Towards eschatological integrity: some aspects of the theology of history by W. Pannenberg

Wolfkart Pannenberg emphasizes the fundamental importance of history for Christian theology, but it can only be properly comprehended in the face of its completion. Since the one God is the source of all universal history, it is a single whole that determines all its separate parts. The key to its understanding is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which anticipates the eschatological fulfillment of the world and thus becomes the basis of the universal gospel claim to truth. Faith proleptically discovers meaning in the seeming meaninglessness of both individual and universal history. Pannenberg considers unacceptable both the complete rejection of historicism within the framework of dialectical theology and the anthropological substitution of the subject of history. Discussing with K. Barth and R. Bultmann, he emphasizes the importance of a rational understanding of the universal message of Christianity, including with the help of historical methodology, which should testify to the unity of faith and reason.