Trends in contemporary eschatological reflection

• Main Author: Venter, Rian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Stellenbosch University 2015-05-01
• Series: Missionalia: Southern African Journal of Missiology
• Subjects: eschatology; future; telos; alterity; hermeneutics
• Online Access: http://missionalia.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/72

This article intends to make a scholarly contribution by mapping the main developments in the field of eschatology. Such an attempt could deepen reflection in a multidisciplinary conversation with, for example, Missiology. Exciting and constructive shifts have taken place in eschatology, and five such trends are briefly highlighted. Eschatology is not a mere appendix to the Christian vision, but belongs to its very nature, and requires careful hermeneutical exploration and articulation. The recent appreciation of marginalised voices have wrought exciting new sensibilities and should be cautiously heeded. Attempts are underway to expand the notion of a singular final telos, based on a broadened notion of the divine. Finally, the performative effects of eschatological discourse, especially the political, should be explicitly accounted for. The article concludes with seven guidelines that identify scholarly gains and areas for special future attention.