Eschatology: Living in Hope (CT2010Y)

Content

From the first to the last, and not merely in the epilogue, Christianity is eschatology, is hope, forward looking and forward moving, and therefore also revolutionary and transforming the present.” (Jurgen Moltmann).The unit situates eschatology in the centre of Christian theology and demonstrates the integrative function of the theology of hope. The eschatological emphases of the Scriptures are presented with particular attention to the Reign of God as the organising image. The unit examines the activity of God in Humanity and in its history focusing on Christ as the meaning of this history. Within this context the eschata are retrieved as symbols of Christian hope that are operative in life, present in death and are hope-filled expressions of life through death. This unit may consider questions regarding the relationship between body and soul, time and eternity, eschatology and ecology, eschatology and the Eucharist.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

18 points of CT

Pedagogy

asynchronous and synchronous lectures and synchronous student-centred tutorials

Indicative Bibliography

• Davies, Douglas. The Theology of Death. London: T & T Clark, 2008.
• Fergusson, David and Marcel Sarot (eds). The Future as God’s Gift: Explorations in Christian Eschatology. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2000.
• Lane, Dermot. Keeping Hope Alive: Stirrings in Christian Theology. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1996.
• McDowell, John and Kirkland, Scott. Eschatology. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2018.
• Peters, Ted, Robert John Russell and Michael Welker, Resurrection: Theological and Scientific Assessments. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002.
• Polkinghorne, John. The God of Hope and The End of the World. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2002.
• Rausch, Thomas P. Eschatology, Liturgy and Christology. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2012.
• Walls, Jerry L (ed), The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
• Wright, N.T. Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. New York: HarperOne, 2008.
• Wright, N.T. History and Eschatology. London: SPCK Publishing, 2019.

Assessment