Panel: PROTESTANTISM AND (IN)EQUALITIES: THEOLOGICAL RESOURCES FOR JUSTICE AND MERCY



1131.5 - THE POLITICS OF KAIROS: A JOURNEY BETWEEN EXISTENTIALISM AND ESCHATOLOGY IN THE PHILOSOPY OF PAUL TILLICH

AUTHORS:
Fazio D.J. (Università degli Studi di Milano, Facoltà di Filosofia ~ Milan ~ Italy)
Text:
This article aims to analyze Paul Tillich's religious socialism as an alternative to the inequalities of the current system, emphasizing the relevance of the concept of Kairos as a historical opportunity for change. Tillich notes that systemic evil is caused by institutions that elevate themselves to absolute value—whether political or economic—and it is precisely this distortion that creates oppression and alienation. Here, Existentialism operates as a diagnostic phase, making humanity aware of its alienated and anguished existence. On the other hand, Eschatology is the response to this anguish; it is not a simple reference to the afterlife, but a metahistorical reality of historical change. It bursts into the present through Kairos and compels us to overcome the conflicts of demonic structures. Central to Tillich's thought is the idea that the striving for the 'Kingdom of God' must be realized historically as a social and political critique