Ellul Jacques - Dialectical Theology and Jacques Ellul : an Introductory Exposition

When I read The Technological Society for the first time, I was delighted, because I thought, Here is someone who is saying what I have already been thinking.

Theodore Kaczynski, 1998

Throughout the eighteen-year search for the identity of the Unabomber, the Federal Bureau of Investigation compiled very little concrete information about the perpetrator. One conclusion they did come to: the Unabomber was very familiar with the writings of the French philosopher and theologian Jacques Ellul. In letters to newspapers and in work subtitled IndustrialSociety and Its Future,

On April 3, 1996, Theodore Kaczynski was arrested in his cabin near Lincoln, Montana for murdering three people and injuring eleven. In pretrial interviews, Kaczynski acknowledged Elluls immense influence on his thinking, along with his reverence for Ellul. In fact, before Elluls death in 1994, Kaczynski briefly corresponded with him. According to Kaczynskis brother, Elluls book The Technological Society had become his bible.

While Kaczynski was quite familiar with Elluls thought, it seems as if Kaczynski failed to read a vital portion of Elluls work, his Christian writings. As a confirmed agnostic wanting nothing to do with any type of institutional religion, Kaczynski limited himself to a reading of Ellul that was incomplete, and therefore insufficient. Like many others, Kaczynski failed to understand this: in order to understand correctly Elluls work, one must grasp his distinctly dialectical methodology and worldview. By doing so, one is able to grasp both Elluls philosophy and his theology in a clear, integrated, and complete way.

By interpreting Elluls work in the same narrow way that Kaczynski did, one comes to see Ellul as merely a neo-Luddite or a fatalist calling for a complete overthrow of the system. In fact, even historian Lewis Mumford describes Elluls work as fatalistic.

Ellul published over fifty books in his lifetime, and almost everything he wrote was either philosophical or theological in nature.

The purpose of this study is to establish the necessity of being acquainted with both sides of Elluls work by way of his dialectical methodology. If one reads only his philosophical work, it will seem to offer no solution. If one reads only his theological work, it will seem shallow. If, however, one is familiar with Elluls conception of dialecticthe hermeneutical key to his workone will gain a full and coherent understanding. By weaving together Elluls most significant philosophical and theological works with the thread of dialectic, I seek to accomplish this task.

In chapter 1, I discuss the three primary intellectual influences on Jacques Ellul: Sren Kierkegaard, Karl Marx, and Karl Barth. I explain how Marxs dialectical view of history, as well as his critique of capitalism, influenced Elluls sociological and philosophical hermeneutics. Also, I describe how Kierkegaards philosophical anthropology and his emphasis on paradox, combined with Barths notion of dialectical inclusion, influenced Elluls theological hermeneutics.

Elluls notion of dialectic as worldview and methodology are discussed in chapter 2. By looking at the process of history and the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, we learn how Ellul defended his dialectical position. Additionally, I explain how Elluls conception of dialectic influences his Christology.

Elluls relation to other dialectical theologians, as well as his conception of God, is detailed in chapter 3. Also presented is an important discussion of two of Elluls key distinctions: religion and revelation, and seeing and hearing. Finally, the logic behind Elluls belief in universal salvation is outlined and explained.

In chapter 4, Elluls philosophy of technology, including his conception of technique, is described. As the most important concept in Elluls oeuvre, techniques conditions, characteristics, and ethical entailments are presented. Included in this chapter are brief considerations of two thinkers who share with Ellul a deep concern with the technological society, Herbert Marcuse and Martin Heidegger.

The subjects of chapter 5 are propaganda and politics. As two spheres within the realm of technique, propaganda and politics comprise the biggest threats and temptations to Christians. Also considered herein are the inherent physical violence in current political systems, and the innate psychological violence in modern propaganda.

Finally, in chapter 6, I return to Elluls theology. By presentation and analysis of his concept of hope, his defense of nonviolence, and his theory of universal reconciliation, I demonstrate that Elluls worktheological and philosophicalforms a coherent whole, united by his dialectical outlook.