Craig S. Keener, Suffering: Its Meaning for the Spirit-Filled Life (Baker Academic, November 11, 2025).

Craig Keener: Seeing what dominates our culture’s interests reinforced my feeling that the church in the U.S. is largely unprepared for suffering. Although the Bible talks a lot about suffering, sometimes when it strikes people who have heard only messages about blessing, they can feel that God has not treated them as he promised. While we have foretastes of the kingdom today, such as healings, the kingdom isn’t consummated yet. There’s still sickness and suffering and death in this world. Jesus, prophets and apostles also modeled for us how to face suffering.

PneumaReview.com: Suffering can take many forms. What kinds of suffering do you address in your book?

Craig Keener: As you say, suffering comes in many forms; I could therefore illustrate the principles with only some of them. Because persecution features dominantly in the New Testament, and it remains a living reality (even to the point of martyrdom) among Christians in many parts of the world today, that naturally features heavily in the book. But we also suffer from other sources. Some accounts from refugees fleeing other sorts of violence or suffering are heartrending. Most of us have encountered, or know others who have encountered, health or financial challenges for which our theology of healing and blessing do not, sometimes, satisfactorily address. Broken families are among the many other struggles that Christians may face.

PneumaReview.com: All people are susceptible to some forms of suffering. Should Christians expect the possibility of more suffering in their lives because of their faith?

PneumaReview.com: How would you respond to a person who says that suffering is a sign that one has failed God or is out of His will?

Craig Keener: That makes nonsense out of Paul’s lists of sufferings and defies the message of the cross. Granted, some kinds of sufferings are biblically normal for Christians (opposition to our faith) and some are biblically abnormal (punishment for non-Christian behaviors, 1 Pet 4:15). But we have plenty of biblical examples of God-followers who suffered from things from which God often delivers; for example, Elisha died from sickness and Paul left Trophimus sick at Miletus.

PneumaReview.com: What teachings or trends in the church today downplay the biblical teaching about suffering?

Craig Keener: I’ve not run into many people who actually teach that Christians will never suffer; but in circles that teach almost exclusively about blessings, some Christians seem to get that idea. I’ve heard some versions of “prosperity teaching” that simply mean that we should trust God to supply our needs for our lives and callings, and I certainly agree with that. But there are also the many versions (what Michael Brown calls “carnal prosperity teaching”) that claim material prosperity as a selfish promise. There are some who insist that everyone with faith will always get healed—although it’s evident that, given enough time, everybody in history, no matter how much faith, without exception, eventually dies.

PneumaReview.com: Do you think ministerial training in the West should place more of an emphasis on the possibility of one suffering for their Christian ministry?

Craig Keener: So many seminary and Bible college graduates go out ready to change the world and are out of ministry after a few years. It would help them to graduate with open eyes. Church people can be mean. We walk with many other church people through their heart-wrenching hardships. We may face opposition from various sources. A church with financial challenges (or even without them) may not pay as much as ministers can get elsewhere (I worked in a restaurant and pastored for free). We also can face discouragement when exaltation does not come as fast as social media sensations might lead us to expect. But faith means not just following God’s call or a heart for ministry when things are going well; it means trusting the God who is trustworthy no matter what.

PneumaReview.com: Please share some things that believers in the persecuted church can teach the church in America.

PneumaReview.com: How can we practically help others when they are suffering?

Craig Keener: It helps us to remember that the sufferings of the present are not worthy to be compared with the glory that awaits us; the struggles of this world are birth pangs (Rom 8:22) from which God will bring forth the perfect world to come. It helps to know that in God’s plan, all things work for good, for us ultimately sharing Christ’s glory and image (8:28-29). But these are things we need to learn before we suffer, because not everybody is in a good place to hear them during their suffering. In all cases, though, we can weep with those who weep (Rom 12:15). Loving people means sharing with them as fellow members of the same body, walking with them, as best as possible, in their pain. In that setting, we can also join them in seeking healing and restoration, and reminding them of the hope that we too find in the face of our brokenness.

PR 

Publisher’s page: https://bakerpublishinggroup.com/products/9781540969439_suffering

Further Reading

Craig Keener, “How to Succeed at Suffering: Lessons from the Gospel of Mark” Influence (February 14, 2024)

“Why Do Christians Suffer?” WTC Theology (TheoDisc/YouTube, October 1, 2025)

This reflection by PneumaReview.com author Dony Donev has been placed alongside his “Reflections on a 200-day Revival” about what he saw God doing in his homeland, Bulgaria, and the USA in year 2024 and beyond.  

Abby Trivett, “11 Colleges That Experienced Revival in 2024” Charisma (December 19, 2024).

David Livermore, “How to Have Hope Despite Political Chaos: Why I Remain Hopeful Despite the Current State of Our World” DavidLivermore.com (March 14, 2025).

Written for an audience of business leaders, PneumaReview.com author David Livermore talks about the scientific evidence for hope in our present, chaotic moment.  

“‘Come as You Are’ Is Not a Slogan for the Church” Christianity Today (March 11, 2025).

In this interview by Charles E. Moore, “Stanley Hauerwas meditates on the necessity of the gospel, the politics of the kingdom, and the high demands of sanctification.”  

PR

In Mark 13 (and Matt. 24 1-51 and Luke 21:5-36) Jesus spoke of all these issues which left a very deep impression on His followers. In this story the disciples made comments on the strength of the stones the buildings were made of and Jesus replied that not one stone shall be left upon another. The Lord was teaching them how temporary such structures actually are. Then some time later He went into more detail with them how things would be in the end times. He spoke of: deception, wars, earthquakes, famines and other signs. In Mark 13:32-37, He stressed to them that no one would know the day or the hour of the end [of the age], but to be watchful and faithful in serving God.

As believers we must stand firm in our faith and look for His coming. The term “Doomsday” should not make us afraid, but instead bring us hope. We are not to put our trust in the things of this world for they are temporary. When we see these things (Mk. 13: 32-37), we are to look up for our redemption draws nigh!

Image: Jared Murray

Are you waiting for Jesus, the Uptaker or for the Mortician, the Undertaker? Regardless of whether we live to see our Lord return in the sky with glory [and take us up with Him], or whether we go down by way of the grave, we shall be victorious so long as we have put our trust in Him, Jesus [the] Christ.

From September 2023 edition of The Grapevine. Used with permission.

Despite the fact that we, as mere fading mortals, go out of our way to not think about death, great works of art and literature tend to inexplicably draw us into the obscure world of mortality. The End of the Christian Life is one of the latest books to wrestle with this topic—a topic that is increasingly inconsistent with mainstream cultural mores. J. Todd Billings provides a freshness and unobscured clarity to a difficult conversation that can be attributed both to his erudite scholarship and present experience with terminal cancer. Billings increases the veracity of his book by engaging with numerous authoritative voices—from early Church Fathers to contemporary scholars. Based strictly on the title, this book concerns a critical phase in the life of a Christian, but believers and non-believers alike, who want to know how to “truly live,” will benefit greatly from the gems found at the surface and buried beneath.

Following the informative introduction, chapter one presents the reader to the pit of Sheol where those who are imprisoned within it feel abandoned, helpless, and cut off from God. Contrary to the belief of some, “no mortal lives for long without visiting Sheol for a time,” Billings muses (p. 30). Often Sheol is experienced in the death of someone close to us, frustrating our attempt for complete control over life. Our consistent denial of the recurring experience of Sheol engenders a false sense of control. Maybe we should stop fighting, “open our eyes and breathe deeply in the Pit itself,” Billings suggests (p. 45).

Billings ponders the views of his friend Walter and that of Irenaeus, a second-century bishop, both of whom approached death as part of a divine pedagogy, in the second chapter, “Two Views of Mortality.” Contrasting views, as seen through the theology of St. Augustine and the author’s experience of the memorial service for his friend Melissa, are then presented as a counterbalance. Although death may testify to God’s love for us, it is both irrational and a consequence of sin (p. 66). The reality of these opposing views is that both death and dying are, simultaneously, gifts of the “arc of human life,” and “an enigma and a wound” that point us to the redemptive death of Christ (pp. 57, 68).

Chapter five addresses two extant views of flourishing—the so-called prosperity gospel, and God’s counterview. With cancer patients as his focus, Billings talks about the religious hope that keeps them enheartened and living. He finds that deeply religious patients choose extreme measures of treatment, their risky choices revealing their view of flourishing. How Christians are formed theologically leads to important questions such as, where does our hope lie, how does God act in this world, and does God want us to prosper? Billings looks at the theology of healing as espoused by Joseph Prince and then turns to the teachings of St. Paul to examine the difference between how humans and God define prosperity. He completes this chapter by redirecting the discussion towards the Pauline emphasis of a life hidden with Christ.

Timing is everything, so it goes without saying that this book could not have been released at a better time. The global COVID-19 pandemic and its hourly coverage by an impassioned media has served to remind us of our frailty by resurrecting a once-dormant fear of mortality. Dying and death is the obvious theme of the book, but this is ameliorated by many other themes such as the human desire for control over death, and the idolatrous trust in modern medicine. I was encouraged by how the author treats these universal human perceptions with informed grace. All Christians and non-Christians will recognize themselves—their thoughts and attitudes—within the pages of this book and not feel condemned. Also, I found the discussion questions placed at the end of each chapter helpful for assimilating what was read. My only frustration was found in a minor misstep that fails to include Christians from outside of the Reformed faith tradition. Some readers may be uncomfortable with Billings’ implicit theology of God’s sovereignty, water baptism, and irresistible grace; however, any noticeable doctrinal differences do not detract from the book’s overall message. Altogether, J. Todd Billings offers to his audience a gripping message of resurrection hope in Christ, thereby lifting everyone with faith in God, up and out of the deep, dark, and ensnaring pit of Sheol.

Reviewed by Joseph R. Fiorentino

This book review previously appeared in Didaskalia: The Journal of Providence Theological Seminary, Volume 30 2021-2022, CS ISSN #0847-1266. Used with permission.

Publisher’s page: http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/the-end-of-the-christian-life/392000

Hope and Community constitutes the fifth and final of the planned volumes for Kärkkäinen’s opus, A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World. Constructive theology is different from traditional systematic and dogmatic theologies in that constructive theologies are purposely interconfessional, interdisciplinary and interreligious and intercultural (cf. p. xvii). Less attention is paid to biblical and exegetical issues and more to engaging with the “truths” and perspectives of those outside one’s group. Kärkkäinen believes that truth can be found outside of Christianity and that external perspectives are useful in helping us understand our own beliefs more fully. For readers, accustomed to foundationalist approaches to theology, Kärkkäinen’s coherentist approach can be quite disorienting. Nevertheless, those, willing to be led on this journey with no defined destination will find the path full of thought-provoking insights both for Christian theology and their understanding of the great religions of Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.

Like other volumes, Kärkkäinen disrupts the typical sequence of topics by discussing eschatology (i.e., hope) before the church (i.e., community). How much that disruption helps reorient readers, I will let readers decide for themselves. Part 1 delves into the topic of hope or eschatology. He discusses eschatology regarding three spheres, personal and communal, human and cosmic, and present and future (p.17). As is characteristic of constructive theologies, Kärkkäinen investigates how science understands the end. He accepts Science’s negative predictions based on a Neo-Malthusian understanding of humanity’s impact on creation. But Kärkkäinen should be commended for reminding scientists that they often make non-scientific statements as they move to metaphysical ones. He then reviews, in a non-critical manner, how eschatological themes are taken up by Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.

In chapter 7, Kärkkäinen addresses the ecofeminist criticism that Christianity’s focus on the afterlife allowed her members to ignore/degrade the present condition of the planet. He correctly rejects the notion that belief in the afterlife requires a rejection of the present but grants too much weight to the socialist’s critique of capitalism and biocentrism’s critique of anthropocentrism as sources of environmental degradation. Though Kärkkäinen’s reading list is enormous, he neglected to read works sufficiently critical of the so-called environmental movement such as my own, Dominion over Wildlife? An Environmental-Theology of Human-Wildlife Relations (2009) or by E. Calvin Beisner to name two. The fact is many of the nations who have degraded their environments have anti-Christian cultures allowing rampant corruption along with the lack of economic freedom required by capitalism.

On the thorny subject of heaven and hell, Kärkkäinen offers what he calls “hopeful universalism”. He is hopeful that God will provide a way for all to accept Christ without violating the personal choice of those who persist in rejecting him. Those of a Calvinistic persuasion will find much to critique in this chapter.

Kärkkäinen addresses other topics such as the church’s nature (i.e. triumphant vs militant) and her offices. Surprisingly, he does not even believe that the Bible mandates any particular offices in the first place. But if there are to be offices, women should have equal access to hold them. Sadly, the lack of exegetical discussion diminished the force of his views for this reader.

In this final volume, Kärkkäinen does take a few pages to revisit his methodology (pp. 1-4). He reiterates his commitment to a post-foundationalist (i.e. coherentist) theory of truth. He affirms the necessity of integrating insights from outside one’s faith to help reduce, but not eliminate, the inherent biases of our cultural-historical conditionedness. Kärkkäinen is certainly a careful thinker, who seeks to avoid the traps and naivete of arbitrary dogmatisms. But he made a couple of comments that were troubling to me. On page 2 he writes, “… we hasten to add that we humans never have a direct, uncontested access to the infinitely incomprehensible God.” I appreciate where he is probably coming from, that there is a distinction between how we perceive something versus the nature of the thing itself, but can a Christian affirm that? Did Paul when he was taken to the third heaven have direct access to God? What about Paul’s Damascus Road encounter? Perhaps more troubling is the statement from page 3 which says, “That tradition, however, is neither a straitjacket that limits creative pursuit of knowledge nor a basis for mere repetition and defense.” I would agree that tradition is not a straitjacket as that is too restrictive. But tradition does act as a guard rail on the road that tells us the absolute limits of orthodoxy. Jude 3 assumes that there is a tradition, a body of faith that is fixed. Accept it or deny it but don’t tweak it. I would simply ask, “Are Christians called to be creative or faithful?” I wonder if academics, under pressure to always say something new, are too often motivated to be creative at the expense of faithfulness. We can be creative but in our presentation, not the substance. Ultimately, we must ask ourselves, “What is the substance of the faith that empowers us to evangelize like the Apostles did?” If we make that faith too uncertain, too squishy, too historicized, what is there left to care about let alone share with the world?

To conclude, I thought I would highlight several benefits that readers can glean from this series.

1. Categories. Kärkkäinen provides readers with lots of helpful categories and distinctions on a range of topics. These alone are worth the price of the series.
2. Engagement with world religions. Kärkkäinen has done some heavy lifting by outlining the beliefs of various religions and how they relate to similar areas within Christianity. If you are interested in inter-religious dialogue or apologetics, you would do well to get started here.
3. Science and Christianity. Though the series is not focused on science and religion, Kärkkäinen’s engagement of cutting-edge scientific theories/speculations are helpful introductions to some very arcane, but important, topics. His analysis of time/space, and mind/brain are particularly noteworthy.
4. Lack of Evangelical shibboleths. If you wish to learn how to write about Christian theology while avoiding Evangelical buzzwords or fighting words, then Kärkkäinen’s volumes will lead the way.

Reviewed by Stephen M. Vantassel

Preview Hope and Community: https://books.google.com/books/about/Hope_and_Community.html?id=eCxbDwAAQBAJ

Publisher’s page: https://www.eerdmans.com/Products/6857/hope-and-community.aspx

Read Stephen M. Vantassel’s reviews of all five books in Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen’s series A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World:

Volume 1: Christ and Reconciliation

Volume 2: Trinity and Revelation

Volume 3: Creation and Humanity

Volume 4: Spirit and Salvation

Volume 5: Hope and Community

Amid U.S.-Iran tensions, broadcaster SAT-7 gives Iranian Christians first opportunity to share with millions of viewers, many from extremist backgrounds

EASTON, Md. – On January 27, 2019, pioneering broadcaster SAT-7 announced a virtual, “real-time” television news-talk show – Signal – that is the first program of its kind encouraging Iran’s “secret church” – at a time when U.S.-Iran tensions have ramped up the threat of persecution against Iranian Christians.

Middle East satellite TV network SAT-7 (www.sat7usa.org) is now beaming the live, interactive Persian-language program into thousands of homes across Iran and the entire region for the first time, providing Iranian Christians with an opportunity to share their stories with millions of viewers, including many from extremist backgrounds.

“Inside Iran today, God is causing a commotion,” said Dr. Rex Rogers, SAT-7’s North America president. “The outside world often perceives Iran to be a country filled with hostile zealots. But the reality is that God is building the fastest-growing, most energized church in the world today in Iran.”

Reports from inside Iran suggest that hundreds of thousands of Iranians are turning to Christ as spiritual revival sweeps the Islamic Republic and young Iranians grow increasingly disillusioned with life under the hardline regime.

Current tensions between Iran and the U.S. have increased the risk of persecution against minorities, including Iran’s estimated 800,000 Christians – thousands of whom meet in secret “underground” house churches because of constant fear of arrest and imprisonment.

It is illegal for Christians in Iran to share their faith with non-Christians, or hold church services in Farsi, the country’s common language.

Satellite Broadcasts Evade Censors

Hundreds of thousands of isolated Christians, cut off from other believers, rely on satellite TV and the Internet to connect. Governments cannot censor satellite broadcasts, leaving organizations like SAT-7 free to broadcast into homes 24/7.

“During this uncertain time in Iran’s history – and amidst the fastest growing church in the world – our TV show Signal gives Iranian viewers the opportunity for the first time to call in and share their encouraging stories and experiences live on-air,” said program producer Petros Mohseni.

Jahan, a former Muslim extremist taught to hate Christians, called in to share his story. “Before I gave my heart (to Jesus), I read the Book… and I found the way,” he said. “My heart aches for my father and mother. They don’t answer my calls, and I know if they found me, they’d kill me.”

Another viewer shared live on-air how he became a believer after a taxi driver gave him a Bible. “I read John 15:16: ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit’ (NIV)… the very same words that I’d heard in a dream.”

Iran, with a population of 82 million, ranks ninth globally on the 2020 World Watch List “persecution chart” recently published by mission agency Open Doors, which describes persecution of Christians in Iran as “extreme.”

“Often, our viewers aren’t even aware of their basic human rights,” Rogers said. “SAT-7 helps inform people in Iran and other Middle East countries of their rights, and this serves as a starting point to bring about change.”

About SAT-7

Launched in 1996, SAT-7 (www.sat7usa.org) — with its international headquarters in Cyprus — broadcasts Christian and educational satellite television programs to more than 25 million people in the Middle East and North Africa. Its mission is to make the gospel available to everyone, and support the church in its life, work and witness for Jesus Christ. SAT-7 broadcasts 24/7 in Arabic, Farsi (Persian) and Turkish, using multiple satellite channels and online services.

NEW HOPE FOR IRAN’S ‘SECRET’ CHURCH: Middle East satellite TV broadcaster SAT-7 (www.sat7usa.org) is now beaming its live, interactive Persian-language Signal show into homes across Iran and the entire region — giving isolated Christians their first opportunity to connect on-air with other believers in real-time. Click here to watch.

This report adapted from the Press Release from InChrist Communications.

Change can be exciting; but it is also stressful. Many people are excited and others are anxious about what change will mean for them.

For a moment, let’s move away from our own struggle to adjust to change and pay attention to  the devastation some nations are enduring. According to reports, the Syrian crisis in the City of Aleppo has escalated such that millions of people’s lives are absolutely devastated in this region of the world, alone. Not to mention parts of Haiti, Japan, and other places that continue to try to recover from hurricanes and earthquakes. In addition to relief efforts and caring for wounded people, I want to encourage you to do something that makes the world of a difference.

1. We can pray for them!
2. We can consider the needs such as these and open our hearts with compassion for those in our immediate circles; there are people in your neighborhood who are in need of love and compassion.

Peace gives way to violence when there is a systemic breakdown in values. But, when we do our part to contribute to upholding godly values, we help curtail some problems, and we contribute to the solution where problems already exist.

At Christmas time, many people enjoy the fairy tales of Santa Claus, put up beautiful lights and sing lovely songs that have inspired us for years. While we don’t know the exact night of Christ’s birth, we are sure that Jesus, the Christ, was born, and it was indeed a holy night!

Let’s remember, however, that Christ was born amidst a world of chaos. Additionally, only the angels sang His praises at first. No one else understood the good that was happening; in fact no one cared.

Advent reminds us that Christ was born in such a situation to bring hope to the very ones who just didn’t get it.

Jesus’ birth was the birth of divine vision of a world unrighteousness, injustice, hate, violence, and war no longer exist.

Today, Christ invites us to participate in God’s vision for the world.

Raul, when we fully embody Christ’s values, the Body of Christ becomes the solution the world needs.

Jesus is the answer for the world today!

Will you pray this prayer with me?

Come Holy Spirit; heal our world. May we embrace Christ’s values and be His presence in the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Have a great week!

Dr. Antipas

December 19, 2016

What can Christians do to bring racial unity in their communities?

Added October 3, 2016: “Here is a clip from my interview about the recent race related community factions concerning police killings in America with Andrew Knox on the 700 Club Interactive. The interview aired last Thursday on the Free Form Network (formerly ABC Family Channel).”
 

 
“Regent professor and pastor Antipas Harris shares what Christians can do in the midst of the current social climate of racial tension in America.”

Christianity Today July 2007

Isaac Phiri and Joe Maxwell, “Gospel Riches: Africa’s rapid embrace of prosperity Pentecostalism provokes concern—and hope” Christianity Today (July 2007), pages 22-29.

Does faith bring wealth? The 2006 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life study asked if God would “grant material prosperity to all believers who have enough faith” (24). Nearly nine out of every ten Pentecostals in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa said yes.¹ This cover story in Christianity Today investigates the growing dominance of prosperity teaching as being shared throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

While some African prosperity teachers are given brief quotations, the majority of the article presents a highly critical perspective. Some Pentecostal/charismatic scholars are quoted to offer an overview of the parallel growth of Pentecostalism and prosperity teaching in Africa. However, some of these scholars may take exception to the summary of Word of Faith doctrine and health-and-wealth made in this article.

A direct connection is made from E. W. Kenyon to both the heretical New Thought movement and the Christian Science cult. “By the turn of the 20th century, Essek William Kenyon, a pastor and founder of Bethel Bible Institute, had incorporated similar ideas into his preaching on the finished work of Christ” (25). This ignores scholarship² that argues Kenyon taught what some believe to be biblical principles that were influenced by the positivism of New Thought but in distinct contradiction to it. A further connection is made between the late Kenneth E. Hagin and Kenyon. The article claims, “Hagin taught Christians they could get rich by mustering enough faith” (25-26), ignoring any Word of Faith teaching that God’s prosperity is grace to be received in every part of life. Although it may be a case of too little too late, Hagin wrote Midas Touch: A Balanced Approach to Biblical Prosperity (Kenneth Hagin Ministries, 2002) before he died to address this kind of abuse. Marginalization and misrepresentation of Word of Faith beliefs does nothing to bring its adherents to conversation regarding what is sound biblical teaching.

J. Lee Grady, editor of Charisma magazine, is quoted as urging discernment when investigating the “strains” of prosperity teaching being preached. “Many of the renewalist leaders in Nigeria preach prosperity as a biblical concept based on the promises of Deuteronomy … proclaiming that when people serve Jesus Christ and renounce other gods, God blesses their nation and economy” (page 24). God is moving, Grady says, despite the greed of some.

The second half of the article considers critics of prosperity teaching from within Africa, and presents a balanced critique of a movement that this article depicts as being out-of-control.

Running along with this article is “First Church of Prosperidad: Arlene Sanchez Walsh on the African-style prosperity gospel right in our backyards—in immigrant Latino churches” (pages 26-27).

Coincidentally, The Christian Century featured a cover story on the same subject. Paul Gifford, an expert in African Christianity, says that growing Pentecostal churches in Africa focus on achieving success. He addresses the tensions that arise when poverty and setbacks to “success” are the daily reality. “Expecting miracles: The prosperity gospel in Africa” The Christian Century (July 10, 2007).

Reading these articles, especially Gifford’s, will broaden and deepen your understanding of Christianity in Africa and how the doctrine of prosperity has been imported there from America.

Reviewed by Raul Mock

Notes

At the time of printing, this article was found online at:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/july/12.22.html

“First Church of Prosperidad” may be found here: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/july/13.26.html

“Expecting Miracles” by Paul Gifford may be found at this location: www.christiancentury.org/article/2007-07/expecting-miracles-0

¹ Time magazine’s 2006 poll of American Christians had 61% believing that God wants people to be prosperous, and 31% agreed that if you give your money to God that God will bless you with more money. “Does God Want You To Be Rich?” Time (September 10, 2006). http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1533448-2,00.html

²Two such studies may be found in Geir Lie, E.W. Kenyon Cult Founder or Evangelical Minister? (Refleks Publishing, 2003) and Joe McIntyre, E.W. Kenyon: The True Story (Charisma House, 1997).

Roland Chia, Hope for the World: A Christian Vision of the Last Things,Christian Doctrine in Global Perspective Series; series editor David Smith, consulting editor John Stott (Downer’s Grove: IVP Academic, 2005), 164 pages.

Roland Chia has written a clear and concise alternative to an all-too-common array of eschatological texts ranging from watered down and weightless to way out and weird. His is neither. The contribution of Chia (Trinity Theological College, Singapore) to the Christian Doctrine in Global Perspective series, edited by acknowledged Evangelical heavies David Smith and John Stott, is stimulating and substantive. Here the series admirably achieves its twin goals of providing texts informed by non-Western Christianity but still applicable for Western Christians. This positive combination is significantly assisted by Chia’s obvious familiarity and intimacy with the Southeast Asian religious context and that of the West as well. The result is exceptional eschatological analysis.

Chia begins by underlining the nature and need of hope in the Asian context. He does not shy away from speaking to issues of terrorism and peace, wealth and poverty, or world religions and worldly ideologies, but sounds a hopeful note bravely based on Christian belief. In fact, he sharply distinguishes secular optimism in cultural or technological progress from Christian hope in Christ. Chia briefly surveys the hope of Israel, accenting the Kingdom of God, the Messiah, and the day of the Lord, but addressing the afterlife too, and of the Church, here accenting Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom and its timing along with Paul’s vision of the future as “already-not yet” (a partially and provisionally realized eschatology). Then Chia starts tackling specific topics. In successive sections alternating between individual and cosmic eschatology, he discusses death, the intermediate state, and the resurrection, and then the coming of the Lord and the last judgment before exploring the respective fates of the righteous and wicked and the eternal order of the coming new world. The final chapter brings us back to the present, persuasively exhorting us to an eschatological lifestyle characterized as “living in hope”. For Chia the Church is a worshiping community graced by “eschatological moments” ever energizing its hope; faces the fact of evil and suffering in this present age with an inspiring hope; and, expressing hope in Christ openly and personally through commitment to the discipline of discipleship as an identification with and participation in the cross and resurrection of Christ. Chia effectively integrates dimensions of hope often assumed disparate into a present and future dynamic with transforming power for life here and now as well as forever and always. The book concludes with careful endnotes and a Scripture index, but has no person or subject indexes.