Just finished listening to a podcast on the Kingdom of God by an Orthodox priest by the name of Father John Hainsworth.
Here is the link!
http://audio.ancientfaith.com/paradosis ... -27_pc.mp3I loved his theological breakdown of Parousia and its implication for the Gospels. However, I am not to sure how far I would go with his
"If we could unfold our wills to God's completely, just for day we could feel the warmth of God's heavenly light shine on our physical and spiritual being"
Yes the Kingdom is breaking in, yes there is some combination of holy spirit and human agency, but individual edification or perfection, or closeness to God...whatever you want to call it, is scary business. God is transforming us into his likeness, we are not transforming ourselves into his likeness.
In this sense I really do prefer Wright's Preparing for the Kingdom, not building it ideology. As well as his anti-evolutionary anti-regressive society thoughts (the world is not slowly getting better, nor is it slowly getting worse). While Hainsworth points out that we are working with both bad and good people in the Kingdom, I think that "now, not yet" tension needed an extra sentence or two affirming that oh by the way none of us are going to get it perfect until the second coming (we are both the bad and the good guy). And also that God understands we are not perfect and works with that, he chooses as we are, but does not leave us that way. With a greater emphasis on his will, and not our own.
I think this is also where I agree with Wright when he points out that while protestants might need a deeper understanding of transformation, Orthodox could deepen their salvation theology as well. I think a full understanding of Romans Demands it. Perhaps in a pastoral practical sense they have never needed to, but were a much smaller world! I think in order to become a tighter community we need to work on it!
-Jesse