(mit John Polkinghorne) „Introduction: Science and Theology on the End of the World and the Ends of God“, in: Michael Welker, John Polkinghorn (Hg.), The End of the World and the Ends of God: Science and Theology on Eschatology, Harrisburg: Trinity 2000, 1-13.
Not only our individual life but also the universe is doomed to physical decay! This scientific insight of the twentieth century poses a great challenge to Christian theology and faith. How can we believe in God and think of God and God’s intentions for the world when human remembrance and history will finally come to an end? Should we settle with an ideology of “just-me-And-my-God”, which does not care much about the creator of heaven and earth and the God of the world? Should we join those who are not concerned very much about a future beyond two generations down the road? Or should we be haunted by the notion of the finitude of the universe and its effects on our understanding of the power of God over reality, history, and the future? Should we be haunted by the threat of apathetic and cynical moods, caused by the impression, that if the universe is finite, then there is only silence in the end. In the long run everything will be in vain! This book deals with these difficult questions.