Anthony Kelly’s Eschatology and Hope is, from start to finish, a well constructed, systematic, engaging, and delicately handled delineation of Christian hope. Covering traditional areas of eschatological reflection, such as death, heaven, and hell, Kelly also explores concepts such as purgatory and the Christian expression and experience of hope in and through the Eucharist.
In his initial chapter, Kelly rightly locates the question of hope within contemporary consciousness, speaking of the growing sense of powerlessness to affect change in the world. (p.2) From this position, having outlined the context within which he speaks, Kelly goes on to detail what hope is not. He stresses that hope is not mere optimism(p.5); rather, it is a “patient openness to what is and must be ‘otherwise.’” (p.6) What is more, hope “is not a mere wishing for something more. It is a conduct of life. It is a mode of living and acting.” (p.6) By defining hope in this manner, Kelly skilfully averts any charges of naïve, utopic daydreaming, as he anchors hope within the concrete reality of life experienced in the here and now, highlighting the necessary practical out-workings of such a disposition.
In a comparative exercise, exploring the disposition of a society devoid of hope, Kelly proceeds to describe such a community as lacking expectation for “anything beyond itself.” (p.8) He goes on to note that such a culture “manifests the symptoms of depression” and exhibits “a generalized apathy and incapacity to act.” (p.8) However, in taking the analogy further Kelly verges on, what I would perhaps consider, a somewhat simplistic and ultimately problematic description of depression itself. In his employment of the analogy, it did seem that Kelly would end up placing sole blame for an individual’s depressive illness on an egoistic regard for self and a propensity for childish impatience. All of this to say, that I felt the use of this analogy might have been handled a bit more carefully.
On a more positive note, Kelly goes on, in chapter two, to link the virtue of hope to the rich tradition of Christian reflection on eschatological matters. In doing so he is thoroughly ecumenical, relying on scholars from traditions beyond his own, including Wolfhart Pannenberg and Jürgen Moltmann, as well as key scholars within Catholicism such as Karl Rahner and Hans Urs von Balthasar. What is more, Kelly does not avoid touching on the real challenge of presenting Christian hope in dialogue with modern science. (p.37) Additionally, with similar courage, Kelly tackles head–on, the language of traditional Christian anthropology. He handles brilliantly the affirmation of the spiritual dimension of human existence without capitulating to a neo–Platonic dualism, which would want to set spirit and matter in antagonistic opposition. In laying this foundation, he sets the stage well for subsequent chapters that deal with the Paschal mystery, the bodily resurrection of the dead in Christ and the renewal of all creation. In fact, Kelly’s explication of the Paschal mystery was particularly helpful, as he worked ‘backwards’ from Jesus’ resurrection to the empty tomb, then, from Holy Saturday to the crucifixion on ‘Good Friday’. By discussing the Paschal mystery in this order, the centrality of the resurrection was brought to the fore – an accent that is too often overshadowed in other works by deliberations which focus primarily on the significance of the crucifixion. Whilst not denying the importance of Christ’s death, the events at Calvary are viewed through the dual lenses of the resurrected Christ and God’s saving purpose in sending his Son.
In subsequent chapters, as Kelly moves on to discuss the more morbid topics of ‘death’ and ‘hell,’ the reader has the advantage of having just contemplated the Paschal mystery, which provides them with their ultimate reference point. Whilst highlighting the need for humans to accept their own mortality, with a “genuine creaturely consciousness,”(p.100) Kelly takes care to explicate the biblical notion of death, described as the ‘wages of sin.’ He rightly notes that, “the seemingly natural fact of death… looms through life as ‘the last enemy’ (1 Cor 15:26).” (p.106) Further, he points out that the reason why death is even more threatening for the “self–assertive ego” is because it represents the end of everything that has any meaning to that person. Agreeing with Kelly’s conclusions at this point, I did wonder if his chapter on ‘death’ might have also benefited from some deliberation on the pain associated with the termination of earthly relationships, perhaps tying this idea into a relational understanding of the imago dei. Although Kelly does go on to mention the ‘image of God’ in humanity, he does not call attention to this possible connection.
In chapters six and seven, Kelly reflects on purgatory and hell, and, does so with a precision, authenticity and rigour that does not always accompany such dissertations. These chapters were, for me, inarguably the most insightful and helpful. The problem of evil was handled with great fortitude and the need for such evil to be judged was made absolutely clear. In making his conclusions Kelly also took great care to place all responsibility for any such judgment in the hands of God alone. Further, his reliance, in this section, on authors such as Dostoevsky and C.S Lewis only contributed to its brilliance.
In the latter half of the book, the foundations that Kelly had laid helped bring a coherence and clarity to the final topics of heaven, the eucharist and conversion. Clearly relying on Lonerganian categories, Kelly makes skilful use of them in structuring his discussion. His explanation of the beatific vision drew wisely from Bernard Lonergan’s notion that ‘knowing’ is not the same as ‘looking’ and, in doing so, highlighted the incomprehensible depth of the ultimate ‘face–to–face’ experience with God. In clear Lonerganian style Kelly notes, in regards this face–to–face encounter, that “the more we know, the more we love; and the more we love, the more intimate is our knowing. Being–in–love is experienced as being–in–truth. Both the self and the other are disclosed in their fullest lived reality.” (p.173) Furthermore, the care that Kelly takes in handling this topic is evident in his clarification that “Even though God is ‘seen’ and ‘possessed’ in the glory of heaven, God does not cease to be absolute and inexhaustible mystery.” (p.173) That is to say, “to see God face to face is finally to see that God is the limitless, all–surpassing, and all–giving mystery of true life.”(p.173) In all of this Kelly notes the cosmic scope of Christian hope and the ultimate embodiment of those in Christ, who will be raised ‘imperishable.’ This idea of what Kelly refers to as the ‘transfiguration’ of the current material realm, informs his discussion on the Eucharist, providing a refreshing take on the traditional notion of transubstantiation. He writes, “In its eucharistic setting, hope can inhale the Spirit as the atmosphere of the new creation. It touches and handles the tokens of the transfigured creation. And, so, as hope eats, drinks, hears, touches, and tastes its ‘real food and real drink’ (Jn 6:55), it anticipates the festivity of the heavenly banquet.”(p.198-199) From here, relying on Lonergan once again, Kelly shows that “Hope, then, lives at the intersection of two vectors, the gift of God from above and our spiritual searching from below.” (p.207) Hope is not passively awaiting the return of Christ, but actively living in this hope, which will not disappoint.
Overall this book is well worth the read. Providing a broad overview on the subject of Christian hope, it handles each sub–topic with precision and does so, all the while, against the background of contemporary culture. Indeed, I would highly recommend this text, which is not only systematic but also thoroughly poetic. Throughout his work Kelly’s writing style complements the sensitivity of his subject matter.