RELIGION, REVOLUTION, AND THE FUTURE

These ten lectures of Dr. Moltmann's are all concerned with the place of Christianity in the world of today and in that of tomorrow. Though the pieces make no pretense at editorial unity--they were all delivered at different times and on various occasions--they do enjoy a sort of theological coherence by virtue of a basic message which they convey: that Christianity is a religion of hope, both for now and for the future. Moltmann pursues that theme, sometimes only implicitly, through its theological, political, and social implications, until it becomes clear that his meaning is that Christianity is the hope of the future; and, conversely, that the future is the hope of Christianity, just as the past is often the despair of Christianity. It is not a new view; or even, in these lectures, a particularly profoundly developed one. Yet, Moltmann's sense of historical continuity, his talent for the mot juste, and his ability to communicate abstractions make of these lectures small masterpieces of theological synthesis. Serious Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, will enjoy them.