🌅 Eschatology and Promise: Living Toward the Horizon
Eschatology often conjures images of apocalypse, judgment, or cosmic upheaval. But at its heart, Christian eschatology is a theology of promise—a divine assurance that history bends toward restoration, not ruin.
🔠The Horizon of Hope
Eschatology invites us to live with the end in mind—not as a countdown to catastrophe, but as a compass pointing toward renewal. The promise of resurrection, the new creation, and the return of Christ reframes our present struggles. Pain is not the final word. Loss is not the last chapter. The horizon holds more than we can see.
“The crucifixion of the subsequently resurrected Jesus… turns out to meet, in unexpected and suggestive ways, the puzzles of the ultimate questions asked by every culture.”
—N.T. Wright, History and Eschatology source
🌱 Promise as Participation
The eschatological promise isn’t passive. It calls us to participate in the unfolding of God’s future—through acts of justice, compassion, and community. In your household, Betty, this might look like intergenerational care, spiritual companionship, or the quiet tending of hope in the face of chronic uncertainty. Each gesture becomes a rehearsal for the world to come.
🕯️ Already and Not Yet
Eschatology lives in tension: the Kingdom is already here, and not yet complete. This paradox dignifies the messy middle of life. We are not waiting for perfection—we are living into promise. The “not yet” doesn’t negate the “already”; it deepens it.
This post was inspired by A Theology for the Rest of Us by Arthur Yavelberg.
Book description:
If God exists and is good, why is there evil? Avoiding such questions underlies the spiritual emptiness and anxiety in today's world. A Theology for the Rest of Us explores how to approach the divine through Eastern and Western religious traditions without dogma, challenging readers to "be you lamps unto yourselves."
In a time of internecine wars and all kinds of abuse of authority and trust, too many good, thoughtful people are "voting with their feet" and turning away from organized religion. Popular "spirituality"-a sort of mysticism-lite articulated in memes-is often unsatisfying as well.
A Theology for the Rest of Us is a straightforward approach to the fundamental questions of religion and philosophy:
- Does God exist?
- Is there free will?
- What is 'evil'?
This book draws on the traditions of the East as well as the West-Taoism, Buddhism and Hinduism in addition to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-to see what can make sense in today's world. Whether exploring the implications of 17th century Enlightenment philosophers, quantum physics, or the insights of writers such as Dostoyevsky and Alan Watts, the reader is offered a rational, coherent approach that can provide understanding and a basis for hope in a world where the spirit has been all but decimated by doubt and worse.
Most important, the reader is encouraged to sift through these sources and choose what resonates and what does not. As the Buddha taught so many years ago, the Prime Directive is "Be ye lamps unto yourselves." A Theology for the Rest of Us makes teachings accessible to those who have already begun their spiritual journeys, validating their questions and showing that reasonable answers are available.
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