Continuing our summary/review of Tom Wright and Marcus Borg's discussion... For other articles in this series visit http://jmm.aaa.net.au/catalog/section/jc1.htm.

These brief excerpts are meant to provoke thought/reflection...

More from Tom Wright:

'I propose that what we call the second coming, which is actually a metonym for the larger picture which includes cosmic renewal, human resurrection, the royal presence of Jesus, and the sovereign rule of God, was a very early Christian development of Jewish apocalyptic eschatology, both necessitated and facilitated by the unexpected resurrection of the Messiah. What had been expected as a large-scale event at the end of time had happened as a small-scale, though explosive, event in the middle of time. The end had come, and the end was still to come... In this light we can make sense of the notorious 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, which, through the literalistic reading of its apocalyptic imagery, has spawned many a fanciful eschatological scheme among fundamentalists in particular.' (pp. 202-203).

[Note from Rowland: To be fair to Tom and Marcus I'm presenting their summary-views before I offer some of my own... You'll have to *think* first, and then wait for my appraisal].

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Shalom! Rowland Croucher