The Debate About the Parousia of Christ in Protestant Theology

Cezary Naumowicz

The Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University , Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0061-9095

Abstract

The subject of the Second coming of christ at the end of time has aroused passionate debate in theological circles in the last decades. The emphasis on demythologisation in modern theology led to a certain scepticism about the parousia. Some protestant interpretations reduced the
parousia from the category of event to that of symbol (Bultmann, early Barth), while Moltmann defended the expectation of the parousia. For Barth the content of “the future of Christ” is only an “unveiling” of what has already been achieved in the paschal mystery. But for Moltmann the category of “unveiling” needs the addition of that of a final and definitive “complement.” Both the unity of and the distinction between the “already” and the “not yet” of the Christ event can apparently be maintained by extending our understanding of the parousia into the trinitarian, ecclesiological, anthropological and cosmic areas.