draw some benefit from it, inasmuch as it can be the source of an effect, without our having to believe it or determine its truth in advance. Jullien reads the Gospels, and especially the Gospel of John, as he would read any other text, seeking to account for the text's coherence (rather than its 'meaning'), seeking to account for its pertinence (rather than its 'truth'), but without any need to adhere - the exploitation of resources demands no conversion. And in reading the Gospel of John in this way, we discover the fertile veins of a theory of existence.

This fresh and erudite reflection on Christianity will be of great value to anyone interested in religion and its relevance today.

Genres: Philosophy, Religion, Nonfiction

106 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 8, 2021

About the author

François Jullien, né en 1951 à Embrun (Hautes-Alpes), est un philosophe, helléniste et sinologue français. Ancien élève de l’École normale supérieure et agrégé de l’université (1974), François Jullien a ensuite étudié la langue et la pensée chinoises à l'université de Pékin et à l'université de Shanghai (1975–1977). Il a été ensuite responsable de l'antenne française de sinologie à Hong-Kong (1978–1981), puis pensionnaire de la Maison franco-japonaise à Tokyo (1985–1987).
Il a été successivement président de l'Association française des études chinoises (de 1988 à 1990), directeur de l'UFR Asie orientale de l'université Paris-Diderot (1990–2000), président du Collège international de philosophie (1995–1998), professeur à l'université Paris-Diderot et directeur de l'Institut de la pensée contemporaine ainsi que du centre Marcel-Granet.

Reviews

[Deborah Solinas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ho avuto modo di leggerlo e di parlarne col mio professore di Filosofia Teoretica e di portarlo all’esame, che dire: assolutamente da leggere. Corto, impegnativo (motivo per il quale ci ho messo 4 giorni per leggerlo pur avendo pochissime pagine), ma ne vale davvero la pena. Una visione del cristianesimo da un punto di vista del tutto diversa e nuova rispetto a quello a cui siamo abituati.

[Emanuelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lecture intrigante, c'est assez original d'étudier le christianisme en dehors d'une perspective croyante. L'auteur, spécialiste de plusieurs cultures étrangères (en particulier grecque et chinoise), propose un regard interculturel intéressant.