Why Mission Theology Cannot Do without Eschatological Urgency: The Significance of the End

Abstract

Eschatology, though playing a major role in past missionary motivation, in recent times has been neglected as a subject for mission theology. The sudden demise of Marxism as a global ideology, along with the repudiation of belief in the ultimate triumph of Communism, raises crucial questions for Christians about their own sense of the meaning of history. Has history ended for Christians, or do they still hold to the belief that completion of the mission of God is the deepest purpose in human history and that Christ will return to consummate God's kingdom? The article raises a variety of theological and practical issues against the background of the recent CWME San Antonio Conference and the LCWE Lausanne II in Manila Congress.

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