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The Difference Heaven Makes: Rehearing the Gospel As News
A fresh investigation into the Gospel news of heaven, by one of America's most prominent theologians. By focusing upon a rehearing of the Gospel news of heaven today, Christopher Morse invites readers to exercise a "post-modern permission" to listen to this testimony without either the usual modernist earplugs or an uncritical post-modern "make believe."
Without attempting to retrace the history of images and interpretations of heaven, Morse seeks rather to draw upon this background to get to the heart of the issue of modern eschatological and apocalyptic discussion by proposing in the foreground a "thought experiment." If we hear of heaven as that which is now at hand and coming to pass, in contrast to what Paul calls "the form of this world that is passing away," how significant would the consequences be? Morse proceeds to conduct such a retrial of the news of heaven and its present day credibility by considering the influential legacy of a twentieth century trajectory of theology that responded to the provocative claims of Johannes Weiss.
The Difference Heaven Makes is rewarding reading, both for those who may be well versed in this theological background, as well as for others who may be less so, but who nevertheless share equally an interest in giving fresh attention to the "So what?" question of heaven.
Without attempting to retrace the history of images and interpretations of heaven, Morse seeks rather to draw upon this background to get to the heart of the issue of modern eschatological and apocalyptic discussion by proposing in the foreground a "thought experiment." If we hear of heaven as that which is now at hand and coming to pass, in contrast to what Paul calls "the form of this world that is passing away," how significant would the consequences be? Morse proceeds to conduct such a retrial of the news of heaven and its present day credibility by considering the influential legacy of a twentieth century trajectory of theology that responded to the provocative claims of Johannes Weiss.
The Difference Heaven Makes is rewarding reading, both for those who may be well versed in this theological background, as well as for others who may be less so, but who nevertheless share equally an interest in giving fresh attention to the "So what?" question of heaven.
- GenresTheology
160 pages, Paperback
First published April 9, 2010
22 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 23, 2010
Full disclosure: The author is my doctoral adviser.
Twentieth-century theology was much preoccupied with the problem of history in all its forms, but especially with the problem of history's end (in the sense of both telos and stopping point). Those contests have left Christians today with a broad set of well-defined, highly partisan eschatologies. I've long believed that many of the sharpest differences among Christians, which are often seen as differences on ethics or on human nature, really have to do with how people understand human destiny. The image of a peaceable realm of justice and love is distinct from an endless heavenly worship of one seated on a throne. They're perfectly reconcilable in principle, but the practices that lead you in each direction are very difficult to engage simultaneously. "If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it": Lincoln, as usual, points to the crux. What we need to do has everything to do with where we're going.
This little book (fewer than 200 pages of body text) narrates some highlights in the twentieth century's treatment of the topos "heaven". It proceeds largely along the dialectic implied by the paradox of heaven's nearness: It is close, but we cannot actually grasp it. Formally, the book begins with Scripture-- and indeed, the Bible citations come thick and fast, especially at the beginning-- but this is not a "Biblical theology" so much as a shrewd and pointed intervention in a history of existing exegesis. Morse's debt to Moltmann in particular is clear, but unusually, his French (Badiou, Derrida) is nearly as strong as his German (the standard Barth/Bonhoeffer line of modern systematics). His methods have a certain old-fashioned patience, but they allow him to approach both traditional and radical texts with aplomb.
Morse's own conclusions can sometimes hide themselves in his readings of others. His preferred coalitions are nevertheless clear. Darbyism comes in for a scornful demolition; liberation theology gets nothing but respect, even if Morse is not exactly doing liberation theology. Having just read Kathryn Tanner, I was reminded at times of her own similar center-left rhetoric. A left-leaning evangelical Biblical eschatology (I think especially here of N. T. Wright, but Hauerwas is relevant too) would be largely congruent with Morse's in its outline, but they would diverge in terms of present church and academic politics. Post-liberals tend to dismiss liberation theology, and the hundred years preceding themselves in general, with an appealing swagger. Morse's Scriptural recasting of liberal concerns is more attentive to history and more suspicious of preachers, but for most congregations, I think it would actually preach better over the long haul.
For Morse's students will tell you that he's a preacher and teacher before he's a writing academic. Some of that classroom/pulpit sense comes through in the pithiness of this little book. Its argument is ambitious, but its treatment is as brief as it could possibly have been. Morse told me that successive drafts of the book all turned out shorter than the last, and I believe it. Generally, I favor that approach to academic writing: Don't make articles into books, and keep books compact. I'm grateful, however, to have a class on much the same material with Morse this fall, which will let me look down a few of the side alleys he opens up.
Twentieth-century theology was much preoccupied with the problem of history in all its forms, but especially with the problem of history's end (in the sense of both telos and stopping point). Those contests have left Christians today with a broad set of well-defined, highly partisan eschatologies. I've long believed that many of the sharpest differences among Christians, which are often seen as differences on ethics or on human nature, really have to do with how people understand human destiny. The image of a peaceable realm of justice and love is distinct from an endless heavenly worship of one seated on a throne. They're perfectly reconcilable in principle, but the practices that lead you in each direction are very difficult to engage simultaneously. "If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it": Lincoln, as usual, points to the crux. What we need to do has everything to do with where we're going.
This little book (fewer than 200 pages of body text) narrates some highlights in the twentieth century's treatment of the topos "heaven". It proceeds largely along the dialectic implied by the paradox of heaven's nearness: It is close, but we cannot actually grasp it. Formally, the book begins with Scripture-- and indeed, the Bible citations come thick and fast, especially at the beginning-- but this is not a "Biblical theology" so much as a shrewd and pointed intervention in a history of existing exegesis. Morse's debt to Moltmann in particular is clear, but unusually, his French (Badiou, Derrida) is nearly as strong as his German (the standard Barth/Bonhoeffer line of modern systematics). His methods have a certain old-fashioned patience, but they allow him to approach both traditional and radical texts with aplomb.
Morse's own conclusions can sometimes hide themselves in his readings of others. His preferred coalitions are nevertheless clear. Darbyism comes in for a scornful demolition; liberation theology gets nothing but respect, even if Morse is not exactly doing liberation theology. Having just read Kathryn Tanner, I was reminded at times of her own similar center-left rhetoric. A left-leaning evangelical Biblical eschatology (I think especially here of N. T. Wright, but Hauerwas is relevant too) would be largely congruent with Morse's in its outline, but they would diverge in terms of present church and academic politics. Post-liberals tend to dismiss liberation theology, and the hundred years preceding themselves in general, with an appealing swagger. Morse's Scriptural recasting of liberal concerns is more attentive to history and more suspicious of preachers, but for most congregations, I think it would actually preach better over the long haul.
For Morse's students will tell you that he's a preacher and teacher before he's a writing academic. Some of that classroom/pulpit sense comes through in the pithiness of this little book. Its argument is ambitious, but its treatment is as brief as it could possibly have been. Morse told me that successive drafts of the book all turned out shorter than the last, and I believe it. Generally, I favor that approach to academic writing: Don't make articles into books, and keep books compact. I'm grateful, however, to have a class on much the same material with Morse this fall, which will let me look down a few of the side alleys he opens up.
August 15, 2012
This book is relatively short and succinct, but if read carefully is deeply rewarding and mind-opening. It probably needs to be read twice. Sometimes aphoristic and poetic and at other times overly dense requiring that sentences be reread. However the prose and the logic do become transparent on the second or slower read. Morse argues that the apocalyptic logic of the Gospel in which heaven is heard as news, is one which captures and reframes the other ways which heaven can be and is heard, namely as another place or as an afterlife. In listening attentively to the scriptures Morse helps us to rediscover the news of heaven coming to earth, at hand but not in hand, proximate but not approximating the world that is passing away. I recommend it highly.
March 20, 2016
I was a student at Union Seminary when Prof Morse was teaching this class called "Heaven and Hell" which I stupidly opted not to take being more a bible geek than a theology nerd. I regret this decision especially after reading this book. It is - I imagine - but a hint of what Morse offered in his much loved seminar.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews