This blog centers around three specific concepts:
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1. Covenant
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2. Post-Conservative
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3. Already/Not Yet
Let me explain:
Covenant
Growing up I was deeply absorbed into the pop culture phenomenon of “Left Behind” theology. But in my twenties when I discovered that throughout the history of the Christian church the scriptures were read and interpreted another way, I sought to explore what is known as “Covenant Theology”. While the phrase is relatively recent, the concept is deeply engrossed in the theology of virtually all ancient Christian beliefs and for me it makes a whole lot more sense of the unity within the scriptures.
Post-Conservative
Opening myself up to consider the option of an alternative way of reading the bible was challenging. It required a paradigm shift, and a concept known as “Post-conservative” helped me out. To understand what is meant by post-conservative you need to know what I mean by “conservative” and “liberal” in terms of approaches to theology.
Conservative theology is marked by a habit of raising tradition above Scripture and refusing to consider that perhaps we have understood a biblical teaching incorrectly on merit of the teachings of our traditions. Protestants are as guilty of this as Catholics and the Orthodox.
Liberal theology is marked by a habit of rejecting tradition, and especially Scriptural authority, on merit of what is considered acceptable beliefs which are approved according to contemporary trends. For example, we now “know” that miracles don’t happen, therefore the resurrection of Jesus didn’t really happen.
The middle way – the “via media” to borrow the Anglican mantra of Richard Hooker – between these two polarizations is what has been termed “post-conservative”. Post-conservativism is marked by the habit of keeping all of our traditions and beliefs open to revision in light of further biblical insight and study. It does not bow to novelty or contemporary assumptions (like liberalism) but neither does it pay blind homage to fallible traditional beliefs in light of God’s unchanging Word.
It is this category in which I fit.
Already/Not Yet
I first read the phrase “Already/Not Yet” in connection with the name Oscar Cullmann. When I studied it I was pierced to the heart and wondered why I had not been taught it in church before. The word “eschatology” means the study of last days, as is well known. But the last days began at Jesus’ resurrection. It has been recently discovered that a common belief among the various and diverse sects of Judaism in the first century (BCE and CE) was the belief that when the Messiah would come, Israel would be resurrected, the “Present Evil Age” would pass away and the “New Age” would begin as the Messiah ushered in the Kingdom of God.[1]
Jesus was the “Messiah” meaning the he was the “Anointed One” (whether King or Priest) which means that he “represented” or we might say he embodied “Israel”. Jesus central message was that the Kingdom of God had come and the proof in the pudding was his resurrection. When Paul had his encounter with the resurrected Messiah he discovered that the New Age had come, the New Creation had begun and that the Kingdom of God had arrived.
Yet paradoxically the Old Age remained, the corrupt creation lingered and the Devil still ruled the principalities and powers of the “Present Evil Age”.
In other words: “Already, But Not Yet”.
The concept has serious pastoral, theological and eschatological implications. It means that while we Christians remain in this world, the new creation has begun in us. It means that as Jesus is now currently in Glory, so are we “like him” in this world (1 John 4:17). It means that in Jesus’ resurrection we who have the Spirit have also already been resurrected and are currently sitting in heavenly places, even though the reality of these things has not yet been consummated.
So in this blog I present to you some post-conservative musings of an Already but Not Yet life.
[1] Sadducees excluded from this generalizations.
