Eschatology on the Web
There is no shortage of material here. Google and Yahoo have directory pages devoted to eschatology and end times, respectively. The sites covered are all in regard to Christian fundamentalist interpretations of biblical end time prophecies.
It is fair to say that its eschatology is the feature that most clearly distinguishes fundamentalism from the rest of Christianity. It is a belief that fundamentalists happen to share with the earliest Christian communities, according to the historical record, but there remains some controversy as to whether Jesus was a direct source of that concern. Eschatological beliefs permeate the entire prophetic tradition, almost by definition, but it does appear that Christians are not to be outdone in the degree to which they have elaborated upon this one theme.
Otherwise the subject of eschatology is virtually taboo. My criticism of the traditional prophetic eschatology is for its unnaturalness. Armageddon, apocalypse and Judgment feature prominently in the teachings. The eschaton is the mark of a wrathful God. Only a faithful remnant may be spared the full brunt of this wrath.
Such views hardly conform to the philosophy of the Best Possible World . What is at work here are the remnants of dualistic thought going back at least to the good and evil ones, Ahura and Ahriman, of Zoroastrianism. The Gnostics attributed evil to matter and even to nature, setting aside any rationale for creation. It was God's duty to destroy evil in the end, which He would do with relish.
On the immaterialist view, the coherence of the temporal world implies the finitude of its temporality. Obsolescence is a natural and logical part of our world. The realm of eternity is another matter, of course. The only question for theodicy is the optimal duration. We will be partly responsible for this determination as part of our Millennial preparations for the Omega, in close consultation with God.
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7/11/02