|
|
Limbo, the Eschata, Eschatology and
Christian Hope
The theology of the last things such
as death, judgment, heaven, hell and the second coming of Christ, belongs
to the study of eschatology. This study takes as its principle still
the person of Christ who remains as the source of Christian hope for
all Christians in view of the end time and the future thereafter where
a new earth and a new heaven shall be created.
Definition of Limbo
Some theologians define limbo as a state of being shared by all
those who have died deserving neither the full experience of
heaven nor the everlasting sorrow of hell. The term is taken from
Latin, "limbus", meaning "on the border" or on the edge. The word
also means a border or hem of a garment. This technical theological
term designates the place or condition of those who have died
without baptism, but also without the mortal guilt necessary
for condemnation to hell.
Two kinds of limbo
Traditional theology distinguishes between the limbo of the Fathers
(limbus patrum), and the limbo of the infants (limbus
infantum). The first designates all the just who have
preceded Jesus in salvation history, including Old Testament
figures and all those of non-Jewish origin. The second refers
to the state of children who have died without baptism but also
not committing any sin. In 1794, Pope Pius VI taught that a
Catholic can believe in this spiritual condition of happiness
called "limbo", where no pain is suffered by those who are
destined to be in that state of being.
Definition of eschata
The eschata refers to the last things: death, judgment,
heaven, hell and the second coming of Christ (particularly called
parousia). These last things can be viewed two ways:
by focusing on the destiny of the individual with accounts of
what will happen to him in terms of purgatory, heaven or hell,
or on the other hand, by focusing on the collective destiny of
the world, both natural and human, in terms of a general
resurrection of the dead and the dawning of a new earth and
a new heaven.
Eschatology and Christian hope
The eschata are understood more in the context of eschatology,
which refers to the study of the last things. But eschatology
is always to be seen and guided by the principle that Jesus is
the norm and foundation for all truth regarding the last things
and what would be in the future after it. Jesus and His
resurrection becomes the centerpiece that germinates Christian
hope for our personal lives and the social and ecological
dimensions in which these are situated. Thus, even if the future
remains very much a mystery for every Christian, the promise of
new life in Christ to come can always be imaged in the person
of Christ Himself and through the scripture: "no eye has seen
nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived what God has
prepared for those who love him".
Related sources:
- The New Dictionary of Theology, Komonchak, Collins and Lane,
editors
- The New Concise Catholic Dictionary, by Reynolds R. Ekstrom
|
|