For my MA thesis I have been critiquing Hans Conzelmann's theory that Luke is writing his two-volume work under a crisis in the early church-the delay of the parousia (Jesus' return). I am arguing that Conzelmann has overstated the case; nevertheless, this has led me to a question: how do we factor in the parousia with regard to Christian conduct and ethics? If we lose parousia hope, is it possible to live out Jesus' radical ethic of love, non-violent resistance etc?
Certainly, some people have given up hope for the parousia and yet still count Jesus’ ethics relevant for their personal life. Albert Schweitzer, for example, gave up hope for Jesus’ return and lived out Jesus’ piety and even moved to Africa as a medical missionary. In Schweitzer’s autobiography, he writes,
Unlike those who listened to the sermons of Jesus, we of today do not expect the Kingdom of God that realizes itself in supernatural events. We believe that it can only come into existence through the power of the spirit of Jesus working in our hearts and in the world. The one important thing is that we be as thoroughly dominated by the idea of the Kingdom of God as Jesus required His followers to be.”(Albert Schweitzer, Out of the My Life and Thought [New York: Henry Holt, 1990], 56)
My question for Schweitzer is: is it realistic to be throughly dominated by the idea of the kingdom of God in light of a parousia that is pushed into an unforeseen future? Better yet, a parousia that is fully failed? What do you think? I will give my own thoughts on this later this week. However, I would be grateful for any insight my fellow bibliobloggers have on this issue.
My question for Schweitzer
My question for Schweitzer is: is it realistic to be throughly dominated by the idea of the kingdom of God in light of a parousia that is pushed into an unforeseen future? online games
Submitted by Samantha (not verified)
on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 18:18