bMS 649/50(20)- Religion and Culture 1963, 4

C. The predominance of the expressionistic element since 1900 1. Serzanne (upto 1906) Selfportrait. The autonomy of the picture. Nature the material. In this way a transition from subjective naturalism to expressionism. He belongs into the lime of Giotto and Rembrandt. 2. Van Gogh: The Chair. More radical, exaggerating the natural forms particular elements, intensifying their dynamics, seeing cosmic powers (creative and destructive) in trees and even a chair. [Munch's expressions of anxiety] German expressionism with its ecstatic elements 3. Franz Mare, Blue horses German expressionism. Its remaining important. (Exhibition in N.Y.!) The title of the whole movement. Expressive, not natural colour (???). Elements

of animal life put on the place of greatest significance. The underground of life (like in Gaya) shakes the surface, as in the whole European hi situation. 4 Schmidt-Rotluff, Rising Moon. Ecstasy of colours and sharp lines. 5. Emil Nolde, Christ among the children Regaining of religious ecstasy. The problematic character of such attempts today 6. African Mask. The discovery of the expressionistic meaning of primitive art. Not unability but intention. 7. Paul Klee, Senecio Influence of the primitive. Intensity of eyes.

8. Chagall, Marc: Time is a river without banks Elements of reality, combined in an uncanny way. 9. Salvator Dali: Bell Doorway and Bell Surrealism and the magic of the unconscious. 10. Picasso, Girl with Mandoline The cubist attempt to dissolve and reconstruct rea- lity out of the physical underground. – Picasso's greatness in every stylistic possibility. But not the unity of Giotto, Rembrandt, Serzanne. 11. Kandinski: Light Farms The turn to combinations of forms and colours. Disappea- rance of the usual world of objects. The turning away from the given constructions of reality to elements in new combinations

12. Jackson Pollock, Convergence In the same line, but with less open and more hidden structure. 13. Wiliam de Kooning, Woman I The difficult attemt, to regain the world with the new forms. Avoiding of objectifying restauration necessary. Re- ligious attempts and the predominance of the Crucifixion. The latter our destiny. The earthquake of the 20. century, the early awareness of it by the artists. The honesty and cou- rage to face reality as in all the arts. This existentialist character, expressing the human predicament. Alone out of the awareness of the depth, rebirth is possible. This is the religious significance of this art.

??? – Lectures (Santa Barbara) 1963 Fourth Lecture: Religion and Politics. I. The religious dimension in the political sphere. 1. The general method of the four lectures, applied to science, art and, now, politics. The attempt to show the presence of the religious dimension in all of them; and only secondarily the relation of religion in the narrower sense to culture – an example of the method of style analysis. 2. The fundamental character of the political func- tion for all culture, including concrete religions. The poli- tical group as the history bearing group. The meaning of the sentence: "History is the history of states:" The general and the particular meaning of "state": A centered group with a geographi- cal basis and the power of internal action (towards the indivi-

duals within it) and of external action (towards similar groups). This is not refuted by the fact of movements and groups which cross the boundaries (feodal, industrial, labour, intelligentsia, churches). The first basis, quaranteing their existence, is the law-giving and-enforcing group, the "polis" with the power to act as a unite. 3. The awareness of this in all history expressed in the consecration of the political sphere, e.g. the laws, the me- mories, the authorities, esp. the kings who were also priests or at least consecrated by priests or at least "kings by the grace of God" (Prussia) and "summus episcopus" or presidents in- augurated with oath on the Bible and prayer. Similar things in a decreasing degree with other state officials and strongly in the law courts the wholiness of the law in the oath, how ever formulated (with or without the name of God) something the unconditional expressed: Concerning the ultimate meaning of a ??? existence. and ultimate important bondage to truth is expressed (not only: If not, I shall be ???)

4. One may ask: Is a secular state (in which all this is lacking) possible? Certainly in the sense of the second concept of religion, not in the sense of the first concept. If there is nothing that is taken unconditionally seriously then emotion, calculation of adventage, of possible escape from duty, of personal ??? misuse of power etc would not only be a violation, but it would follow from the principle. Therefore the indirect or non-secular and quasi-religious cha- racter of e.g. both, America and Russia, inspite of secular forms. (The Constitution, and democratic expressing demcracy as an unconditional concern in America. The Party, representing the movement towards ultimate fulfilment in Russia) 5. The political importance of vocational feeling. in individuals and in nations. Will to power and Ultimate Concern. Examples of vocational consciousness in the Western ci- vilisation. (Examples of vocational "consciousness")

5. This leads to a general consideration of the question: What is the mo- tivation of political actions, first in relation to other na- tions and then within one nation? They partly overlap, but must be distinguished. – The first question can be brought under the heading: "Will to power" and "vocational conscious- ness;" the second question asks for the religious basis of the political ideologies. II. Power and Vocation and elite 1. The affirmation of power in every religion: gods are powers of being. And the God of the Bible is the ultimate power of being. Allmighty or omnipotent (not: being able to do what he will like an heavenly tyrant, but acting powerfully in and through everything). "Being-Itself" can be defined as the power resisting possible non-being. In this power everything

that is, participates in a finite way; it resists non-being for a limited time It does so, in all life-processes by the actualising tion of its the finite power has the character of in terms of growth; for life is never static always dynamic. All this is necessary for the under- standing of "will to power" (Nietzsche): Neither conscious will nor power over others, but "the drive towards powerful selfrealisation". Power in this sense permeates all encounters of being with being (this lecture). It is constitutive in all dimensions of the universe… also in the political sphere. Dipreciaten Diffarmation of power in blasphemy of the Creator-God. 2. The reason for the diffamation of power is the compulsory or enforcing element in it. This But this element is unavoidable, under the conditions of existence. Without enforcement no law, without compulsion in the struggle for space no growth, neither in nature and nor in history. This is the human finite predicament. The acts of enforcment and compulsion are the show the ambiguity of power, in existence, its creative and destructive

possibilities in the tragically estranged world. – This ambiguous valuation of power, yes in essence, no in existence leads to the question of a criterion: It is justice! Political power, internally and externally, must be power with justice. under the norm of or united with justice. Otherwise it is both, destructive of others and selfdestructive. (Power cannot even established without form in which it works. with an ele This implies justice: 3. To the question of political power leads to the question of political justice. (As all religions speak not only of the power but also of the justice of God). Justice is the structure within which power can actualize itself creatively. Injustice is the trespassing of this structure for the sake of structurless power. The kind of structure is dependent on the historical and cultural conditions of a period or a particular situation. But if power is user-sought for kept or sought for the sake of power and not for the sake a more perfect structure of justice it is wrong selfdefying.

4. Are there criteria for political justice internally or externally? There is certainly the ultimate and unconditional criterion of justice, to aknowledge every person as a person and not making it into an object or tool. This is true of the ruling classes as well as of the powerful nations. But it is not enough. For the abstract formulation of justice does not give concrete advice. There is something transcending (though affirming) abstact justice, namely the creation of community, or – the misused word (a section of the philosophy of love love. So the question is now: How can a community of not be created within a political whole, e.g. a nation? And how can community created between the nations? The crea- tion of such a communitty in the creates a union of power and justice, under the principle of love (ultimately belonging to each other). And love as "agape" is not eros or sympathy or friendship, but the drive toward the reunion of the seperated, a matter of ultimate concern. In both love and and love's rational structure, justice, there ultimate concern unconditional seriousness is an experience of the depth of life, its meaning and therefore religion.

The introduction of a basic religious concept into the question of uniting power and justice: The concept of grace. The hostile reaction against it: grace a term of religious inconsequentional religious belief – a sentimental or humiliating or ununderstandable concept and: The hard realities of politics!! A general remark: If this were so religion had to disappear! But to prove that it is the basis of all culture is the intention of all the lectures. Here the situation especially obvious. But in order to avoid schizofrenia we must trie it. 5. Where and how occur such unions of power and justice? They are both historical gift and human endeavor. Such a gift is visible in the fact 6. Is is a reconciling element in history that nations have a vocational consciousness. They have received something in which they believe as their task to actualize as a gift in history. to others. This is beyond both mere more power and abstract justice.

Examples of vocational consciousness (having received a gift (a national spirit) which must be forwarded presented and applied. Romans, Germanics, Ita- liens, French, British, Russians, Americans. Counter examples: Germans, Italiens, Japanese. – But now the conflict be- tween cruizading desire and will to power. Grace as The national spirit misused as a tool for power instead of power as tool for this spirit universal community of mankind or peace will be possible only if the centers of power converge in a universal vocational consciousness. 7. Internally the concept of elite. The word very disliked in democracy and, indeed, used by Faschists. But the problem very real. Democratic equality creates community not more than aristocratic control. The two functions must be united. The elite is decisive for the structure of political justice community The masses are the counterbalance against the misuse of the power of the elites. No elites, no structure, no justice; no masses, no criterion, no justice, no community.

III. The religious background of political ideas 1. The concept of Idea and ideo-logy. Either= a system of poli- tical ideas or the use of ideas for the sake of power-preser- vation or gain. (analogy to power and vocational cosciousness) The fighting function capability of the concept is powerful strong because of the element of truth in it- (Like rationalisation) Nevertheless, as ra- tionalisation is possible only because there is reason, so ideology because there are ideas. And all of them The political ideas have a religious background. The background can be religious in the narrower sense or in the secularized quasi-religious sense large sense 2. The two basic directions: Bound to where we come from, driving towards the new which histor according to historical time. The political act shapes the present in the light of the one or the other.