Christian prophecy: the post-biblical tradition

Abstract

Throughout the Hebrew Bible, God guides and saves his people through the words of his prophets. When the prophets are silenced, the people easily lose their way. What happened after the incarnation, death and resurrection of Christ? Did God fall silent? The dominant position in Christian theology is that prophecy did indeed cease at some point in the past - if not with the Old Testament prophets, then with John the Baptist, with Jesus, with the last apostle, or with the closure of the canon of the New Testament. The charismatic revival in both Protestant and Catholic circles has once again raised the question whether there can be such a thing as true prophecy in modern times. Scholarly theological attitudes toward contemporary prophecy range from the neglectful through the dismissive to the contemptuous. Mainstream systematic theology, both Protestant and Catholic, marginalizes or ignores the gift of prophecy. In this book, however, Niels Christian Hvidt argues that prophecy has persisted in Christianity as an inherent and continuous feature in the life of the church. He presents a comprehensive history of prophecy from ancient Israel to the present and closely examines the development of theological discourse about it. The debate about prophecy, Hvidt show, leads to some profound and also surprising insights about the very nature of Christianity and the church. For example, some have argued that Christianity is a perfect state and that all that is required for salvation is acceptance of its doctrines. Others, including Aquinas, have said that God continues to intervene and guide his people onto the right path. This is the position that Hvidt forcefully and persuasively defends and develops in this ambitious and important work. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, has provided an appreciative Foreword.