After Immanuel Kant the issue of whether there is life after death moved to the periphery in the writings of major Protestant thinkers. Of course, the great eschatological images have continued to play a role. There have been discussions of the resurrection of the body and the immortality of the soul showing the differences in the anthropologies underlying the two forms of hope. But it is usually difficult to determine what the theologian actually expects will happen after death. The focus is on the symbolic value of these images or on their existential meaning.

For any sizable group of theologians to agree on any statement is a sign of hope that we may be moving beyond the extreme fragmentation of the recent past. Further, the tone and intent of this agreement is clearly Christian and affirmative. Hence my initial reaction to “An Appeal for Theological Affirmation” was positive. Unfortunately, this initial reaction has been superseded by a more negative judgment, and my comments will reflect this phase of my reaction.

The chief weakness of “An Appeal for Theological Affirmation” is that it consists in a series of negations. The assumption is that if only positions that are opposed can be swept aside, powerful new affirmations will rise to take their place; but surely this is a dubious reading of our current situation.