IN THE END GOD

by J. A. T. Robinson ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 8, 1968

The Bishop of Wollwich continues here the main stream of his theological thought that first came to notice in his Honest to God. His theme in this volume, one of the Religious Perspective Series, is ""Eschatology""--the doctrine of ""the last things."" The Bishop interprets the doctrine as having to do not with futuristic predictions, but with the dimension of the ""now,"" and as having as its central affirmation the purposiveness of God. He concedes that the idea of eschatology, in any sense of its being predictive of the future fate of man, strikes modern men as incredible, even though the threat of annihilation has become for men today an accepted possibility. Skepticism about the doctrine extends from the question as to whether the Christian faith can make any reliable statements about ""last things"" to the doubt whether theology can have any certain knowledge of anything. The Bishop himself seems unclear on this point. He insists, on the one hand, that theology can make only those statements that can be empirically verified; yet his resolution of difficulties attending his discussion of eschatology often seem themselves to depend upon affirmations that are inescapably beyond such verification. A wide audience is assured for this small volume.

Pub Date: May 8, 1968

ISBN: 022717349X

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1968

Categories: NONFICTION