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Document Details : Title: Het Koninkrijk Subtitle: Geloven en leren in het boek van Emmanuel Carrère Author(s): KOET, Bart J. Journal: Tijdschrift voor Theologie Volume: 58 Issue: 2 Date: 2018 Pages: 107-116 DOI: 10.2143/TVT.58.2.3284902 Abstract : This essay consists of two parts. The first one presents Le Royaume, one of the most successful works by bestselling French author Emmanuel Carrère. The main question this book asks, is: How can normal, intelligent people believe in such a nonsensical thing as the Christian religion? One of the believers the author enters into dialogue with, is his own self. He appears to have been a one-time believer. Next, he links this soul-searching to a form of historical research into the sources of Christianity. Because Carrère has a unique way of presenting the theology and history of Christianity, I attempt to give a critical assessment from the point of view of theology and exegesis in the second part of this essay. While Carrère’s historical research is lacking for various reasons, the soul-searching part is something of a testimony, showing how a renowned author struggles with his own past and that of the church in a postmodern and secular world. The interesting aspect of his search is that he finds that, although he may not be a believer, he does want to be a disciple. |
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