Tradition as Apocalyptic

Hart’s central thesis: Christian tradition is not the preservation of a backward-looking deposit but “the continuity of faith in and hope of the final apocalypse when all that remains is love.” Tradition “exists only as a sustained apocalypse, a moment of pure awakening preserved as at once an ever dissolving recollection and an ever renewed surprise.” The tradition’s doctrinal content is “proof of life only insofar as that content is susceptible of a potentially endless process of reinterpretation.”

Parent discussions

• REF - Hart - Tradition and Apocalypse

Connected concepts

• Hart’s Critique of Newman’s Development of Doctrine — Hart’s critique of Newman is the negative case; apocalyptic tradition is the positive proposal
• Dynamic Reconstruction of Tradition — reconstruction is the method; apocalyptic tradition is the framework that justifies it
• Conservative vs Innovative in Early Church — the early Church pattern exemplifies apocalyptic tradition: innovation as fidelity
• Teleological View of Church — a teleological ecclesiology requires tradition to be apocalyptic, not preservative
• Hart’s Apocalyptic Tradition — Hart’s own formulation; the concept as Hart develops it specifically

The point

Hart’s reframing of tradition as apocalyptic rather than preservative solves a problem I didn’t know I had. Tradition backward-looking always felt defensive — apologizing for change, explaining away development. Tradition forward-looking treats change as the point.