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Toward a Teleology of Peace: Contesting Matthew's Violent Eschatology

St Mark's National Theological Centre, School of Theology, Charles Sturt University 15 Blackall Street, Barton, ACT, 2600, Australia, dneville{at}csu.edu.au

The reality of violence and the question of how best to respond to it are crucial dimensions of biblical interpretation. In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus teaches nonviolence and conducts his mission nonviolently, yet Matthew envisages that as the returning Son of humanity he will indulge in violent retribution at the parousia. This article probes the discrepancy between Matthew's ethical portrait of Jesus as a teacher of nonretaliation and his (own) violent eschatology. Following a survey of select studies of Matthew's retributive eschatology, the moral problem of eschatological violence is considered. The article concludes with some hermeneutical reflections on potential responses to eschatological vengeance in Matthew.

Key Words: Matthew • peace • violence • eschatology • ethics • hermeneutics

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