Realized eschatology: Difference between revisions
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Popularized by [[C. H. Dodd]] (1884–1973), this [[Christian eschatology|Christian eschatological]] theory holds that the eschatological passages in the [[New Testament]] do not refer to the future, but instead refer to the [[ministry of Jesus]] and his lasting legacy. [[Eschatology]] is therefore, not the [[End of planet Earth|end of the world]] but its rebirth instituted by Jesus and continued by [[Disciple (Christianity)|his disciples]], a historical (rather than [[transhistorical]]) phenomenon. Those holding this view generally dismiss "[[end times]]" theories, believing them to be irrelevant. They hold that what Jesus said and did, and told his disciples to do likewise, are of greater significance than any [[Messiah|messianic]] expectations. |
Popularized by [[C. H. Dodd]] (1884–1973), this [[Christian eschatology|Christian eschatological]] theory holds that the eschatological passages in the [[New Testament]] do not refer to the future, but instead refer to the [[ministry of Jesus]] and his lasting legacy. [[Eschatology]] is therefore, not the [[End of planet Earth|end of the world]] but its rebirth instituted by Jesus and continued by [[Disciple (Christianity)|his disciples]], a historical (rather than [[transhistorical]]) phenomenon. Those holding this view generally dismiss "[[end times]]" theories, believing them to be irrelevant. They hold that what Jesus said and did, and told his disciples to do likewise, are of greater significance than any [[Messiah|messianic]] expectations. |
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This view is attractive to many people, especially [[liberal Christian]]s, since it reverses the notion of Jesus' coming as an [[apocalyptic]] event, something which they interpret as being hardly in keeping with the overall theme of Jesus' [[Ministry of Jesus#Teachings|teachings]] in the [[Gospel#Canonical_Gospels|canonical gospels]] and view the [[rapture]] as |
This view is attractive to many people, especially [[liberal Christian]]s, since it reverses the notion of Jesus' coming as an [[apocalyptic]] event, something which they interpret as being hardly in keeping with the overall theme of Jesus' [[Ministry of Jesus#Teachings|teachings]] in the [[Gospel#Canonical_Gospels|canonical gospels]] and view the [[rapture]] as the result of a misreading of [[Revelation]] propagated by footnotes made in the [[Schofield Study Bible]] and disseminated amongst its readers but viewed with suspicion outside those theological circles. Instead, eschatology is about being engaged in the [[Process theology|process of becoming]], rather than waiting for external and unknown forces to bring about destruction. |
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Biblical scholar [[John Dominic Crossan]] of the [[Jesus Seminar]] coined and uses the term “sapiential eschatology” to refer to a similar concept: |
Biblical scholar [[John Dominic Crossan]] of the [[Jesus Seminar]] coined and uses the term “sapiential eschatology” to refer to a similar concept: |
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Revision as of 23:49, 10 September 2007
Popularized by C. H. Dodd (1884–1973), this Christian eschatological theory holds that the eschatological passages in the New Testament do not refer to the future, but instead refer to the ministry of Jesus and his lasting legacy. Eschatology is therefore, not the end of the world but its rebirth instituted by Jesus and continued by his disciples, a historical (rather than transhistorical) phenomenon. Those holding this view generally dismiss "end times" theories, believing them to be irrelevant. They hold that what Jesus said and did, and told his disciples to do likewise, are of greater significance than any messianic expectations.
This view is attractive to many people, especially liberal Christians, since it reverses the notion of Jesus' coming as an apocalyptic event, something which they interpret as being hardly in keeping with the overall theme of Jesus' teachings in the canonical gospels and view the rapture as the result of a misreading of Revelation propagated by footnotes made in the Schofield Study Bible and disseminated amongst its readers but viewed with suspicion outside those theological circles. Instead, eschatology is about being engaged in the process of becoming, rather than waiting for external and unknown forces to bring about destruction.
Biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan of the Jesus Seminar coined and uses the term “sapiential eschatology” to refer to a similar concept:
Apocalyptic eschatology is world-negation stressing imminent divine intervention: we wait for God to act; sapiential eschatology is world-negation emphasizing immediate divine imitation: God waits for us to act.
— John Dominic Crossan, The Essential Jesus: Original Sayings and Earliest Images (1998), p. 8
See also
References
- Donald K. McKim, Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996).