This dissertation focuses on the notion of the Kingdom of God in Jürgen Moltmann’s eschatology. The notion of the Kingdom of God is understood in many different ways, most of which bears very little relevance to secular life. The problem is therefore created of people either denying the existence of such a Kingdom (because of its deemed irrelevance) or emphasising the Kingdom to such an extent that the problems confronting life are ignored. It is the hypothesis that Moltmann puts forward an understanding of the Kingdom of God that is relevant to our daily existence. The notion of the Kingdom of God serves as an underlying theme in most, if not all of Moltmann’s works. Having suffered tremendously himself, Moltmann seeks to understand the Kingdom of God as not being purely metaphysical, but a way of living that can enhance our experience of the entire cycle of life. This is a literature study, using Moltmann’s book “The Coming of God: Christian eschatology” as the main source. Each chapter in this dissertation focuses on one section of this theological work, evaluates the progression of theological argument considering Moltmann’s other works and then seeks an existential understanding of the point using the South African context. Moltmann’s argument starts with Personal eschatology and proceeds to Historical eschatology, Cosmic eschatology and lastly, Divine eschatology. One therefore finds a natural growth in his argument, seeking the relationship between the immanence and transcendence of God. In order to confirm the hypothesis, this dissertation considers the various understandings of the concept of the Kingdom of God in light of the human views on life, death, history and creation. An exclusively transcendent God is proven to be unable to establish a reign in any of these human experiences, rendering the notion of the Kingdom of God irrelevant. A purely immanent God, on the other hand, also creates an irrelevant Kingdom, being proven to be limited by the confines of human thought and experience. The search in this dissertation is for an understanding of God and of God’s Kingdom that will neither deny the divinity of God nor will see the context of life as too finite to be included in the Kingdom of God. It is the argument that Moltmann’s notion of the Kingdom of God provides exactly that. This view is especially relevant to the South African context, as a growing secularised community progressively questions the relevance of the notion of the Kingdom of God. It is especially questioned as the H.I.V./A.I.D.S. pandemic is causing widespread suffering and death in this country. Moltmann’s eschatology is specifically used as the main doctrine in this argument as he views all theology to be based on the eschatological journey of God and creation. The questions that people ask, namely “Where is life going?” and “What do we have to hope for?” are in essence eschatological questions. It is my belief that this work will provide a theological understanding of the Kingdom of God that is relevant and accessible to especially the South African context. Copyright 2003, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Bentley, W 2003, The Kingdom of God in Moltmann’s eschatology : a South African perspective , MA dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10132003-170757 / > / Dissertation (MA (Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Dogmatics and Christian Ethics / unrestricted

Dissertation ARS MORIENDI IN THE LIGHT OF THE THEOLOGICAL PERSONALISM - POIMENICAL EXPLICATION Ruth Kubíčková Abstract The dissertation Ars moriendi in the light of the theological personalism - poimenical explication aims to investigate how the question of death, life and potential preparation for death, or life in an eschatological perspective is reflected in the realm of social sciences and philosophy, in the Scriptures and by selected systematic and personalistic theologians, in correlation with medieval ars moriendi texts; and in doing so, implicitly define central aspects defining an afterlife hope of a modern human, including its practical theological outcome leading to an authentic realization of a personal ontological responsibility.

The thesis focuses on the eschatology of the New Testament writings, especially on those it's elements, in which the early church found it's hope. A question of transformation of Christian expectations due to the delayed parousia is questioned here; as well as related question of invariant gospel's elements on one hand and a set of it's historical origins on the other. A development of an early church hope is mapped through the compilation of author's thoughts linked to the Scripture and critically evaluated assertions taken up from other sources. Due to a significant depth of the theme, answers to some of it's sub­questions relies on the prevailing consensus, however, in those cases the author adds his own comment. The theme is described in a way of biblical texts or groups of biblical texts analysis. After an Old Testament introduction, there is an explanation of significant Jesus days' sociocultural phenomena, apocalypticism and several non biblical sources, after that the theme goes on with analyzing the Pauline texts. An influence of...

Doctor Theologiae - DTh / Reconstruction theology is widely regarded as one of the most influential approaches to contemporary African Christian theology - alongside others such as inculturation theology, liberation theology, African women's theology, evangelical theology and Pentecostal theology. In this thesis I offer a critical assessment of one of the main exponents of such reconstruction theology, namely the Kenyan theologian Jesse Mugambi. I explore the question of how his position on the notion of reconstruction should be understood. One point of entry into understanding Mugambi's views on reconstruction is to explore his position on the relationship between the church and the coming reign of God. In the history of Christianity this relationship has been understood in widely divergent ways. The task of this thesis will therefore be to examine, position, analyse and assess Mugambi's particular view in this regard. This will be done on the basis of a close reading of Mugambi's publications such as African Christian Theology: an Introduction (1989), From Liberation to Reconstruction: African Christian Theology after the Cold War (1995), Christian Theology and Social Reconstruction (2003), and numerous chapters in publications by African theologians.

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Pentecostals were the largest religious group among conscientious objectors in Sweden between 1967 and 1971, a time characterized by passionate debates on the ethics of war in the shadows of Vietnam and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This thesis aims to review and analyze how the Pentecostal periodicals Evangelii Härold and Dagen described and ethically motivated military violence and pacifism in different contexts during this period. The purpose is to identify potential motivations for pacifism and/or military support during a time when a large number of Pentecostals refused to bear arms, with particular interest in how these motivations related to ethical evaluation on contemporary wars.  Pacifism and conscientious objection were regularly promoted and seldom criticized, while most contemporary military violence was condemned with one glaring exception: Israeli warfare. Unlike the American war effort in Vietnam, Israel’s wars were commonly viewed as eschatologically significant and biblically predicted holy wars, with several writers suggesting that God himself has waged and will wage war on Israel’s behalf. Pacifism was primarily motivated by obedience to the Bible rather than empathy, fitting with Lisa Cahill’s theory of obediential pacifism being distinct from empathic pacifism in the Christian tradition. Support for Israeli warfare was also derived from biblical interpretation, primarily based on Old Testament texts. It was further motivated by ideas of Jewish suffering and death being part of God’s plan, with several Pentecostal writers speculating that an apocalyptic genocide greater than the Holocaust would precede the second coming of Christ. Many Pentecostals did not see this as standing in conflict with personal pacifism and conscientious objection, as both views were perceived as biblical. Future research could further explore the relationship between Pentecostal eschatology and empathy, along with how mid-century Pentecostal Zionism might have been influenced by antisemitic ideas from the 1930’s. / Pingstvänner utgjorde den största religiösa gruppen bland vapenvägrare i Sverige mellan 1967 och 1971, en tidsperiod som karaktäriserades av passionerade debatter om krigsetik i skuggan av Vietnamkriget och Israel-Palestinakonflikten. Denna uppsats ämnar presentera och analysera hur de pentekostala tidskrifterna Evangelii Härold och Dagen beskrev och etiskt motiverade militärt våld och pacifism i olika kontexter under denna period. Syftet är att identifiera möjliga motiveringar för pacifism och/eller stöd för militärt våld i en tid då många pingstvänner vägrade bära vapen, med ett särskilt intresse för hur dessa motiveringar relaterade till etisk reflektion kring samtida krig. Pacifism och vapenvägran förespråkades regelbundet och kritiserades sällan, medan majoriteten av det samtida militära våldet kritiserades med ett uppenbart undantag: israelisk krigföring. Till skillnad från den amerikanska krigsinsatsen i Vietnam ansågs Israel bedriva eskatologiskt signifikanta och bibliskt förutsedda heliga krig. Flera skribenter menade att Gud själv har stridit och kommer att strida å Israels vägnar.  Pacifism motiverades framför allt utifrån lydnad till Bibeln snarare än utifrån empati, vilket stämmer väl med Lisa Cahills teori om att lydnadsbaserad pacifism är distinkt från empatibaserad pacifism i kristen tradition. Stödet för israelisk krigföring motiverade också med bibeltolkning, främst utifrån gammaltestamentliga texter. Därtill motiverades det med idéer om att judiskt lidande och död är en del av Guds plan. Flera skribenter spekulerade i att ett apokalyptiskt folkmord större än förintelsen kommer föregå Jesu återkomst. Få pingstvänner uttryckte att dessa idéer stod i konflikt med personlig pacifism och vapenvägran, då allt ansågs vara bibliskt.  Vidare forskning skulle vidare kunna utforska förhållandet mellan pentekostal eskatologi och empati, samt hur pentekostal sionism i mitten av 1900-talet kan ha influerats av antisemitiska idéer.

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This dissertation contributes to the study of American Christianity by tracing the apocalyptic thought of New England evangelical Calvinism from Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) to Lyman Beecher (1775-1863). Covering the period of the First Great Awakening in the eighteenth century to the dawn of the Second Great Awakening in the nineteenth century, the study identifies Edwards as the progenitor of a distinctive tradition of Calvinist apocalyptic thought. Edwardsean historical-redemptive apocalypticism highlights the “work of redemption” as the unfolding spiritual drama of conversion enacted in various historical stages. Its three-fold emphasis is on revivalism, the afflictive nature of church history, and the cosmic dimensions of an overarching redemptive narrative culminating in Christ’s Second Coming. Edwards’s immediate disciples, Joseph Bellamy (1719-1790) and Samuel Hopkins (1721-1803), reinterpreted their mentor’s insights to create an Edwardsean school of New England “New Divinity” thought. Beneath the veneer of New Divinity theology was a strong undercurrent of Edwardsean apocalypticism, which the second generation Edwardseans adapted to reflect the young nation’s call to social action. The revivals of the Second Great Awakening were driven in large part by the millennial spirit of this New Divinity apocalyptic tradition. Due to rapid societal changes at the turn of the century, Edwardseans of the third generation led the efforts in institutionalizing religious and moral reform activities. Along with this Protestant “kingdom building” came a shift in Edwardsean eschatological priorities. It moved away from the central Edwardsean motif of conversion/redemption to moralism—from a theology centered upon otherworldly apocalypticism toward a greater focus on societal reform. This transition from subsuming the grand narrative of redemption under the overall rubric of God’s sovereignty to one that viewed the millennium in relation to humanistic moral reform was led by Lyman Beecher (1775-1863), who serves as the representative of the “millennial turn” in Edwardsean apocalypticism during the Second Great Awakening. An overview of Edwardsean apocalyptic thought between the two Great Awakenings provides historians an important window to connect and interpret the development of New England Calvinist eschatology that few have explored in depth. These ideas continue to enlighten our understanding of modern-day iterations of evangelical eschatology.

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