THE THEOLOGY OF HOPE: Enquiries into the Ground and Consequence of a Christian Eschatology

There is only one real problem in Christian theology, in the opinion of the author, and that is the problem Of the future. Christianity is essentially eschatological--that is, it is concerned primarily with a view of the final destiny of all things. The hope it offers derives from this final outcome. Looking and moving toward a future eventuality, it revolutionizes and transforms the present. But Christian eschatology cannot speak of a general future. It speaks only of Jesus Christ and his future. This distinguishes Christian eschatology from utopian visions of things to come. The implications of this position for secular views of history are fully explored, as are those for the life and mission of the Church and the calling of Christians in modern, dynamic, society. The book thus combines careful biblical scholarship with a lively concern for problems and issues confronting the Church today. Much of this can still be appropriated by the lay reader, as well as by scholars and students.