Charles Mathewes, Eschatology, and the Fourth of July

Posted on | July 4, 2009 | 1 Comment

I accidentally finished the last chapter of Charles Mathewes’ A Theology of Public Life today, on the fourth of July. Lately, study time has been broken up by various (welcome) newborn distractions. But since my academic reading will soon be dictated by various graduate syllabi, I hope to polish off a few more books of my own choosing during my last weeks in Idaho.

Again, I have to offer my recommendation of Mathewes’ magisterial work, which displays the best sort of theological provocation. I only hope that the ramifications of his theopolitics will receive some attention in the near future. I’m still working on a way to connect my strange (but parallel, I insist) interests in conservative/localist political theory and the Augustinian tradition. For now, some assorted responses to the text:

– As Mathewes suggests, if we understand our place in time, “during the world,” we should also understand that time progresses toward a definite, hopeful denouement. Augustine’s parallel Cities exist together in time; yet at the end of all things each will have arrived at distinct destinations. The City of God must therefore be in a different motion than the City of Man. But of what sort? How can two parallel tracks arrive at two different destinations? The only possible way for this to happen is if one advances farther than the other. In other words, the civitas dei extends in continuity through the next world. Therefore, at this juncture, it participates in two historical worlds, and in so doing, it manifests the power the future grace into the present sinful world. The Church is in some ways a time-traveler. Or, as Mathewes more eruditely expresses it, the Church lives proleptically, as if the future were now.

This introduces its own paradoxes and tensions, naturally. The political order which preceded the Ascension and Pentecost was feeble enough before it was upended by the parousia of Christ and the appearance of the Spirit. We might say that the world hasn’t yet recovered.

Before the end of all things, our “place” is one of discordance. Using musical language: we’ve entered the coda, but are paused in a suspended chord.

– Mathewes also introduces (all too briefly) interesting critiques of several contemporary political theologians. Concerning chief provocateur Stanley Hauerwas, Mathewes suggests that we must be wary of positing the church as an ideological mirror of the State. The church as counter-polis should not be its primary identity. Likewise, he argues that William Cavanaugh implicitly imbues the State with a demonic nature, as something beyond grace. In this view, any “good” achieved in public life is relative, never a true, Creational good.

On the other side, Mathewes argues that Oliver O’Donovan errs by defining the Christian as a “subject” to authority, rather than a citizen with ulterior eschatological allegiances. (I do wish that Mathewes had interacted with O’Donovan’s more recent The Ways of Judgment, which addresses at least part of Mathewes’ critique.)

– The modern temptation is to make “an idol out of the world.” Utopian forms of left-wing ideology assume that various immanent political or economic structures and reforms will inaugurate ultimate justice. This is an apocalyptic desire to set all things to right, and one that often ends in tragedy. On the other hand, while left-wing ideology creates idols, the right-wing is the iconoclast party, ready to destroy the idols as embodied evil. With each subsequent left-wing failure, the right-wing declares that any possible civic effort to pursue justice or equity will end in only greater wrong.

But misdirected love (false worship) should not invalidate the created thing itself. The wrongful exaltation of nature should not result in iconoclastic destruction of nature. The idol itself does not deserve our hatred, argues Mathewes, since it is often the victim of the idolater. Well-ordered love restores the object of nature to its proper place. And likewise, our pursuit of justice during the world must be well-placed. Justice exists, and is worthy of our feeble pursuit. And while the liberal is too apocalyptic in his confidence, so is the conservative in her underestimation of the created order.

– With all due apologies to Eric Voegelin, perhaps we also should be concerned with imminentizing the eschaton. In other words, the kingdom is already among us; the Spirit is here, even during our dark ages. We have already been given a taste of the future Resurrection, as we witnessed its first-fruits in Christ and our own baptisms. And yet we also know that with God, each day is like a thousand. The final denouement is beyond our time. While the brightness of glory is here and now, it is dimmed, clouded over by the noetic effects of sin. We are allowed only to see the backside of glory. Our problem is epistemological as well as eschatological.

Comments

One Response to “Charles Mathewes, Eschatology, and the Fourth of July”

Chad
July 6th, 2009 @ 4:45 am

Great Post-
I think more and more we should look at Augustine when thinking about escatology. I think that Harvey’s “Another City” follows yours ideas and really deals with how the church isn’t a a mirror of society.

Thanks for you work.

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Theopolitical is the weblog of Davey Henreckson, a graduate student in theology at the University of Notre Dame. Topics of conversation are political and historical theology, with semi-frequent forays into literature, economics, localism, and the divine American sport -- baseball.