Eschatology

Prof. Isabel VARANDA helps us to go deeper on the understanding of the concept of Resurrection in different thoughts.

Course outline
1.Methods of Eschatology
-extralpolation
-anticipation
2.Biblical and Paristic Eschatology
-Old Testament
-New Testament
-Eschatology in the Early Church Fathers
3.Roman Catholic Theology
-Pre-Vatican II
-Vatican II
-Dogmatic Constitution on the Church: Lumen Gentium
-Pastoral Constitution: Gaudium et Spes
-Post-Vatican II
-Letter on Certain Question concerning Eschatology, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, (1979)
-Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992)
-On certain current issues in Eschatology, International Theological Commission (1992)
-Encyclical Letter: Spe Salvi (2007)
4.Contemporary Catholic Eschatologies
-Karl Rahner (1904-1984)
-Hans Urs Von Balthasar (1905-1988)
-Joseph Ratzinger (1927- )
-Johannes Baptist Metz (1928 - )

Eschatology in World Religions
Eschatology in distinct Christian Traditions
Theological Issues in Eschatology
-Heaven
-Hell
-Purgatory
-Universalism
-Annihilationism
-Death, Final Judgement and the Meaning of Life

For the presentation I chose "Heaven" as a topic to present to the class as following;

Heaven
When I was young, my mom once told me that heaven is up there far beyond the sky. It is the place where God lives with the saints. I always keep it in my mind that one day I would go up high to reach the sky and heaven, and then live a happy life with God.
Let us take a look at the word ‘heaven’. There are many sources explaining the derivation of heaven as ‘heofon’ in Anglo-Saxon, ‘himin-s’ in Gothic or even ‘hem-d’ in German. Here in this essay I would like to emphasize on its derivation from biblical background. In Latin, we found the word ‘coelum’ meaning ‘ceiling’ or ‘roof of the world’. In Greek term, we have the term “ouvrano,j ” in the Septuagint as a translation of “~yIm:ßV'” (shamayim) in Hebrew term. These terms we can find from the very first book of the scripture, Genesis.
The Hebrew word signifies a Semitic of about heaven and earth, (cf. Gen 1:20-23) like a sheet spread or a curtain drawn out. This includes all that is visible above the earth, between it and the third heavens: the air, higher, middle, and lower, regions-the celestial globe, and all the spheres and orbs of light above. It reaches as high as the place where the stars are fixed, for that is called here the firmament of heaven and as low as the place where the birds fly, for that also is called the firmament of heaven.
According to the New Testament, We have to ‘repent’ in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. (Mt 3:2; 4:17) In the Gospel of Matthew we also have Jesus’ intensive teaching of the seven parables of the kingdom of heaven, as a man who sowed good seed in his field, (Mt 13:24) as a grain of mustard seed, (Mt 13:34) as leaven, (Mt 13:44) as treasure hidden in a field, (Mt 13:33) as fine pearls that the merchant searching for, (Mt 13:45) as a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind, (Mt 13:47) and as a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old. (Mt 13:52)
It seems to me that the Good News, which Jesus has proclaimed in his time, echoes in the Gospel of Matthew and even in today’s world. It demands all Christian to have a continual conversion in following Jesus and we will receive “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. (Rom 6:23)

Walls’ concept of Heaven:
We have a perception of heaven as the highest happiness available is not limited to whatever pleasure and satisfaction we may enjoy in this life.
For Theism, belief in heaven is equivalent to believing in God
Feuerbach, Heaven stands in contradiction to our longings and wishes. While we might wish to survive death and experience perfect happiness forever, to believe that this, will happen is at best to cling to a vain hope and an immature fantasy.
-The hope of heaven is in accord with the classic idea that Truth, Beauty and goodness are in league together.
-If the hope of heaven is a function of belief in God then how heaven is conceived accordingly will be shaped by how God is understood. The very nature of the Holy Trinity is love.
David Hart, stated that the deepest ground of the relationship in the Holy Trinity is the relationship of mutual giving, love.
Hart’s reference to the “kenosis” of the Son leads us to our relationship with God through the Incarnation, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Christian concept must be understood theologically within the biblical narrative of fall and redemption. Therefore heaven is the climax of the history of salvation. God reunited with his people so closely that they will even see his face. Our final hope, therefore, is the hope for heaven. According to N. T. Wright, the ultimate future is not going to heaven but rather about the life of heaven.
Alister McGrath, discovered the concept of heaven through the Western literature and visual art. He stated that the two biblical images of heaven have been found the figure of City and Garden.
City represent the highest achievement in culture and society. Therefore heaven is the ultimate city, The New Jerusalem.
Garden has a combination of culture and nature in a way that makes vivid the beauty and bounteous delights of creation and our ability to participate in them.

The anthropocentric view sees heaven as an idealized version of life as we presently know it. It has the focus on family reunion, human relationships, and full range of activities that make this life interesting and meaningful.
By contrasts, theocentric view sees heaven as a stage of contemplation and rest. We have a concept influenced by St. Thomas Aquinas in the concept of beatific vision. The perfect happiness is in the contemplation of God. For Aquinas, God alone is the source of our eternal happiness. He even saw human society as a possible distraction from our true beatitude.
Let us now turn to the Eastern Orthodox’s concept of heaven, David Bradshaw remarked the account of St. Thomas Aquinas, beatific vision.
Aquinas Orthodox
1 God is beyond knowing. Our lives have a limitation but can be overcome in eternity by the grace of God.
The limitation is inherent to our nature and will not be overcome even in eternity.
2 The beatific vision has little place for the body.
Emphasize on the participation of the body in the ongoing experience of deification, or transformation.
3 Beatific vision is an end, a condition of rest and completion.
Beatific vision is a perpetual progress and any notion of rest must be balanced by that of constantly increasing desire.

The fundamentalist Christians use the concept of heaven to persuade people to accept their specific doctrines.
The fundamentalist Muslims explain the idea of heaven as a reward for those who die as martyrs for Islam.
Exclusivism, propose the idea as if some were excluded from heaven because God was less than gracious or fully loving toward them. Calvinism represents as a movement which holds that God unconditionally elects some to be saved and passes over the rest, thereby consigning them to eternal damnation. Those who die unconverted to God they will be denied the opportunity to be saved, whether or not they have ever heard of Christ and the message of salvation.
Inclusivism, agrees that all salvation is through Christ, but contends that it is not necessary to have explicit knowledge of Christ nor to accept him in this life in order to be saved. They emphasizes that God truly loves all persons and desires to save them. God does everything possible, short of overriding our freedom, to save us.
For those who emphasize on Freedom mentioned, if any do not enter, it is because they will not.
In heaven, we will be so completely transformed that we will naturally and willingly worship God and choose the good on all occasions. God is the source of happiness and evil is the source of misery.

Hell and Boredom: two contemporary challenges
The doctrine of eternal hell is incompatible with the idea of perfect happiness. According to Thomas Talbott, anyone who has been fully transformed by the love of God would surely love all persons and desire their salvation. We have seen sort of relationship in communion with the saints.
Many traditional theologians believed that the punishment and misery of the wicked would glorify the justice of God and thereby actually enhance the joy of the redeemed.
Some who suggested the idea of boredom in heaven, for instance, Carol Zaleski stated that our ancestors were afraid of Hell; we are afraid of Heaven. We think it will be boring.
Garth L. Hallett, proposed six points as solutions to the boredom difficulty.
1.There is an idea that heaven is timeless existence. So life will be so boring.
2.Heaven is a continuation of the best of this life, e.g.perfect summer vacation.
3.Heaven is a matter of unending progress, moral, spiritual and intellectual.
4.The delights of heaven will engage us so thoroughly that boredom will never threaten.
5.The redeemed in heaven might have bestowed upon them .
6.Heaven might face us with creative challenges to meet and overcome.

Heaven as a Moral source
Morality is also concerned with the whole issue of what makes for a truly meaningful life. The hope of an eternal happiness what includes all that is good and that redeems or defeats all that is evil clearly qualifies as such a source. Moral source could be a credible replacement for the prospect of eternal happiness in the presence of God.
1.In Greek mythology, we have the story of Sisyphus, a king who was punished in Tartarus by being cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this throughout eternity.
Richard Taylor, stated that God take mercy on Sisyphus by implanting in him an irrational compulsion to roll stones up hills. Therefore Sisyphus would be enjoy rolling the stones and would find the meaning of his activity.
For Taylor, human activity is an outcome of our intrinsic will to live and to carry on with the tasks and activities of our lives
2. Human is limited. It appears the idea of some theologians who suggest that acceptance of death is acceptance of the finitude (limited) of our individuated centers of being, but also our identification with the larger matrix as our total self that contains us all.

3.Historical analysis; They have a concept, which is influenced by Nietzsche, of heaven as a particular social class and served to distinguish the purveyors of the idea from their social opponents. (Exclusivism). The desire of people who want to prove that God favors one group and accept them into heaven.
This concept creates a dangerous sense of superiority over outsiders by dehumanizing or demonizing them.
In conclusion, Jewish’s perception of heaven as an ideal for justice.
Christianity, heaven is a hope because of the Resurrection of Jesus. It brought an idea of self-giving love. To acknowledge that love and to live under this rule, To give our life for others is an act of faith in a God who loves all and has endless resource of joy and delight to bestow on all who trust him with their lives.
It is only heaven that can offer the happiness that all rational creatures can hardly help but desire.
the hope for such happiness remains an indispensable moral source, and why is will continue to do so until the kingdom comes in which God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

So, What do you think about heaven?
For Eric Clapton (1945- ), “Heaven is one step away” or there will be no more tears in heaven as it is said in the song.

In Thais, we have and expression as “สวรรค์อยู่ในอก นรกอยู่ในใจ” which can be translated as “Heaven is in your breast and hell is in your heart”
It’s actually an expression which encourages us to bring the good things from the inside out. Sometimes we have a problem or not in a good mood and we act like a hell for others.

For me, I believe in God as, my last destination, my all. I do also believe that God has given me already the kingdom of heaven, as I can experience in a temporally happiness through my life in this world. It proves that there is an eternal happiness, which we call heaven, paradise or even the kingdom of God. The only thing I have to do is to be good, to do well, proving that I am suitable for that free gift. This faith has been proclaiming in the Church at least every Sunday after the homily as “We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come, Amen”.