The Tragic as a Theological Challenge

Wednesday Forum – Feb 12, 2020

The notion of the tragic stems from Greek philosophy and theater. In theology, it often became rejected because it seems to be in tension with God’s providence. On the other hand, the notion of the tragic is used by Jews, Christians, and Muslims to interpret crucial experiences in their existence. This talk will explore different types of those experiences and their theological interpretation. The tragic is regarded as an omnipresent possibility. The realization of that possibility cannot be attributed to God, because that would make God the cause of meaninglessness. Contrary to that, God is the source of salvation and healing power.

Reinhold Bernhardt (born in 1957) has taught Systematic Theology or Dogmatics at the Theological Faculty of the University of Basel, Switzerland, since 2001. He occupies the chair of Karl Barth and serves as the Dean of the Faculty. His main fields of interest are interreligious relations and theology of religions, but also “divine action”, providence and theodicy.

Look at the full poster of this event here.