Halen som logrer med hunden

The tail is wagging the dog: On Pentecostal eschatology and social engagement Pentecostals have often been accused, and rightly so, of an other-worldly eschatology that leads to escape from, rather than engagement in, society. In contrast, this article seeks to demonstrate that Pentecostal spirituality and worldview carry the seed of a more fruitful approach towards social engagement and transformation, and proposes (a) proleptic anticipation, (b) holistic soteriology, (c) openness to God, and (d) prophetic imagination as starting points for an eschatology that takes both Pentecostal characteristics and the well-being of society seriously. Further, the study points out dispensationalism, fatalism, understanding of time, and waning eschatological expectations as issues that must be addressed for this potential to be realized. Finally, it concludes with implications for pastoral leadership and preaching, highlighting the need for an eschatological pulpit to avoid the damage of the contemporary therapeutic culture in the life of the church.

Prophetic Imagination and Empire in Asia

The aim of this article is to identify the glimpses of prophetic imagination amongst the Christian communities in Asia, particularly in Korea and Japan, who are engaged in resisting the new round of militarization in the twenty-first century. This resistance denounces the globalist security complex in the region and announces a nonmilitaristic alternative forming a praxis that is necessary for a new theology of peace in East Asia and in Asia broadly. The political reality of the new round of military empire-building will be discussed with a personal narrative and a political analysis after which the theological meaning of prophetic imagination as opposed to imperial consciousness will be analyzed, correlating the personal and political with the theological. The ways in which the resistance to militarization resonates with the prophetic imagination of an alternative consciousness and community will be examined through an analysis of memories and renunciation of war by the churches. Broad implications of these resonances for a peace theology in Asia will be identified.