To Gaze Upon God: The Beatific Vision in Doctrine, Tradition, and Practice

“This is easily the best primer on the beatific vision today. Samuel Parkison's scholarly yet wide-ranging treatment—Scripture, history, philosophy, theology—makes To Gaze upon God a valuable resource and accessible textbook. Grounded in a realist metaphysic, Parkison's moderate Reformed approach judiciously encourages evangelicals to take seriously the tradition's teaching on the transformative vision of God. Parkison effectively puts to rest the notion that the Reformation did away with belief in the beatific vision. Here is a book sure to rekindle our longing for happiness in God.”

“This is a book written from the heart, and it demonstrates a fruitful reception of the Christian theological tradition on eternal life. Samuel Parkison has put his finger on a doctrine that should animate the entirety of Christian life. He shows beautifully why and how this is so. Guided by the scriptural and theological testimonies he adduces, let us strive to attain the beatific vision, by God's grace and through the saving cross of Christ.”

“What is the end—the telos—of classical theology? The beatific vision. What could give the weary pilgrim greater comfort and hope than this promise: one day we will see God. Sadly, the significance of the beatific vision for Christian theology has been lost on the modern imagination. But if anyone can recover this lost jewel of Christendom, it is Samuel Parkison, who is one of the best young theologians today. In a breakthrough book, Parkison lets the beatific vision's pedigree in the great tradition shine. With exegetical rigor and theological precision, he also demonstrates why the beatific vision puts all of Christian theology in motion, from creation to Christology to participation in God. No student of theology can afford to ignore Sam Parkison's invitation to retrieve the beatific vision. This book is an irresistible summons to contemplate the beauty of the Lord himself.”

“Much of evangelical theology languishes in a captivity to a pragmatist and naturalist understanding of the nature of salvation. Thankfully, significant efforts are underway to recover the doctrine of the beatific vision as the supernatural end of our faith. Parkison lends his convincing and balanced voice to these efforts, arguing that the beatific vision is central to the biblical notion of salvation and consistent with Protestant and Reformed priorities.”

“This book traces the full, long lines of the beatific vision from the Bible to today, with special attention to the near side, where the classic doctrine makes direct contact with evangelical Protestant commitments such as sola Scriptura and imputed righteousness. Late in the book, Parkison asks himself, 'Is it right for a Baptist to talk in this way?' It is a question worth pressing, and this is the book that answers it with a carefully considered, critical, and clear 'yes!”

“This overview of the history of Christian reflection on the beatific vision is an extremely important study, for it rightly reveals the central place that the hunger to gaze upon God has had in Christian tradition. But this is a hunger that far too many Western evangelicals in this 'Secular Age,' as Charles Taylor has termed it, seem to have lost and even rejected as pie-in-the-sky pietism. May this study be used by God to reawaken this hunger and so empower our witness to the ever-present God in this day!”