THEOLOGY OF HOPE: ON THE GROUND AND THE IMPLICATIONS OF A CHRISTIAN ESCHATOLOGY Introduction

Introduction Jürgen Moltmann is one of the most important theologians of the past fifty years. Born in 1926, he spent most of his career (1967-1994) as a professor of systematic theology at the University of Tübingen. Even after his retirement, however, he has continued to publish at the same prodigious pace which had characterized his entire scholarly career. The present work, Theology of Hope, was originally published in Germany in 1965, followed by an English translation in 1967. In many ways, the book was responsible for introducing Moltmann to an international audience, for it struck a very responsive chord with its readers. All over the world things were happening that caused people to sit up and take notice of this new theologian of hope (9-10). Reflecting on the book’s impact twenty-five years after its original publication, Moltmann wrote, “I can only think that it was by bringing together eschatological redemption and historical liberation in a single coherent perspective of the future that the book could make the impact that it did” (10-11).