Understanding Eternal–Temporal Simultaneity in John’s Prologue and the Sacred Liturgy: A Hermeneutical Theology of Liturgy
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This article explores the intersection of time and eternity as it is expressed in the liturgical theology and the theology of John’s Prologue. Drawing on a “thesis–thesis” methodology that juxtaposes scriptural and liturgical theologies, the study offers an interdisciplinary dialogue between these disciplines. While biblical scholars such as Bernadetta Jojko and Raymond Brown elucidate the Johannine vision of divine preexistence and Incarnation as a movement from eternity into time, liturgical theologians such as Alexander Schmemann and Odo Casel describe the Mass as a movement from time into eternity. Through a comparative reading of John 1:1–2 and 1:14 alongside classical and modern liturgical sources—including Pseudo-Dionysius, Maximus the Confessor, Casel, and Guardini—the article seeks to identify a mode of eternal–temporal simultaneity that challenges the claims of analytic philosophers like William Lane Craig. Ultimately, the liturgy is shown to be both a sacramental representation of Christ’s temporal sacrifice and a real participation in the eternal heavenly liturgy.
Source: Religions
DOI: 10.3390/rel16091150
Author: Jacob K. Zepp
Institution: Catholic University of America
Language: English
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,172
OpenAlex ID: W4413983223