Kingdom, not kingly rule: assessing the Kingdom of God as sacred space

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Abstract

Arguing that Gustaf Dalman’s definition of basileia as ‘kingly rule’ has severely limited possibilities for appreciation of the Kingdom as a space in biblical scholarship, this article interacts with key insights into the human relationship with sacred space in order to gain a deeper understanding of the significance of the Kingdom of God. Rather than closing down meaning by limiting space to that which is physical and concrete, the discussion seeks to open up the meaning of the Kingdom as a community space, connected to the divine, and spoken of as having a boundary and a specific point of entry; a space with both universal and particular aspects; and a space which draws on the expectation of a new world. All of these aspects of the Kingdom set out the contours of a relationship between God-people-space that is performative and constantly in motion.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)206–233
Number of pages28
JournalBiblical Interpretation: A Journal of Contemporary Approaches
Volume25
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Apr 2017

Keywords

  • kingdom of God
  • Gustaf Dalman
  • Gospels
  • boundary
  • new world

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