Today, the doctrine of the beatific vision has been woefully forgotten within the church and its theology.
Yet, throughout history Christians have always held that the blessed hope of heaven lies in seeing and being in the presence of God, of beholding the beatific vision. With lucidity and breadth, Parkison reintroduces the beatific vision and affirms its centrality for the life of the church today. Parkison argues for the beatific vision's biblical foundations and reminds us—through close readings of theologians such as Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, Dante, Gregory Palamas, John Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards—of the doctrine's historical and contemporary significance. The beatific vision is about seeing God, and as Christians have acknowledged across the tradition, seeing God is our ultimate end.
248 pages
"What is the end—the telos—of classical theology? The beatific vision. What could give the weary pilgrim greater comfort and hope than this promise: one day we will see God. Sadly, the significance of the beatific vision for Christian theology has been lost on the modern imagination. But if anyone can recover this lost jewel of Christendom, it is Samuel Parkison, who is one of the best young theologians today. In a breakthrough book, Parkison lets the beatific vision's pedigree in the great tradition shine. With exegetical rigor and theological precision, he also demonstrates why the beatific vision puts all of Christian theology in motion, from creation to Christology to participation in God. No student of theology can afford to ignore Sam Parkison's invitation to retrieve the beatific vision. This book is an irresistible summons to contemplate the beauty of the Lord himself."
Matthew Barrett, professor of Christian theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and author of The Reformation as Renewal
To Gaze upon God: The Beatific Vision in Doctrine, Tradition, and Practice is in the following collections:
