The Politics Of God And The Politics Of Ellul -- By: Joyce Main Hanks

Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 35:2 (Jun 1992)
Article: The Politics Of God And The Politics Of Ellul
Author: Joyce Main Hanks


The Politics Of God And The Politics Of Ellul

Joyce M. Hanks*

Jacques Ellul holds that politics is relative but that contemporary thinking has assigned ultimate value to it: “All life today is in fact oriented to politics…Politics has gradually invaded everything…all our judgments are political.”1 In his writings Ellul tends to view from a political angle nearly every problem he examines. Most of his fifty-some books, as well as many of his hundreds of articles, involve his political philosophy to a high degree. The following overview of Ellul’s political thought will necessarily skim over issues that deserve closer analysis, express some personal impressions not shared by other readers of Ellul, and leave many apparent contradictions unresolved. If it provokes spirited response and debate, this article will accomplish one of its primary objectives.

In order to deal at least summarily with the multiple facets of politics according to Ellul I will touch on his relevant definitions, his views on the state and politics (including how he sees both of these as related to power and technique), his treatment of politics in the Bible and the Church (the central thrust of this article), his personal political experience and practice, and his stance concerning Marxism and anarchism.

Although Ellul has maintained the same basic position on most political questions over the years, his emphasis certainly has varied. In addition the fundamentally dialectical nature of his thought tends to puzzle many American readers, who misinterpret him or accuse him of inconsistency.2 As if these factors did not sufficiently complicate any attempt to present Ellul’s view of politics, we must also distinguish his solid convictions from his frequent hyperbole. In interviews he has maintained that many of his “impossible” statements stem from a felt need to counteract trends he viewed as extreme at one time or another in France.3 In practice, seasoned Ellul readers usually develop the habit of mentally “toning down” many of his statements that seem outlandish on the surface, in order to take certain of his arguments seriously.

*Joyce Hanks is professor of French and Spanish at the University of Scranton in Scranton, PA 18510–4646.

Sometimes Ellul’s statements fail to ring true because he refers primarily or entirely to French politics or the Church in France, assuming a French readership. In a special preface to the American edition of The Political Illusion Ellul points out the problems potentially grow...

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