The Bring About Gods Kingdom On Earth Flashcards
One problem with To glorify and have personal relationship with God and To prepare for judgement
-they focus on the individual.
-Glorifying, and building a personal relationship with God, or preparing oneself for judgement; both have a good outcome primarily for the person concerned.
-A more holistic view is that humans are part of the whole fabric of creation, and that the purpose of everything in creation is to bring to completion God’s work by bringing about God’s Kingdom on Earth.
Where does the bring about gods kingdom on earth have its roots?
-The idea has its roots in the understanding of kingship at the time of Jesus.
-Jewish scriptures take God’s kingship for granted because God created everything, but by the time of Jesus, the Jews were expecting a Messiah who would free them from the oppression of Roman rule, as both an earthly king and a spiritual leader.
-When Jesus refers to the Kingdom of God , he is linking the kingship of God over all of creation to the possibility that there will come a time when all of the created order, on Earth as well as in heaven, will follow God’s laws.
-The Lord’s Prayer, a prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. makes this very clear.
The Lord’s Prayer quote
‘Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in Heaven.’
Hope for Christians
-For some Christians, this hope is an eschatological one; that is, it relates to the end of time.
-They believe that one day. Jesus Christ will return to Earth in glory, and sin and death will be eliminated.
What do some Christian’s see the purpose of their existence as
-other Christians see the whole purpose of their existence as a responsibility to work towards creating perfection on Earth.
-This means that they not only try to build up their own relationship with God, and develop virtues to make them more like God, but that they also work to bring about the conditions of a perfect heaven in their own community and in the world.
What do many Christian’s believe made it possible to imagine the kingdom of god?
Many Christians believe that the coming of Jesus made it possible to imagine the Kingdom of God on Earth.
Mark quote
‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.’ (Mark 1:15 - the word ‘gospel’ here means ‘good news’)
‘the inaugurator of the kingdom’
-Jesus is referred to as ‘the inaugurator of the kingdom’.
-In order to make this kingdom a full reality on Earth, Christians believe they must first of all repent - turn away from- all that is not god-like, and then work to bring about the qualities of God to fruition on Earth.
Qualities of gods kingdom on earth
-The qualities that God’s Kingdom on Earth would have are largely drawn from Old Testament texts, especially the prophets and the Book of Psalms.
-Peace, justice and freedom from want are the key features.
-Those Christians who see their purpose in this way not only seek these things for themselves, but for all those in the world who are the victims of conflict, injustice and poverty.
-They do not concern themselves with preparing for God to intervene: they focus on bringing about these qualities themselves as God’s stewards.
Quakers describing their work?
We believe there is something of God in everyone and this shapes all our relationships and the way we treat others.
It means treating everyone with respect, whatever their circumstances, beliefs, race, age or gender. It also means working to make this world a better place.
Quakers have been, and continue to be, involved in working with and supporting many of those who are the most vulnerable and marginalised including refugees and asylum seekers, prisoners, war casualties and those living with mental health issues.
Quakers work for peace in all aspects of life - locally, nationally and internationally- and we believe that working for peace begins in our own hearts. We do this both individually and collectively. (Website of the British Yearly Meeting)
Evaluation
None of these purposes are mutually exclusive: many Christians work to bring about God’s Kingdom on Earth while also developing their own virtues and a closer personal relationship with God. For some Christians, doing God’s will, or being a good person, is an end in itself.
