Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und populäre Geschichte im Frühen Judentum zwischen »Fortschrittsoptimismus« und »Kulturpessimismus«

Zeitschrift für Junge Religionswissenschaft

关键词: Judaism;    Antiquity;    Eschatology;    Conception of History;    Identity;   

DOI  :  10.4000/zjr.351

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The dichotomy of the terms »belief in progress« and »cultural pessimism« is often used to represent the views of past, present and future in modern cultures. In this context, it is denominated as sufficient to describe the various treatments and images of history. In this paper it is shown that, for other than the history of religions, this cannot be taken for granted. To illustrate this, the eschatology of ancient Judaism is explored, as it is characterized in its visions of the future by referring back to his own idealized past, and looks forward to the re-emergence in the Kingdom of God. Opposed to this was the official view of the Roman Empire, which saw in the propagated aureum saeculum already the embodiment of the ideal in the present. Besides, the concept of moral and cultural decline of the empire sine fine is tangible for the senatorial elite. It becomes clear that the original terms »belief in progress« and »cultural pessimism« are insufficient to describe these diverse beliefs and the resulting ways of dealing with past, present and future. Based on the examples, the dichotomy is then extended by derivatives of the original terminology. In conclusion, these terms are indeed able to unify studies and simplify comparisons, even if there can be no concept that combines all three aspects – present, past and future. For their portrayal, a selected dichotomy will remain necessary.

【 授权许可】

Unknown