Ewiges Leben

The notion of an 'eternal life' is central to the Christian idea of redemption. For 'eternal life' denotes the state of consummation redemption is directed towards. Changes and shifts within the idea of redemption can thus be made visible by attending to the notion of an 'eternal life'. And it is such changes and shifts which are provoked by challenges to the Christian tradition from societal and scientific dynamics in modernity. It is in focusing on the notion of eternal life that the contributions of this volume analyse and explicate such changes and shifts in the idea of redemption. They do so in looking back into the Christian tradition, developing constructive proposals from contemporary theology and philosophy of religion, and by asking for possible analogies within the field of religion, in diaconia, literature, and biomedicine. The question central to these different approaches is how far Christianity can and should be described as a religion of redemption under conditions of modernity.