Questions of the Future: Moltmann, Rahner, and De La Torre on Eschatology, Freedom, and Hope

Following Jürgen Moltmann, this paper holds that eschatological thinking is crucial for expanding our imaginations beyond present unjust realities and orienting ourselves towards new possibilities for transformation. The consideration of other theologians writing against German fascism such as Karl Rahner, and critiques by decolonial theologians such as Miguel De La Torre, however, surface questions regarding the imagination of freedom and hope in Christian eschatological discourses. To what extent must Christian theologians emphasize the openness of the future in an effort to maintain human freedom, and to what extent should eschatological hopes for “freedom” be grounded in the assurance of liberation for marginalized communities? This paper draws the works of Moltmann, Rahner, and De La Torre into conversation, considering the ways their unique problem-spaces shape their theological questions, and argues constructively for an eschatological imagination that balances the freedom of the future with the need for concretizing hopes against injustice.