READING THE “POLITICAL” IN JÜRGEN MOLTMANN’S THEOLOGY OF THE CROSS THROUGH HANNAH ARENDT’S CONCEPT OF INTER-ESSE

Abstract

This article investigates how the meaning of “the political” in Jürgen Moltmann’s theology of the Cross can be reinterpreted through Hannah Arendt’s concept of inter-esse. Against the backdrop of twentieth-century political violence and the resurgence of political theology, the study situates Moltmann’s theology of the Cross as a powerful critique of political monotheism and sacralized authority, while engaging Arendt’s philosophical account of politics as a relational space constituted through human plurality, speech, and action. Methodologically, the article employs a critical and constructive hermeneutical dialogue between Moltmann’s trinitarian theology and Arendt’s political theory, combining close textual analysis with conceptual reinterpretation. The analysis demonstrates that Moltmann primarily understands the political as a divine critique of idolatrous power revealed in the crucifixion as a political execution and Trinitarian event of suffering solidarity. Reading this framework through Arendt’s notion of inter-esse expands the political meaning of the Cross from a deconstructive critique into a constitutive reality. The article argues that the Cross creates a “cruciform public space” in which human plurality is re-founded through solidaristic action and transformative speech. The study concludes that this cruciform inter-esse offers a constructive political vision for Christian praxis, redefining power as relational, participatory, and oriented toward justice and the common good.