Resurrection and Freedom. Notes on an Eschatological Reservation

Abstract

There are good reasons for both the assumption that human freedom evaporates in death and the opposing assumption that freedom in a strong sense will persist even eschatologically. This article reconstructs the ascription of freedom to eschatological subjects within three contemporary approaches to eschatology. It shows that the current eschatological discourse understands freedom in a compatibilist way. Subsequently, the article argues that the claim of Christian hope for atonement can only be reconciled with the epistemic status of eschatological faith if “predetermined breaking points” are integrated into the theory design. A libertarian concept of freedom, attributed to the subjects in the eschatological process, can function as such a breaking point.