Tussen schepping en Koninkrijk. Oliver O’Donovan over de onderlinge verhouding daarvan in zijn betekenis voor de christelijke ethiek, toegespitst op huwelijk en homoseksualiteit

The relationship between the poles of creation and Kingdom is of crucial importance, as Jesus’ teaching on marriage clearly shows. Contemporary ethics, however, shows an enormous variety of positions, resulting in different evaluations of marriage, celibacy and homosexuality. Against the background of Anglican moral theologian Oliver O’Donovan this article addresses the question, “What is the relationship between creation and Kingdom, its significance for Christian ethics, especially with regard to marriage and homosexuality?” This article gives two­fold answer to the question based on the moral meaning of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. First, the resurrection is affirmative, pointing back to  God’s good creation and, second, it is transformative, pointing forwards to God’s future recreation. There are, therefore, only two vocations: heterosexual marriage, respecting the integrity of created order; and celibacy, anticipating the Kingdom.