Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 87 No. 2, 2017.
Izvorni znanstveni članak
Is There Hope for Earth and its Inhabitants? The Message of the Great and Small Apocalypse of the Prophet Isaiah Read in the Light of Theology of Land in the Darkness of the Ecological Crisis (Is 24 – 27; 34 – 35)
Đurica Pardon
orcid.org/0000-0002-6400-3740
Sažetak
The belief that there will once be the end of Earth and earthly reality is one of the fundamental postulates one encounters not only in the (neo)apocalyptic view of the world, but also in Christian theologically explained truths about the material world and earthly reality. Taking the examples of Isaiah´s small and great apocalypse, this article will show that the Biblical faith and hope that is testified by apocalyptic writers aims at finding a solution for the problem of being without a land and without a home by looking for an answer that will satisfy people and nations that found themselves in the state of being rooted out of their land by either not living in it or, if they do, feel separated from it. The apocalyptic understanding of earth is grounded in the belief that the »real« and true earth is the place of sojourn with God, the place where people live a peaceful life with each other and in harmony with the creation. Israel never gave up onthis idea in its history. The wish and longing for the reinstitution of the (new) Kingdom of God presupposes, in its nature, a return of the people to their land, to their natural territory. The apocalyptic concepts of »heaven« and »heavenly Jerusalem« cannot be separated from their true and material (inner)worldly concepts and understanding of these locations. The land that has been promised by God and given to Israel was and is the reality in which Israel lived and still lives, although not yet entirely. The texts of Isaiah´s small and great apocalypse (Is 24 – 27; 34 – 35), read in the light of theology of land, also pose the question of legitimacy of theological interpretation of apocalyptic texts as those that announce the destruction and devastation of Earth, the planet on which people live, as well as the whole material reality. The reading of Biblical apocalyptic texts from the perspective of theology of land seems to be a justified procedure that might offer a clearer understanding of the topic of land in the current historical moment when we feel and experience our Earth, and the human kind with it, as being threatened in its existence and dignity, while theological interpretations on the relationship between the future life and the facts of time, space, and earthliness are still inadequate.
Ključne riječi
apocalyptic writings; land; Isaiah; theology of land; ecological crisis; being without a land; the end of the world
Hrčak ID:
184961
URI
Datum izdavanja:
20.7.2017.
Posjeta: 1.676 *