Episode 43: Moltmann's A Theology of Play (part 3) – Christ the New Creation

Play Saves the World

How do Christian theology and play intersect? Moltmann's seminal book, A Theology of Play, explores this, and we discuss pages 25-36.

Christ Is More than a Remedy for Sin

• Christ became a human being not just to be a remedy for sin, but to create a new reality or a re-creation of the world. This tells us something about the nature of God: abundance, joy, and newness.
• “God's love goes beyond his mercy and beyond man's misery. So it reaches beyond the mere restoration of the sick to the healthy state of the new life” (26).
• “Only those who are capable of joy can feel pain at their own and other people's suffering. [One] who can laugh can also weep. [One] who has hope is able to endure the world and to mourn" (31).
• In faith we accept ourselves as we are and gain new confidence in ourselves because we have been trusted more than we deserve and ever thought possible." (32)
• “Games always presuppose innocence” (31)

Life Is More than Work and Purpose

• The final purpose of history is liberation from the tyranny of needing to have a purpose.
• "Life which is made meaningful by purposes and goals must find the vision of heaven terrible, since that vision only invites infinite and purposeless boredom. Christian eschatology [ideas about the end times] has never thought of the end of history as a kind of retirement or payday …" (34)

CALL TO ACTION

• Subscribe to our newsletter
• Support us on Patreon
• Interact with us on Instagram
• Discord us Discord
• Chat with us on Wavelength (iOS and MacOS and iPadOS only)