Sorry for the long hiatus from Volf. The semester is heating up and some knucklehead agreed to several outside speaking engagements this spring. Ugh. Anyway, Volf starts provides a good reminder of where he is at the beginning of chapter 9 of End of Memory:
My thesis is the third part of this book has been simple: memories of suffered wrongs will not come to the minds of the citizens of the world to come [when they get to that world!], for in it they will perfectly enjoy God and one another in God….Indeed, the offender ceases to be an offender, for non-remembrance has taken away the very being of the offense… (177)
So, he is interested in thinking about the “transition from the world as it is to the world of perfect love…” (178) He starts by reminding us that on the final judgment, our sins against God and neighbor must be brought to light in a social event before we are freed from our guilt and finally transformed. He goes on to suggest that each person will “joyfully appropriate the results of the judgment.” I think he means those who are on their way to heaven.
Its here I want to stop and consider two points. (1) Most of us do not want any, much less all, of our sinful actions against God and neighbor to be brought to light, and (2) many of us do not want offenders really released from all guilt. But I think it will be much like Aslan’s dealings with various individuals. We will be so focused on God’s grace and mercy that our shame will be short lived and we will have no time to even consider someone else’s wrong doing. We will be healed of all jealousy and bitterness and second-guessing.
Can’t wait for that!
Musings on Faith and Psychology 