Divine Violence Suffered
- Author(s)
- Sandra Lehmann
- Abstract
Benjamin's essay Toward the Critique of Violence has often irritated readers. This is even more true of his concept of divine violence, which is defined as "law-annihilating"and goes against legally sanctioned state sovereignty. In this paper, I present a new reading of both Benjamin's essay and divine violence. Against an apocalyptic tendency of Benjamin, I argue that divine violence can only be an instrument of justice if it is understood as violence suffered rather than perpetrated. This is especially the case where people suffer persecution - imprisonment, torture, death - as a result of nonviolent resistance to an oppressive political regime. Only where such resistant suffering occurs, can violence properly be called divine. Only then does it offer a perspective beyond the never-ending atrocities of human history.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Intercultural Philosophy of Religion
- Journal
- Interdisciplinary Journal for Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society
- Pages
- 1-15
- ISSN
- 2365-3140
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.30965/23642807-bja10102
- Publication date
- 08-2024
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 603118 Philosophy of religion, 603116 Political philosophy
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Religious studies, Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/divine-violence-suffered(1fcc5bcc-fd8a-4064-adf2-390773ea5cca).html