Hobbes asserts that political power no longer needs to be founded on religious charisma (as argued by Machiavellians and libertines), because this power can be justified only by covenant, that is by the consent of people deciding voluntarily, on the basis of an utilitaristic calculation of benefits, to subject themselves to a sovereign. In the sections of Elements of law natural and politic, De cive and Leviathan dedicated to religion, Hobbes demonstrates that the sacred history corroborates his political theory. He uses skilfully chosen literal quotations to demonstrate that the power of Abraham and Moses, who ruled over their people as divine lieutenants, and even that of Yahweh as king of Israel, were based on a special covenant. In Hobbes’s reading, the figures of Moses and Christ no longer proceed as a pair, as in the cliché of the religious imposture theory: the figure of the prophet Moses is strongly politicised, whereas Christ makes no new laws to administer earthly justice, but teaches the way of salvation. Religion loses the political centrality of a founding element of human society and is referred to an individual, internal and psychological dimension

Hobbes and sacred history: two political covenants and a covenant for salvation / Schino, ANNA LISA. - In: CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES. - ISSN 2328-2177. - STAMPA. - 5:(2017), pp. 452-464. [10.17265/2328-2177/2017.07.006]

Hobbes and sacred history: two political covenants and a covenant for salvation

Anna Lisa Schino
2017

Abstract

Hobbes asserts that political power no longer needs to be founded on religious charisma (as argued by Machiavellians and libertines), because this power can be justified only by covenant, that is by the consent of people deciding voluntarily, on the basis of an utilitaristic calculation of benefits, to subject themselves to a sovereign. In the sections of Elements of law natural and politic, De cive and Leviathan dedicated to religion, Hobbes demonstrates that the sacred history corroborates his political theory. He uses skilfully chosen literal quotations to demonstrate that the power of Abraham and Moses, who ruled over their people as divine lieutenants, and even that of Yahweh as king of Israel, were based on a special covenant. In Hobbes’s reading, the figures of Moses and Christ no longer proceed as a pair, as in the cliché of the religious imposture theory: the figure of the prophet Moses is strongly politicised, whereas Christ makes no new laws to administer earthly justice, but teaches the way of salvation. Religion loses the political centrality of a founding element of human society and is referred to an individual, internal and psychological dimension
2017
Hobbes; causes of religion; sacred history; unity of religious and civil power; religious imposture theory
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Hobbes and sacred history: two political covenants and a covenant for salvation / Schino, ANNA LISA. - In: CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES. - ISSN 2328-2177. - STAMPA. - 5:(2017), pp. 452-464. [10.17265/2328-2177/2017.07.006]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1055554
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