The Significance of Place in the Contemporary Theological Discourse of Heaven

Eschatology;Heaven;Spatial Theology;Place;Space;Revelation 21;Christopher Morse;Jürgen Moltmann;N. T. Wright;Anthony Thiselton;Paula Gooder;John Inge;Conrad Grebel -Theological Studies

Wijnands, Kyle

University of Waterloo

关键词: Eschatology;    Heaven;    Spatial Theology;    Place;    Space;    Revelation 21;    Christopher Morse;    Jürgen Moltmann;    N. T. Wright;    Anthony Thiselton;    Paula Gooder;    John Inge;    Conrad Grebel -Theological Studies;   

Others  :  https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/bitstream/10012/9041/7/Wijnands_Kyle.pdf

瑞士|英语

来源: UWSPACE Waterloo Institutional Repository

【 摘 要 】

This study will offer a critical assessment of the hearings of heaven in contemporary theological discourse. After engaging with various eschatological perspectives that pertain to the contemporary discussion of heaven, I will demonstrate that there is an urgent need in eschatology to focus not only on the reality of heaven ;;at hand” but also on the Christian hope of bodily resurrection and new creation ;;not yet.” By building upon the work of various theologians, I will argue that the marginalization of place-centred thinking in theology has had a dangerous effect on the contemporary hearing of heaven. As a result, a biblical depiction of the future heaven has either been distorted because of a platonic understanding or under-emphasized by way of the myth of progress. By considering the urban imagery in Revelation 21:1-4, I will demonstrate that Jerusalem should not only be interpreted as God’s people in place but also the place believers will inherit in the future.