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.

Table of Contents:
Ch. 1 Hearing of Heaven Today Ch. 2 The Theology of Heaven Ch. 3 The Reality of Heaven Ch. 4 The Ethics of Heaven Ch. 5 The Hope of Heaven

About the Author :
Christopher Morse holds the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair in Theology and Ethics at Union Seminary, New York, and is the author of The Logic of Promise in Moltmann's Theology.

Review :
Those who wrestle with speaking of God today will find a powerful stimulus in Christopher Morse's tightly argued contribution to biblical and systematic theology. Small shifts of language open up new vistas on the credibility of Christian hope and human life shaped by it, drawing the reader into an intimate and life-enhancing conversation. [This book] will reward students with a provocative thesis (sure to draw fire from both the liberal and literal sides of the issue) and an introduction to many of the crucial questions of modern theology. Libraries serving research students focused on modern theology and ethics should own this title. Tracing the contours of that heaven of which the gospel tells, Christopher Morse shows himself once again to be a consummate teacher of the art of discernment. Gently, boldly, clearly and profoundly, he helps us to hear afresh the good news about heaven's coming for the sake of a more vivid faith, courageous service and abiding hope. The result is a work of distinctive value to scholars, students and preachers. Surely we may count Morse amongst those students of the scriptures who, having gone to school with the kingdom of heaven, bring forth treasures both new and old. For this book is just such a treasure. The church hears every week the references to heaven that abound in scripture and in Christian prayers and confessions. Members of the church also hear and employ in their own conversation references to heaven that are fundamentally at home in our general culture. How are we to relate to one another these two sets of references with their significant differences? Consider, for example, the matter of movement. Leaving behind infantile, otherworldly visions of golden streets and spacious mansions in the sky, are we still to focus our attention on our own journey, thinking however metaphorically of heaven as the better place to which we hope to go when we die? Or in the context of God's own good news, do we confess a radically different line of movement? When we confidently pray, "Thy kingdom come, "do we confess that in God's gracious initiative heaven is now coming toward us, being the state of affairs that is "at hand" in the sense of its taking shape among us now as the determining constituent of the real world? And does it follow that instead of having as its fundamental opposite a hell that is the dreaded hereafter, heaven is moving toward us as the dynamic opposite of " the form of this world that is even now passing away"(1 Cor 7:31)? Heard as gospel news, is heaven that which is now coming to pass, in contrast to that which is passing away? And is it in this moving contrast that we see and deal with the world as it really is, the world in which Paul could say, "The Lord is at hand" (Phil 4.5)? All of these questions are faithfully and profoundly analyzed by Morse as, speaking of heaven Biblically, he notes that "we are called to be on hand for that which is at hand but not in hand, an unprecedented glory of not being left orphans but of being loved in a community of new creation beyond all that we can ask or imagine. Refusing to believe that heaven refers primarily to the afterlife or is rendered meaningless by scientific knowledge, Christopher Morse considers the difference heaven makes for understanding the Gospel. As in his previous book, Not Every Spirit, Morse is a master at analyzing the internal logic of Christian belief and uncovering how our convictions inform Christian identity and responsible action. By reading this book scholars, preachers, and students will gain new insight into the difference heaven makes in their own theological reflections and practices. This will appeal to ordinary readers and preachers as well as scholars. This is a very interesting book, which engages a deep and complex issue in a way which is thoroughly engaged with a breadth of scholarship whilst remaining accessible and readable. It repays careful and thoughtful reading, and will stimulate reflection in creative ways. ‘This dynamic interpretation of heaven is worth much consideration.'