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Jacques Ellul (; January 6, 1912 – May 19, 1994) was a French philosopher, law professor, sociologist, lay theologian, and Christian anarchist. Ellul was a longtime Professor of History and the Sociology of Institutions on the Faculty of Law and Economic Sciences at the University of Bordeaux. A prolific writer, he authored 58 books and more than a thousand articles over his lifetime, many of which discussed propaganda, the impact of technology on society, and the interaction between religion and politics. The dominant theme of his work proved to be the threat to human freedom and religion created by modern technology. Among his most influential books are ''The Technological Society'' and ''Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes''. Considered by many a philosopher, Ellul was by training a sociologist who approached the question of technology and human action from a dialectical viewpoint. His constant concern was the emergence of a technological tyranny over humanity. As a philosopher and theologian, he further explored the religiosity of the technological society. In 2000 the International Jacques Ellul Society was founded by a group of former Ellul students. The society, which includes scholars from a variety of disciplines, is devoted to continuing Ellul's legacy and discussing the contemporary relevance and implications of his work. ==Life and influences== Jacques Ellul was born in Bordeaux, France on 6 January 1912 to Marthe Mendes (Protestant; French-Portuguese) and Joseph Ellul (initially Greek Orthodox, but then Voltarian by conviction; born in Malta of an Italo-Maltese father and Serb mother). As a teenager he wanted to be a naval officer but his father made him read law. He was married to Yvette Lensvelt in 1937.〔Jacques Ellul and Patrick Troude-Chastenet. 1998. ''Jacques Ellul on Religion, Technology, Politics: Conversations with Patrick Troude-Chastenet'', Scholars Press, pp. 2, 11.〕 Ellul was educated at the universities of Bordeaux and Paris. In World War II, he was a leader in the French resistance.〔Jacques Ellul. 1964 ''The Technological Society.'' Vintage Books, from the translator's introduction by John Wilkinson, p.ix.〕 For his efforts to save Jews he was awarded the title ''Righteous among the Nations'' by Yad Vashem in 2001. He was a layman in the Reformed Church of France and attained a high position within it as part of the National Council.〔Jacques Ellul. 1981. ''Perspectives on Our Age,'' Seabury Press, p. 24.〕 Ellul was best friends with Bernard Charbonneau, who wrote on similar themes. They met through the Protestant Student Federation during the academic school year of 1929–1930. By the early 1930s, Ellul's three primary sources of inspiration were Karl Marx, Søren Kierkegaard, and Karl Barth. Ellul was first introduced to the ideas of Karl Marx during an economics lecture course taught by Joseph Benzacar in 1929––1930; Ellul studied Marx and became a prolific exegete of his theories. During this same period, he also came across the Christian existentialism of Kierkegaard. According to Ellul, Marx and Kierkegaard were his two greatest influences, and the only two authors of which he read all of their work.〔Andrew Goddard. 2002. ''Living the Word, Resisting the World: The Life and Thought of Jacques Ellul,''Paternoster Press, p. 16.〕 Also, he considered Karl Barth, who was a leader of the resistance against the German state church in World War II,〔Timothy Gorringe. 1999. ''Karl Barth: Against Hegemony,'' Oxford University Press, p. 158.〕 the greatest theologian of the 20th century.〔Jacques Ellul and Patrick Troude-Chastenet. 1998. ''Jacques Ellul on Religion, Technology, Politics: Conversations with Patrick Troude-Chastenet,'' Scholars Press, p. 4.〕 In addition to these intellectual influences, Ellul also said that his father played a great role in his life and considered him his role model.〔Jacques Ellul and patrick Troude-Chastenet. 1998. ''Jacques Ellul on Religion, Technology, Politics: Conversations with Patrick Troude-Chastenet'', Scholars Press, p. 92.〕 These ideological influences earned him both devoted followers and vicious enemies. In large measure, and especially in those of his books concerned with theological matters, Ellul restates the viewpoints held by Barth, whose polar dialectic of the Word of God, in which the Gospel both judges and renews the world, shaped Ellul's theological perspective.〔Geoffrey W. Bromiley. 1981."Barth's Influence on Jacques Ellul" in ''Jacques Ellul: Interpretive Essays'' Edited by Clifford G. Christians and Jay M. Van Hook. University of Illinois Press. pp. 32-51.〕 In ''Jacques Ellul: A Systemic Exposition'' Darrell J. Fasching claimed Ellul believed "That which desacralizes a given reality, itself in turn becomes the new sacred reality".〔Darrell J. Fasching characterizing Ellul's thought in ''Jacques Ellul: A Systematic Exposition," E. Mellen Press, 1981. p. 35.〕 In 1932, after what he describes as "a very brutal and very sudden conversion", Ellul professed himself a Christian.〔Jacques Ellul. 1981. ''Perspectives on Our Age: Jacques Ellul Speaks on His Life and Work,'' edited by William H. Vanderburg. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, p.14.〕 Ellul believes he was about 17 (1929–1930) and spending the summer with some friends in Blanquefort, France. While translating ''Faust'' alone in the house, Ellul knew (without seeing or hearing anything) he was in the presence of a something so astounding, so overwhelming, which entered the very center of his being. He jumped on a bike and fled, concluding eventually that he had been in the presence of God. This experience started the conversion process which Ellul said then continued over a period of years thereafter.〔Jacques Ellul and Patrick Troude-Chastenet. 1998. ''Jacques Ellul on Religion, Technology, Politics: Conversations with Patrick Troude-Chastenet,'' Scholars Press, p. 5.〕 He was also prominent in the worldwide ecumenical movement, although he later became sharply critical of the movement for what he felt were indiscriminate endorsements of political establishments, primarily of the Left.〔Andrew Goddard. 2002. ''Living the Word, Resisting the World: The Life and Thought of Jacques Ellul,'' Paternoster Press, p.41.〕 However, he was no friendlier in his assessment of those of the Right; he fashioned an explicitly anti-political stance as an alternative to both (see below). Ellul has been credited with coining the phrase, "Think globally, act locally."〔Randal Marlin. 2002. ''Propaganda and the Ethics of Persuasion''. Broadview Press, p. 34.〕 He often said that he was born in Bordeaux by chance, but that it was by choice that he spent almost all his academic career there.〔Andrew Goddard. 2002. ''Living the Word, Resisting the World: The Life and Thought of Jacques Ellul,'' Paternoster Press, p. 37.〕 On 19 May 1994, after a long illness, he died in his house in Pessac, just a mile or two from the University of Bordeaux campus and surrounded by those closest to him. His wife had died a few years prior, on 16 April 1991. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jacques Ellul」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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