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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. >

"Not Every Spirit" explores the notion of Christian faith as disbelief and how the task of 'testing the spirits' develops and comes to be understood within Christianity as a theological discipline called 'dogmatics'. This book is a fresh and timely dogmatic text that will take its place as a standard work on Christian teachings. To believe in God is not to believe everything. To trust everything without awareness of what is untrustworthy is not genuine faith in God. In a biblical understanding of faith in God, then, what is the role of the call not to believe every spirit? What disbeliefs does faithfulness require? Are there some things that Christian faith refuses to believe? If so, how do we come to recognize what they are?'The presence of faithful disbelief in the church', Professor Morse suggests, 'gives the church's teaching and practice its timeliness in every cultural situation'. Part One of his book therefore explores the notion of Christian faith as disbelief and how the task of 'testing the spirits' develops and comes to be understood within Christianity as a theological discipline called dogmatics. Part two focuses on uncovering disbeliefs of the Christian faith concerning the Word of God, the being of God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, creation, salvation, humanity, the church, and the life to come.Here, then, is a fresh and timely dogmatic text that will take its place as a standard work on Christian teachings. 'Professor Morse's meticulous scholarship in this book convinces Christians to examine not only what they believe but also to give attention to what they are called to disbelieve. In today's world of turmoil, distrust, and violence, Morse's work challenges Christians to reflect seriously on what they are to believe and what they are to do' - Delores S. Williams, Union Seminary, NY. 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".

These essays reflect on the future of Christian theology in light of the contributions Jurgen Moltmann has made in his prolific career as one of the world's foremost theologians. They are not a prediction of what is coming in the future of theology, since God's own actions, and human history, for that matter, are not predictable. Expressed here is hope for what future theology should take seriously from Moltmann's work. Moltmann broke the mold of 19th and 20th century theology by focusing consistently on God's promises of a new heaven and a new earth. The result was a theological imagination that is utterly realistic, delighting in the creative tension of theology that lives in an unfinished, open field of negations and possibilities. Hope for the promised future of God casts its light on present sufferings that contradict that future. The prominent themes here focus on the contradictions of God's promises and God's justice. The essays see clearly the human domination that leads to the oppression of nature, the hatred of the poor, the dominance of one gender over the other, the migration of those who find no home in their homeland, and the wounds of neocolonialism. For Moltmann, these sufferings do not belong simply to ethics but to the heart of theology. The doctrines of creation, redemption, and new creation are fully engaged in the political, economic, ecological, and social problems of this time. Here lies the way ecumenism will be reborn in the future. The essays argue that theology should not turn aside from Moltmann's main theme of the resurrection of the Crucified One and of the presence of God's future in the present. Hope opens our eyes to the work of God's Spirit of Life and the affirmation of eternal life in the present. The future of Christian theology should not miss the theme of joy in the face of sin, death, and evil and the celebration of God's cosmic, all-inclusive future in which God will be at home in God's creation.