I've just started reading through Revelation in my daily Bible study. This might tie in with a paper I plan to write in the next two or three weeks. The paper is for a class called The Reign of God. Stacy Johnson is the professor. SJ is a seriously smart operator, a man with a legal training before his entry to things theological and ecclesiastical. He was a member of the PC(USA)'s high profile Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church, known as PUP.
The class had a great reading schedule: Augustine City of God; Wright Jesus and the Victory of God; Rauschenbusch A Theology of the Social Gospel; Moltmann The Coming of God. We also enjoyed an hour with Pete Rollins, founding member of the Ikon community in Belfast.
A common theme in that mixed bag of reading is God's presence in history. Class discussion was wonderfully broad, our foibles were displayed as we shared our frustrations with the world. America in Iraq and the post 9/11 thing hung over every word that was spoken.
In my paper I hope to argue and reflect on the need for an apocalyptic and eschatological understanding of God's reign. Defining my terms, especially 'apocalyptic', will be tricky. I am amazed by the attempts of liberal Christian theologians to retain the kingdom or reign of God as a motif in their work. They appear to do this while shunning the texts that feed their hopes and ideas. 'See, I am making all things new', Rev 20:5. Everyone loves this verse - but few love its context.
2 comments:
Dave, Great post. One person's tribulation may be another person's millennium, and one person's Christ may be another's Antichrist, but you can't have one without the other.
Thanks for a ggreat read
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