Moltmann, "The Way of Jesus Christ"

I started reading Jurgen Moltmann's "The Way of Jesus Christ,"  It has been interesting getting into his idea of a christology that is connected to eschatology.  Of which I am sure I will talk more about as I get deeper into the book.  What really stood out to me was this quote:

The End-time condition of world history today requires us to see the real misery of human beings as one with the growing universal misery of the earth.  The deadly fear men and women are experiencing is fear of nuclear catastrophe in the present, and ecological catastrophe in the future, and the conflicts in social and economic life which are the result of both.  What was once presented as the general and timeless metaphysical wretchedness of human beings is now returning in the special form of the human miseries of the End-time... The antinomies of modern civilization are drawing human beings and nature deeper and deeper into a common destiny.  This forbids any reduction of salvation, whether personal or anthropological.  In the danger of annihilation that is hanging over us, God's salvation is the healing and survival of the whole threatened earth and all individual created beings, in their common peril (45-46).


I was really taken by the insight into the issues today.  By no means has the fear of nuclear annihilation gone away but, the ecological crisis has come to the forefront of social concern for many.  This view of humanity and nature being driven to a "common destiny" is becoming more and more apparent, many times outside of the church.  The impact of thoughts like this has the potential to enliven the church in a fresh new way, as is already at work in many communities.  Another reason why more people should be reading and engaging theologians like Moltmann.  I cannot wait to hear more about his talks at the 2009 Emergent Village Theological Conversation.