This article argues that modern European philosophy was significantly shaped by the transposition of eschatology from a theological into a philosophical register. By ‘eschatology’, I here mean ...thought about the ‘last things’ as they relate to present systems of life and action; and about those systems as determined, at least in part, by their end. I take as my starting point the claim that the scepticism regarding revelation that was such a central characteristic of the Enlightenment did not eradicate the importance of eschatology as a structuring frame of historical and moral thought, but merely changed it. Modern theologians and philosophers tended to shift the ground of eschatology from revelation to the inner logic of a system; eschatology was seen as legitimated by, and in turn legitimating, the shape of a given philosophical account of history. The questions and challenges arising from this shift were important drivers of early twentieth‐century European philosophy. This article works out this claim through indicative accounts of several large debates of early twentieth‐century philosophies of history and of politics as contestations about the meaning of eschatology: the crisis of historicism, the rise of existentialism, and the surge of political religions. It concludes with a discussion of Martin Heidegger’s eschatological thought of the 1930s, illuminated by the recent publication of his Black Notebooks.
Echo of Creation Kozák, Jan A.
Temenos,
06/2021, Letnik:
57, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The article explores the idea of an echo, both literal and structural, that connects Old Norse cosmogony and eschatology. The motif of a bellowing sound or cry appears in cosmogony in the figure of ...Ymir, “Crier”, who is killed by the Æsir, and from his body the world is created. During the eschatological events the booming sound recurs when Heimdallr blows his horn shortly before the Æsir themselves are killed by their adversaries. A cry is also emitted by Óðinn when he sacrifices himself on the Cosmic Tree. The booming bellow is thus associated with death, especially in the context of implicit or explicit sacrifice.
The structural resonance between cosmogony and eschatology is composed of a series of five motifs that reappear in the same sequence at both liminal moments. The eschatology seems to be structurally a repetition of the cosmogony, but with inverted roles: the victims are the gods and the sacrificers are the giants, which is the inverse of the situation during cosmogony. The present analysis sheds light on the sacrificial pattern hidden behind the two events, and helps contextualize the motif of the mighty sound that reappears at both moments in the cosmic history.
Iustitia: Theological-ethical perspectives on the concept of ‘justice’ with particular reference to the position of Augustine and his far-reaching influence. Last year, at a conference of the ...‘Kerkhistoriese Genootskap’ of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika (NHKA), the theme of ‘geregtigheid’ righteousness was investigated from various angles. The author of this article was invited to present on the views of the church father, Augustine, within a broad perspective. The objectives were to explain, illuminate and evaluate the views of Augustine and to focus on their relevance today. The customary methodology was followed: studying Augustine’s main texts about the subject and applying both classic and modern methodologies of Dogmatics. This implied an investigating, interpreting, comparing and evaluating Augustine’s ideas. Attention was also given to developments after Augustine as well as their implications for the South African situation. A short interlude on biblical perspectives was included. The result showed how much Augustine has influenced theology through the ages; how many positive perspectives he has brought forward, but also how many questions his theology has raised. The article concludes with views which clarify the fact that the theme of righteousness is of utmost importance in Christian theology and ethics, and cannot be understood without reference to God in Christ, reference to man and reference to the earth. The article ends with a final eschatological perspective: the concept of righteousness characterises the future hope of a new creation (2 Pt 3:13).Contribution: The main contribution of this article is contained in the last two pages which summarises its essence: Righteousness is imperative and indispensable for meaningful life on earth.The article ends with a final eschatological perspective: The concept of righteousness characterises the future hope of a new creation (2 Pt 3:13).
The Spirit and the Common Good Macchia, Frank D.
Journal of pentecostal theology,
05/2021, Letnik:
30, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Abstract
Some books stand out as noteworthy for their insights, relevance, and aesthetic appeal. A reader will always refer back to them as among their favorites. Daniela Augustine’s,
The Spirit and ...the Common Good
, is such a book for the present author. This is a book that one will want to do more than simply read, but also think out loud in conversation with. Thus, the author would like to converse with Augustine’s discussion so as to explore its theological basis and direction. Though hers is not a work in constructive theology, there is a rich theological vision that she draws upon to confront issues of public justice and compassion. Her theological explanations are usually brief, but often quite provocative. The author wishes to explore her theological vision and probe it for further insight.
On the 60th anniversary of the celebration of the Second Vatican Council, we would like to take up again a statement from the constitution Lumen gentium, which was a source of controversy from the ...moment it was proposed in the schema De Ecclesia during the Council: «The Church is in Christ, like a sacrament, a sign and instrument of intimate union with God and of the unity of the entire humankind» (Lumen gentium, 1). In this article, we want to take up the concept of the Church as a sacrament, which emerged from the conciliar constitution on the Church, as a first step, although the conception of the Church as a sacrament is found in ecclesiology before the Second Vatican Council. Second, we will focus on the reception of this concept and its development after the Council. We will conclude with a third part devoted to its implications for ecumenical dialogue and the difficulties and possibilities for convergence it offers, with particular reference to the document of the Faith and Order Commission: The Church towards a Common Vision (2013).
With this study, we seek to contribute to the theological discussion regarding the nature and the meaning of the Christian eschaton. We will argue that the dynamics of God's reign provide a ...hermeneutic key to Jesus' 'eschatological expectation'. It is not possible to grasp the full meaning of Jesus' urgent expectation of the end unless one realises that God's action is always eschatological. That is to say, right from creation, God is always acting in history in an eschatological way, though only in Jesus does this action reach its ultimate goal. By critically examining the multifaceted views of selected contemporary theologians, we will suggest that Jesus' eschatological expectation may be adequately interpreted only in light of God's 'eschatological reign'. In this context, the tension between the already present and not yet fully realised dimensions of God's reign appears as a promising hermeneutic key to Jesus' teaching in general and his eschatological expectation in particular. The article consists of two sections. Firstly, we will give a brief account of the dynamics of God's reign, interpreted according to the 'middle way' between consistent and realised eschatology. In the second part, our focus will be on the eschatological expectation: its development in the Jewish tradition; on how Jesus applied, or rather re-appropriated, it in his mission; and whether or not his emphasis on the imminence of an eschaton was a result of him being mistaken.
In the writings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the word “nature” occurs more than a thousand times, though this term is not listed in the Teilhard Lexicon by Siôn Cowell. A qualitative analysis of ...nature throughout Teilhard's writings produced 13 distinct definitions that can be summarized into five categories; nature can be an inherent way of being, sacred, an object, or that which is not artificial. The multivalent term has produced different interpretations of Teilhard's work, specifically in the ecological eschatological question of whether living organisms will be included in the final transformation. Theologians’ responses to this question range from affirmation to dissension, with varying levels of certainty, demonstrating the variability that can be caused by ambiguous language.
This article treats the notion of liturgical experience that was introduced into contemporary philosophy by Franz Rosenzweig at the start of the twentieth century. His original and deep thinking in ...the Star of Redemption describes, among other things, the liturgical feasts of Judaism and Christianity as ramparts against finitude and as openings onto the ultimate. The article will bring together his descriptions of the liturgical assembly as a dialogical and choral “we” or “all of us” with the work of Jean-Yves Lacoste who has made liturgy the very heart of his magisterial phenomenological work. Putting these two authors into conversation allows us to uncover some salient traits of what makes for a liturgical community, such as the link between the liturgical assembly and the notion of communion. Drawing on both Rosenzweig and Lacoste, we can see, first, that this community is not simply cultural or ideological, but that its core lies in the concrete experience of exposing oneself before God. Next, I take up the idea of eschatological presentiment in Lacoste and the choral response-structure in Rosenzweig and suggest that this eschatological anticipation is manifested in the flesh of the assembly, endowing it with a dimension of responsibility. Finally, the liturgical assembly becomes a concrete body in which the kingdom is able to come near in the density of presence as fraternity within an aura of love. By doing so, a “thinking otherwise” may prove capable of illuminating philosophical understandings of human community more broadly.
In this article, firstly I discuss why it is important to have an exegetically sound biblical view on the resurrection for the attractiveness of the church. To attain this, the-ology – in both the ...Catholic and the Protestant tradition – should change its approach of eschatology as focusing on “going to heaven when you die” to a view of “participating in a new creation”. Secondly, I will give some examples of how the biblical message about the resurrection thus understood can make the mission of the church strong enough to have its own relevant and attractive alternative narrative in a world of competing narratives
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