Freiheitsgewinn

Even though faith in providence is an indispensable part of living a pious life, the classical doctrine of providence has fallen into decline. While newer versions agree that talk of divine providence is no longer to be understood in the sense of a historical-theological explanation of the world, they nevertheless develop very different perspectives. These are illustrated here with examples taken from Karl Barth, Emanuel Hirsch, and Arnulf von Scheliha. Following on from this, the essay attempts to coherently break faith in providence down in terms of its potential for practical freedom. Three aspects become distinct in the process: that the assurance of divine providence opens up a liberating distance to the given, that the aim is to accept and shape as one's own the life God has 'placed' one in, and that ultimately, through trust in God, the burden of the constant compulsion to search for meaning is lessened.