Now and Forever: A Theological Aesthetics of Time

Building on the insights of the ressourcement theology of grace, this sophisticated theological aesthetics offers a fresh vision of the doctrine of creation through a consideration of the beauty of time. Conventional eschatological accounts of life after death tend to emphasize the discontinuity between earthly life and the hereafter: whereas this life is subject to the contingencies of time, life after death is characterized by a stolid eternity. In contrast to this standard view, John E. Thiel's Now and Forever articulates a Catholic eschatology in which earthly life and heavenly life are seen as gracefully continuous. This account offers a reconceptualization of time, which, Thiel argues, is best understood as the sacramental medium of God's grace to creation. Thiel's project thus attempts to rescue time from its Platonically negative resonance in the doctrine of creation. Rather than viewing time as the ambiance of sinful dissolution, Thiel argues for a Christian vision of time's beauty, and so explicitly develops an aesthetics that views time as a creaturely reflection of God's own Trinitarian life. This thesis proceeds from the assumption that all time is eschatological time and is thus guided by attention to the temporality implicit in the virtue of hope, with its orientation toward a fulfilled future that culminates in resurrected life. This interpretation of the beauty of eschatological time in its widest expanse presses further the insight of ressourcement theology that grace is everywhere, while appreciating how time's graceful beauty manifests itself in the diversity of temporal moments, human communities, and most fully in the heavenly communion of the saints.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments 1. Eschatology, Time, and the Continuity of Grace 2. The Virtues in Time: An Eschatological Anthropology 3. Toward a Theology of Events in Time 4. Tragic Time in an Eschatological Aesthetic 5. The Aesthetics of Tradition and the Styles of Theology 6. Forever and a Day: Resurrected Time in a Heavenly Imaginary Notes Index

About the Author :
John E. Thiel is professor of religious studies at Fairfield University. He currently serves as president of the American Theological Society and is the author of six books, including the award-winning Icons of Hope: The "Last Things" in Catholic Imagination (University of Notre Dame Press, 2013).

Review :
"This is a fresh theology of the 'last things.' Making a persuasive case for a 'thick' eschatology, Thiel writes gracefully as he weaves together strands from a number of complex theological topics into an essay that moves both smoothly and lightly. The book is quite accessible and a pleasure to read!" —David H. Kelsey, author of Eccentric Existence "Brilliant! This work continues Thiel's development of a theology of eschatology, which he began in Icons of Hope, a major contribution to the field. In that book and this, he fully yet succinctly engages the tradition to shape a compelling and quite original view of 'last things' and how such a view can and should shape our views of time and being in time." —Julia A. Lamm, author of Schleiermacher's Plato "Those looking for a poetic approach to religion will find much by which to be edified. Thiel's treatment of hope and waiting are valuable." —America Magazine "As befits an exercise in theological aesthetics, Now and Forever is elegantly argued and those whose theology lives in symbiosis with a preaching and pastoral ministry will find many well-turned phrases with which to inform their practice."—The Heythrop Journal "As its title indicates, John E. Thiel's Now and Forever: A Theological Aesthetics of Time will be found most relevant by scholars who have closely followed the recent surge of interest in two theological topics: the relevance of aesthetics for the study of religion and the place of temporality in philosophical theology." —Journal of Religion