Incarnation, Now: Five Brief Thoughts and a Non-Conclusive Ending

Abstract

This article problematizes the renewed appeal of incarnation, a signifier that points to a vague desire in our present and perhaps, altogether, to an unclear future promise, rather than to the complex history of elaborate theological meanings with which the word had long been related. Incarnation is one among a number of concepts and topics that had become almost unspeakable since the eighteenth century—and that have recently returned to intellectual legitimacy. We propose to explain what could be the conditions of this rehabilitation.

Keywords:

• Incarnation
• Enlightenment
• Christianity
• Presence
• Constructivism

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht

Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht is the Albert Guérard Professor in Literature in the Division of Literatures, Cultures and Languages at Stanford University