We are pleased to announce the launch of the international reading group, Eschatology in Interfaith Contexts, which will explore eschatology from biblical, historical, theological, philosophical, and cultural perspectives, in both reading and debate formats.
The study of the final things—death, judgment, the afterlife, and the end of the world, and so forth — are not only common but also essential to all religions. They provide cosmological, theological, and mystical systems for the interpretation of these-worldly realities and for the organization of societies on earth. Although the magnitude of eschatology was diminished by many religious thinkers after the Enlightenment and its emphasis on Rationalism, the twentieth century witnessed apocalyptic new religious movements that placed eschatology back at the forefront of religious thought.
This Reading Group will explore, by means of selected readings, the key aspects of eschatology, including questions of epistemology, death, judgment, divine mercy, divine justice, the ‘end times, the final destiny of the soul, and the reunion of humankind with the divine.
We will meet for an hour once a month via Zoom, to discuss a specific theme related to eschatology in interfaith contexts. An invited speaker will introduce and read a short text which will have been circulated previously to those registered for the session. The presentation will be followed by an open discussion.
The Reading Group is open to anyone, and we invite you to register your initial interest below.
International Interfaith Advisory Board
Professor Emmanouela Grypeou, Associate Professor at the Department of History of Religions, Stockholm University, Sweden.
Dr Erica Hunter, Centre of World Christianity, Department of History, Religions and Philosophies, SOAS, University of London, UK.
Professor Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Professor of Systematic Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary, CA, USA, and Docent of Ecumenics at the University of Helsinki, Finland.
Dr Zeyneb Sayilgan, Muslim Scholar, Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies, MD, USA.
Rabbi Joshua Stanton, Senior Fellow at The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, East End Temple, NY, USA.
Gallery of Events
- Elijah the Prophet’s Varied Eschatological Roles in Jewish and Christian Discourse
- From Passive to Active: Gender and Atonement in Mary’s Tours of Hell
- Eschatology and Theodicy in the Qu’ran
- Eschatology and Politics in Christianity
- Embodied Cognition and the Soul: Lessons from Cognitive Science and Christian Eschatology
- The End of All Things Is at Hand: A Christian Eschatology in Conversation with Science and Islam
- Developments in Catholic Teaching on Eschatology
- Rabbi Akiva and the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Redemption
- Visions of the Afterlife in the Work of Ephraem Graecus
- A Comparative History of Catholic and Ash‘arī Theologies of Truth and Salvation
