Suffering in the perspective of God’s governance, eschatology and God’s council

dc.contributor.authorVan de Beek, Abrahamen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-07-29T08:13:19Z
dc.date.available2014-07-29T08:13:19Z
dc.date.issued2014-04
dc.descriptionPublication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access Fund.en_ZA
dc.descriptionThe original publication is available at http://www.indieskriflig.org.zaen_ZA
dc.descriptionPlease cite as follows:en_ZA
dc.descriptionVan de Beek, A. 2014. Suffering in the perspective of God’s governance, eschatology and God’s council. In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi, 48(1), doi:10.4102/ids.v48i1.739.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractFrom the beginning of Christian theology, theologians have struggled with the question of how suffering in the world is related to God’s providence. A classic response to this question is that, ultimately, God’s governance is beyond human understanding. More recently an eschatological solution has been preferred: God is involved in a historical process and he will finally overcome evil. This article argued that both responses have their own problems. In the first God is a hidden mystery, and in the latter either the outcome of history is uncertain or God is waiting unnecessarily long. On the other hand, both provide consolation to human beings in times of suffering. Which one of the two answers is more helpful, depends on culture and context. Therefore, they are both acceptable responses to the question. At a deeper level, one can argue that both refer to eternity − one in a spatial model (above) and the other in a temporal model (hereafter). Both space and time are metaphors in this context. That is also the case when we speak of ‘before’ with regard to God’s eternal council. Ultimately, from a perspective of eternity, God’s council, God’s governance and God’s final judgment coincide. In Christian theology these concepts can only be understood in the paradigm of God’s revelation in Christ, who is the expression of the mystery of creation − as is especially indicated in the letters to the Ephesians and Colossians.en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipStellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.description.versionPublishers' versionen_ZA
dc.format.extent8 p.
dc.identifier.citationVan de Beek, A. 2014. Suffering in the perspective of God’s governance, eschatology and God’s council. In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi, 48(1), doi:10.4102/ids.v48i1.739.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn2305-0853 (Online)
dc.identifier.issn1018-6441 (Print)
dc.identifier.otherdoi:10.4102/ids.v48i1.739
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/95521
dc.language.isoen_ZAen_ZA
dc.publisherAOSIS OpenJournalsen_ZA
dc.rights.holderAuthor holds the copyrighten_ZA
dc.subjectEschatologyen_ZA
dc.subjectGod’s governanceen_ZA
dc.titleSuffering in the perspective of God’s governance, eschatology and God’s councilen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA
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