Time&Eternity

Aspects of a Theology of Time 231
the hymns of the Church open up a wider spectrum than many theological
models can provide. Although they are superior to theology in this regard,
the hymns also need supplementation by means of theological reflection.
The example of the reduction of eternity to the area of the immanent,
which is found in more recent hymns, reminds us of the urgency of theological
questions. If, as was clear in the example of death understood as the
end, the irrelevance of eternity ultimately destroys time, 242 then we must
ask: What does it mean for the individual, and for Church and society, if
eternity as the Other of time loses all authority for the structuring of life?
How could we today motivate and express the necessity for a perspective of
eternity? How, for example, is an ethic with a perspective on eternity different
from one without any relationship to eternity?
Second, in light of the starting points selected in this study, further
reflections in different directions are not only possible—they are highly desirable.
The reflections concerning a theology of time that I have presented
go beyond the dialogue with the natural sciences in their urge for relationship
to the Other. Let me conclude by suggesting a few further questions
for which a relational understanding of time could be valuable. On the basis
of reflections on time and death in the second chapter, it would be fruitful
to examine different notions of reincarnation with respect to their understandings
of time. A continuation of reflection in the direction of the mystical
experience of time would also be appealing.
The obvious popularity of the topic of time—seen in the number of
publications on the subject—surely also results from the fact that time is a
difficult aspect in the contemporary structuring of life. Many problems of
the modern age have been diagnosed and addressed as a “time sickness”
[Zeitkrankheit]. 243 For this reason, I consider it promising to reflect upon a
relational theology of time not only within the context of the natural sciences,
but also in dialogue with other disciplines, such as psychology, sociology,
and economics.
Non vacant tempora nec otiose volvuntur per sensus nostros:
faciunt in animo mira opera.
The times are not empty, nor do they roll idly through our senses:
They work remarkable things in the mind. 244