Knowledge of Things Hoped For
Robert Jenson's first major theological work emerged from his wrestling with the crisis of theological language in the late 1960s. Writing as a young Lutheran theologian trained in both European and American contexts, Jenson confronted the widespread doubt about whether theological statements could carry genuine cognitive content. The secularization debates of the era had left many wondering whether talk about God was merely expressive or functional rather than actually referential.
Jenson argues that theological discourse gains its cognitive validity not from correspondence to present empirical realities but from its grounding in eschatological promise. Drawing on insights from analytic philosophy of language, he contends that theological statements function as knowledge claims about future realities made present through divine promise. The book develops a distinctive account of religious language that takes seriously both its referential character and its unique temporal structure. Jenson shows how Christian theological discourse gains its sense precisely through its orientation toward the future fulfillment of God's promises, making hope constitutive of theological knowledge rather than merely its object. This eschatological grounding allows theological language to be genuinely cognitive without reducing it to ordinary empirical discourse.
The work established Jenson as an important voice in theological method and anticipated themes that would define his later systematic theology. His integration of eschatology with philosophy of language influenced subsequent discussions about theological realism and the nature of doctrinal claims. The book remains significant for its sophisticated engagement with analytic philosophy in service of theological clarity and its early articulation of what would become Jenson's signature emphasis on the futurity of God's being.
Who should read this: Theological students and scholars interested in the intersection of philosophy of language and Christian doctrine will find Jenson's argument essential, though readers seeking pastoral or devotional material should look elsewhere.