Is this all there is? On resurrection and eternal life

Gerhard Lohfink, 1934-

Book - 2018

"Is the Christian hope for resurrection still alive or has it become tired? How can we talk about the Resurrection today? Gerhard Lohfink takes up the question of death and resurrection in this new book. He argues against the dazzling array of today's ideas and expectations and seeks his answers in Scripture, the Christian tradition, and human reason. With his characteristically gentle but clear language, he reveals the power of Christian resurrection, showing it is not about events that lie in the distant future but rather occurrences incomprehensively close to us. They were long since begun and they will embrace us fully in our own death."--Amazon.com.

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Subjects
Published
Collegeville, Minnesota : Liturgical Press [2018]
Language
English
German
Main Author
Gerhard Lohfink, 1934- (author)
Item Description
Originally published in German as Herder as Am Ende das Nichts? Uberf Auferstehung and Ewiges Leben by Verlag Herder in 2017.
Physical Description
xi, 300 pages ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN
9780814684511
  • Preface
  • Part 1. What People Think
  • 1. The Question of Questions
  • 2. Between Skepticism and Belief in the Soul
  • 3. Survival in Our Descendants?
  • 4. Continual Reincarnation?
  • 5. Dissolution into the Universe?
  • 6. The Longing for Extinction
  • Part 2. What Israel Learned
  • 1. Faith Seeking Understanding
  • 2. Radical Worldliness
  • 3. Dissociation from Faith in the Hereafter
  • 4. Security in God
  • 5. Faith in Resurrection Begins to Sprout
  • 6. Israel's Enduring Discovery
  • Part 3. What Entered the World in Jesus
  • 1. Jesus' Preaching
  • 2. Jesus' Deeds of Power
  • 3. Jesus' Powerlessness
  • 4. Jesus' Resurrection
  • 5. The Firstborn from the Dead
  • 6. New Creation
  • Part 4. What Will Happen to Us
  • 1. The Ultimate Encounter with God
  • 2. Death as Judgment
  • 3. Judgment as Mercy
  • 4. Purification in Death
  • 5. And What about Hell?
  • 6. The Whole Person
  • 7. The Whole History of the World
  • 8. The Whole Creation
  • 9. The City of Dreams
  • 10. On the Relativity of Time
  • 11. On the Endurance of the Soul
  • 12. On Participation
  • Part 5. What We Can Do
  • 1. Genuine Care for Our Dead
  • 2. Christian Dying
  • 3. When Does Eternity Begin?
  • Acknowledgments
  • Works Consulted
  • Notes
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In this thoughtful, entertaining book, Lohfink (Jesus of Nazareth), a German Catholic priest and New Testament professor at the University of Tübingen, considers the Christian perspective on large questions of faith and the existence of an afterlife. He begins with an overview of theories about the afterlife from different religions and cultures over the millennia. With supporting quotes from tomb inscriptions, obituaries, poems, novels, scriptures, and philosophers, Lohfink offers perspectives from those skeptical of any afterlife to various understandings of the soul's continuation-whether through descendants (as in Hindi traditions), reincarnation (Buddhism), or becoming one with the universe. Following this general summary, he focuses on the early Israelites' relationship with the divine, exploring how their relationship with one God (rather than the many gods of their neighbors) infused a "radical worldliness." This understanding, Lohfink asserts, then found affirmation in the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Asking big religious questions (such as, "Can God, whose nature is pure love, allow a part of humanity to suffer eternal hell, eternal torment?") Lohfink takes aim at classic discussions of faith from a Christian perspective rooted in wonder and trust. This intelligent, gracious book is a welcome contribution to theological conversations about life, death, and resurrection. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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