If
human sexuality is an explosive subject for the church then it is no more than
a damp firework compared to eschatology. This is the subject that Brian McLaren
tackles in the eighth question of his book A
New Kind of Christianity. As someone who was brought up within conservative
church circles McLaren is ‘terribly familiar’ – as he puts it – with this subject,
giving us his firm opinion on the subject from the off. I’m going to blog on
this chapter over three poists.
Eschatology and politics
His
concern in tackling the issue is partly based on some the results of
conservative thinking on eschatology. He sees its influence on America’s
foreign policy, on the treatment of Muslims in Israel, and on the failure thus
far to protect the environment. Theology has a direct influence on the world.
Having
already dismissed the neo-platonic influence on our view of history McLaren in
this chapter offers an alternative view about the ‘end’. ‘There is no single
fixed end point towards which we move, but rather a widening space, opening
into an infinitely expanding goodness.’ He rejects the deterministic view of
both secular science and religious conservatives (with the first seeing the
world coming to nothing and the second seeing the world being divided between
the damned and the saved) and sees creation growing into ‘eventual healing and
joy … liberation, resurrection and salvation, because the living God will never
forsake this beloved creation.’
Participatory eschatology
Rather
than seeing God as the one in control of a process, however – like a grand
puppeteer with the universe as the puppet – McLaren sees God ‘in a
relationship’ with the universe. In this
view God is not dominating his creation with his iron will but rather inviting it
to participate in his plan of restoration. This he calls a ‘participatory
eschatology’. While God holds out the prospect of a brighter tomorrow we are
invited to join him in its creation.
Next Monday I'll look at McLaren says about the 'second coming'.
