Series: Resurrection and Social Transformation

The process of change and transformation is sometimes taken for granted as a mere transition from one event to another. However, as the great thinkers of the 20th century – Teilhard de Chardin, St. John Paul XXIII, and Peter Ducker – have shown, change and transformation also involve the adoption of attitudes by, and the active participation and decision-making of all the key players in history to drive society (and, eventually, history) to adopt and surmount the social and evolutionary challenges of the time.

Religious fundamentalism or the hostile inflexibility in interpreting religious law has been a cause of conflict and violence over the centuries. Respect for beliefs seems to be the only way to end this tension. However, while recognizing differences between faiths, Christianity, since its institution, has offered a remedy to this fundamentalist attitude. The Resurrection itself is a symbol of radical change, presented by the Triune God as the model of social transformation and, therefore, the antidote to the rigidity of fundamentalism.

The First Letter of St. Peter offered early Christians an unquenchable hope, a promise of eternal life brought about by the Resurrection of Christ that persecuted Christiansliving under Roman rule longed for and needed at that time. That promised inheritance continues to become relevant today as we continue to hold on and journey with the Risen Christ.