Last week at camp I finally got hold of my own copy of Greg Boyd's talks on the Kingdom of God from Revive! 2005. I've listened to them before but these are such fantastic talks that I wanted my own copies to listen to and lend out!
I first heard these talks on CD about two and a half years ago and they made a huge impact on me. I'm not sure any sermons, or indeed speaker, have been as influential in my life. I remember listening to them and just going 'yes, yes, yes - that's what it's about!' and being completely moved, even overwhelmed by the truth of it. Faith-growing, brain-stretching, life-giving...
Here's a 3 minute clip of Greg Boyd talking about what the kingdom of God - the "dome (domain) in which God is king" - is like:
'What does it look like when God reigns?'
Link to mp3 if the player's not working for you.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
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3 comments:
The clip isn't playing for me. Have you read Goldsworthy's The Kingdom of God and the Old Testament?
Hi Richard.
I've added a link to the mp3 as well, so hopefully that will help!
I haven't read Goldsworthy's book. There are plenty of books about the kingdom - what makes you recommend this one?(Oh, I've just realised you meant the article!) I read a fair bit in preparation for an essay on the Kingdom of God a couple of years ago.
The article makes some good points about the importance of reading New Testament kingdom language in the context of the Old Testament promises and salvation-history. I did have one or two comments as I read it however.
I think it's important that we keep a clear distinction between our own reading of the OT - in the light of Jesus and the NT - and any understanding that Jesus' contempories may have had about the kingdom of God from the OT or otherwise. While I certainly agree that "Jesus' hearers had some concept of 'kingdom' which rested on their Old Testament upbringing" it's clear that Jesus was both fulfilling and deliberately turning on their heads some of the expectations of his contempories about what the Kingdom of God would be like. But in saying that I agree that we overlook the OT kingdom theme at our peril!
I agree that it is important to take Scripture as a whole, (I like Tom Wright's reading of the (hi)story of Scripture), but I also want to take seriously the distinctness of the New covenant against the Old. It's a difficult balance sometimes! I want to read the OT on its own terms, as a narrative history, while still seeing the great salvation themes played out, almost as object-lessons, in preparation for Christ.
I don't see the Old Testament as simply a 'tick-sheet' for Jesus to fulfill (i.e. that it has no meaning outside of Christ), but I would indeed say that in a mysterious way it really is 'all about Jesus', if the distinction makes sense!
I was interested to read Goldsworthy's understanding of Christian eschatology. While I of course agree that Christ's great victory, his life, death and resurrection, are the decisive events of salvation history and key to understanding Christian eschatology, I have trouble seeing how "to understand the gospel - Christ's life and death and resurrection for us - is to understand eschatology" or how Revelation reveals "no new principle, no new aspect of the kingdom of God" (although I see what he's getting at). I am certainly hoping that the final - fully manifested - kingdom of God will reveal some new aspects of the kingdom! The most obvious difference will be that it will no longer be hidden, no longer a 'mustard-seed kingdom', but a fully realized one!
The kingdom may have come with Christ but it is by no means fully here yet. All the Biblical promises do indeed find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ, but many are not fully realised yet. There will be a time when God's will is fully done, on earth as it is in heaven, when the wolf will lie down with the lamb, the river of gladness will flow freely in the city of God and all flesh will see the glory of the Lord and worship him. Heaven on earth is what I'm waiting for!
Apologies if this was a longer response to your comment than you were expecting, but I found the article provoked a number of streams of thought!
Blessings,
Clare
I will come back to this on the morrow. BTW, have you read N. T. Wright's Jesus and the Victory of God? If not, add it to your "must read" list. ;-)
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