In his Theology of the World (1969) Johann Baptist Metz briefly introduced the concept of political theology, sketching its relevance for the church in the modern world. There he argued that political theology is both a corrective to the tendency of theology both modern and traditional, both Catholic and Protestant to privatize religion and a constructive attempt to formulate the eschatological message of the gospel vis-a-vis the conditions of contemporary society. The universal claim of the church its eschatological proviso requires that it should act as a critical force within society.