GOD IN HUMAN ACTION Mysticism, Philosophy and Theology in Maurice Blondel

The meaning of the philosophy of Maurice Blondel (1861-1949) for theology is still controversial. It was Blondel's intention to reconstruct the Christian faith from a general philosophical perspective, involving a radical criticism of the dualism between nature and supernatural as it originated in the Modern Age. He therefore had to fight on two fronts: against secular modern rationality and modern theology, both expressions of of a way of thinking that Blondel considered abstract. In his first major book, L'action: Essai d'une critique de la vie et science de la pratique (1893), he introduces acting as the starting point and framework of all arguments, with the will as the driving force. It is in the will that Blondel perceives the activity of God.