The future of hope : Christian tradition amid modernity and postmodernity / edited by Miroslav Volf & William Katerberg.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Volf, Miroslav.

Katerberg, William H. (William Henry), 1966-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hope--Religious aspects--Christianity--Congresses.

Hope.

Hope--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Hope--Religious aspects--Christianity--History of doctrines--Congresses.

Hope--Religious aspects--Christianity--History of doctrines.

Genre:

Conference papers and proceedings.

Physical Description:

xiv, 235 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Grand Rapids, Mich. : William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., [2004]

Summary:

Over the Last Three Decades a major cultural shift has taken place in the attitudes of Western societies toward the future. Modernity's eclipse by postmodernity is characterized in large part by the loss of hope for a future substantially better than the present. Old optimism about human progress has given way to uncertainty and fear. In this book scholars from various disciplines -- theology, the social sciences, and the humanities -- explore the move from a "culture of optimism" to a "culture of ambiguity," and they seek to infuse today's jaded language of hope with a new vitality. The Future of Hope offers a powerful critique of today's stifling cultural climate and shows why the vision of hope central to Christian faith must be a basic component of any flourishing society. The first section of the book sets the context with telling cultural criticism of modernity. The second section focuses on affinities between premodern Christian visions of hope and twentieth-century thought. The final section of the book examines the relationship between postmodern thought, Christian tradition, and biblical hope, addressing how Christians in a postmodern world can best articulate their faith. sWritten by truly profound thinkers, these chapters are diverse in their content, thodologies, and temperament, yet they are united by a deep engagement with both the Christian tradition and the larger cultural and intellectual climate in which we live and work. The Future of Hope can thus be read not just as an attempt at retrieval of hope for today but as itself one small act of hope in an age when people too seldom take time to think critically and hopefully.

Contents:

Introduction: Retrieving Hope / Miroslav Volf, William Katerberg ix

Section I Hope amid History and Late Modern Culture

Progress and Abyss: Remembrances of the Future of the Modern World / Jurgen Moltmann 3

Contrary Hopes: Evangelical Christianity and the Decline Narrative / Daniel Johnson 27

History, Hope, and the Redemption of Time / William Katerberg 49

Section II Early Christianity in Conversation with Contemporary Thought

Seeking Justice in Hope / Nicholas Wolterstorff 77

The Crossing of Hope, or Apophatic Eschatology / Kevin L. Hughes 101

Natality or Advent: Hannah Arendt and Jurgen Moltmann on Hope and Politics / David Billings 125

Section III Christian Hope and Postmodernity

The Gospel of Affinity / John Milbank 149

Wounded Vision and the Optics of Hope / Robert Paul Doede, Paul Edward Hughes 170

Determined Hope: A Phenomenology of Christian Expectation / James K. A. Smith 200.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

0802827527

OCLC:

54677457