Author: Robert A. Pesarchick
Publisher: Gregorian Biblical BookShop
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 340
Book Description
It was the conviction of the Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988) that the reservation of priestly ordination to men is intrinsically connected to the significance of the incarnation of Christ as a male. Von Balthasar was convinced that the incarnation of the eternal Son as male plays an intrinsic role in his economic mission. The present study is an attempt to understand the teaching of the Magisterium reserving priestly ordination to men by an exposition and analysis of the revelatory significance of the incarnation of Christ as male, and the relation of his maleness to priestly ordination according to the theology of von Balthasar.
The Trinitarian Foundation of Human Sexuality as Revealed by Christ According to Hans Urs Von Balthasar
Author: Robert A. Pesarchick
Publisher: Gregorian Biblical BookShop
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 340
Book Description
It was the conviction of the Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988) that the reservation of priestly ordination to men is intrinsically connected to the significance of the incarnation of Christ as a male. Von Balthasar was convinced that the incarnation of the eternal Son as male plays an intrinsic role in his economic mission. The present study is an attempt to understand the teaching of the Magisterium reserving priestly ordination to men by an exposition and analysis of the revelatory significance of the incarnation of Christ as male, and the relation of his maleness to priestly ordination according to the theology of von Balthasar.
Publisher: Gregorian Biblical BookShop
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 340
Book Description
It was the conviction of the Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988) that the reservation of priestly ordination to men is intrinsically connected to the significance of the incarnation of Christ as a male. Von Balthasar was convinced that the incarnation of the eternal Son as male plays an intrinsic role in his economic mission. The present study is an attempt to understand the teaching of the Magisterium reserving priestly ordination to men by an exposition and analysis of the revelatory significance of the incarnation of Christ as male, and the relation of his maleness to priestly ordination according to the theology of von Balthasar.
The Trinitarian Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar
Author: Brendan McInerny
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess
ISBN: 0268107599
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 319
Book Description
Although scholarship has long recognized the centrality of the Trinity in the theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar, no sustained treatment of this theme has been published until now. In this insightful new book, The Trinitarian Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar, Brendan McInerny fills this gap, situating Balthasar’s trinitarian theology in conversation with both the wider Christian theological tradition and his non-Christian intellectual contemporaries. Drawing from across Balthasar’s extensive body of works, McInerny argues that Balthasar’s vivid description of the immanent Trinity provides a way to speak of how “God is love” in himself, beyond his relationship to creatures. He then shows how Balthasar’s speculation into the immanent Trinity serves as the substructure of his theology of deification. For Balthasar, what we say about the inner life of God matters because we are called to share in that very life through Christ and the Holy Spirit, to the glory of God the Father. Finally, responding to the criticisms that Balthasar’s speculations into the inner life of God are without warrant, McInerny argues that Balthasar’s bold trinitarian claims are actually a vehicle for apophatic theology. Balthasar’s vivid description of the triune God does not transgress the boundaries of theological discourse. Rather, it manifests God’s ever-greater incomprehensibility through verbal excess, oxymoron, and paradox.
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess
ISBN: 0268107599
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 319
Book Description
Although scholarship has long recognized the centrality of the Trinity in the theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar, no sustained treatment of this theme has been published until now. In this insightful new book, The Trinitarian Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar, Brendan McInerny fills this gap, situating Balthasar’s trinitarian theology in conversation with both the wider Christian theological tradition and his non-Christian intellectual contemporaries. Drawing from across Balthasar’s extensive body of works, McInerny argues that Balthasar’s vivid description of the immanent Trinity provides a way to speak of how “God is love” in himself, beyond his relationship to creatures. He then shows how Balthasar’s speculation into the immanent Trinity serves as the substructure of his theology of deification. For Balthasar, what we say about the inner life of God matters because we are called to share in that very life through Christ and the Holy Spirit, to the glory of God the Father. Finally, responding to the criticisms that Balthasar’s speculations into the inner life of God are without warrant, McInerny argues that Balthasar’s bold trinitarian claims are actually a vehicle for apophatic theology. Balthasar’s vivid description of the triune God does not transgress the boundaries of theological discourse. Rather, it manifests God’s ever-greater incomprehensibility through verbal excess, oxymoron, and paradox.
Hans Urs von Balthasar's Theology of Representation
Author: Jacob Lett
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess
ISBN: 0268205019
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 310
Book Description
This penetrating study makes a case for the centrality of the concept of representation (Stellvertretung) in Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theological project. How is it possible for Christ to act in the place of humanity? In Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Theology of Representation, Jacob Lett broaches this perplexing soteriological question and offers the first book-length analysis of Balthasar’s theology of representation (Stellvertretung). Lett’s study shows how Balthasar rehabilitates the category of representation by developing it in relationship to the central mysteries of the Christian faith: concerned by the lack of metaphysical and theological foundations for understanding the question above, Balthasar ultimately grounds representation in the trinitarian life of God, making “action in the place of the other” central to divine and creaturely being. Lett not only articulates the centrality of representation to Balthasar’s theological project but also demonstrates that Balthasar’s theology of representation has the potential to reshape discussions in the fields of soteriology, Christology, trinitarian theology, anthropology, and ecclesiology. This work covers a wide range of themes in Balthasar’s theology, including placial and spatial metaphors, a post-Chalcedonian Christology of Christ’s two wills, and theories of drama. This book is also a text of significant comparative range: Lett considers Balthasar’s key interlocutors (Gregory of Nyssa, Maximus, Aquinas, Przywara, Ulrich, Barth) and expands this base to include voices beyond those typically found in Balthasarian scholarship, including Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Dorothee Sölle. The overall result is a deeply probing presentation of one of Balthasar’s most significant contributions to contemporary theology.
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess
ISBN: 0268205019
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 310
Book Description
This penetrating study makes a case for the centrality of the concept of representation (Stellvertretung) in Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theological project. How is it possible for Christ to act in the place of humanity? In Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Theology of Representation, Jacob Lett broaches this perplexing soteriological question and offers the first book-length analysis of Balthasar’s theology of representation (Stellvertretung). Lett’s study shows how Balthasar rehabilitates the category of representation by developing it in relationship to the central mysteries of the Christian faith: concerned by the lack of metaphysical and theological foundations for understanding the question above, Balthasar ultimately grounds representation in the trinitarian life of God, making “action in the place of the other” central to divine and creaturely being. Lett not only articulates the centrality of representation to Balthasar’s theological project but also demonstrates that Balthasar’s theology of representation has the potential to reshape discussions in the fields of soteriology, Christology, trinitarian theology, anthropology, and ecclesiology. This work covers a wide range of themes in Balthasar’s theology, including placial and spatial metaphors, a post-Chalcedonian Christology of Christ’s two wills, and theories of drama. This book is also a text of significant comparative range: Lett considers Balthasar’s key interlocutors (Gregory of Nyssa, Maximus, Aquinas, Przywara, Ulrich, Barth) and expands this base to include voices beyond those typically found in Balthasarian scholarship, including Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Dorothee Sölle. The overall result is a deeply probing presentation of one of Balthasar’s most significant contributions to contemporary theology.
A Trinitarian Anthropology
Author: Michele M. Schumacher
Publisher: CUA Press
ISBN: 081322697X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 470
Book Description
"Schumacker systematically exposits the Trinitarian theological anthropology of von Speyr, as it emerges through her vast corpus, in parallel with a development of the same theme in Balthasar's work. ... Finally, the volume exposits Aquinas's own doctrine on theological discourse, in view of initiating a dialogue wiwth his disciples." -- publisher's description.
Publisher: CUA Press
ISBN: 081322697X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 470
Book Description
"Schumacker systematically exposits the Trinitarian theological anthropology of von Speyr, as it emerges through her vast corpus, in parallel with a development of the same theme in Balthasar's work. ... Finally, the volume exposits Aquinas's own doctrine on theological discourse, in view of initiating a dialogue wiwth his disciples." -- publisher's description.
Balthasar and Anxiety
Author: John R. Cihak
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567628175
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 649
Book Description
This study offers a theological response to the problem of anxiety from the point of view of Hans Urs von Balthasar. It is a systematic presentation, analysis and development of Balthasar's original theology of anxiety found in his only work on the subject, Der Christ und die Angst. The study takes a thematic approach based upon the four types of analysis found in Der Christ und die Angst: phenomenological, anthropological, theological and ecclesial. These four approaches to the topic correspond to the phenomenon, origins, redemption and transformation of anxiety. Through this thematic approach, Balthasar's thought is examined in relation to some of the important figures on anxiety. The phenomenon of anxiety is presented in relation to modern psychiatry. The examination of anxiety's origins places him in dialogue with Kierkegaard on anxiety from discursive reasoning and Freud on anxiety from ego-consciousness. The redemption of anxiety places Balthasar in relation to Aquinas in order to clarify Balthasar's interpretation and to show its significance in the theological tradition. The transformation of anxiety places our author in dialogue with Luther on the shape of anxiety in the Christian life. The final chapter begins to unravel the construct of anxiety, with a brief exploration of how it is transformed in the Church according to Balthasar, something he had never explicitly developed. The influence of Bernanos on Balthasar's thought is felt throughout the study. The entire study is framed by the two Gardens wherein transpire the most significant events concerning anxiety for Balthasar: the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567628175
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 649
Book Description
This study offers a theological response to the problem of anxiety from the point of view of Hans Urs von Balthasar. It is a systematic presentation, analysis and development of Balthasar's original theology of anxiety found in his only work on the subject, Der Christ und die Angst. The study takes a thematic approach based upon the four types of analysis found in Der Christ und die Angst: phenomenological, anthropological, theological and ecclesial. These four approaches to the topic correspond to the phenomenon, origins, redemption and transformation of anxiety. Through this thematic approach, Balthasar's thought is examined in relation to some of the important figures on anxiety. The phenomenon of anxiety is presented in relation to modern psychiatry. The examination of anxiety's origins places him in dialogue with Kierkegaard on anxiety from discursive reasoning and Freud on anxiety from ego-consciousness. The redemption of anxiety places Balthasar in relation to Aquinas in order to clarify Balthasar's interpretation and to show its significance in the theological tradition. The transformation of anxiety places our author in dialogue with Luther on the shape of anxiety in the Christian life. The final chapter begins to unravel the construct of anxiety, with a brief exploration of how it is transformed in the Church according to Balthasar, something he had never explicitly developed. The influence of Bernanos on Balthasar's thought is felt throughout the study. The entire study is framed by the two Gardens wherein transpire the most significant events concerning anxiety for Balthasar: the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane.
One of the Trinity Has Suffered: Balthasar’s Theology of Divine Suffering in Dialogue
Author: Joshua R. Brotherton
Publisher: Emmaus Academic
ISBN: 194901360X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
Hans Urs von Balthasar’s discourse on the descent of Christ into hell and its implications for the Triune God have been disputed for half a century. One of the Trinity has Suffered evaluates and revises von Balthasar’s theology of divine suffering in a way that interacts with and significantly enriches contemporary Catholic theology. In this book, Joshua R. Brotherton engages twentieth-century Thomistic theology, as well as the thought of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) and Pope St. John Paul II. Drawing from the vast secondary literature on von Balthasar, Brotherton offers a balanced assessment of his work on the topic of divine suffering, both critical and appreciative. Recognizing von Balthasar’s laudable attempt to integrate mystical spirituality and systematic theology, Brotherton seeks to distinguish valid insights from confused mixtures of metaphorical, meta-symbolic, and philosophical (metaphysical) discourse on God, particularly with respect to the classical problem of how the Creator who willed to become incarnate may be said to suffer. Truly, “One of the Trinity has suffered,” and yet this mystery of faith must be carefully explained and understood in conformity with sustained Catholic reflection on divine immutability and simplicity, the dual nature and unique personhood of Christ, the Trinity of divine subsistent relations, the freedom of God in creating and becoming man, the analogy of being, the problem of evil, and the immensity and infinite value of Christ’s redemptive suffering.
Publisher: Emmaus Academic
ISBN: 194901360X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
Hans Urs von Balthasar’s discourse on the descent of Christ into hell and its implications for the Triune God have been disputed for half a century. One of the Trinity has Suffered evaluates and revises von Balthasar’s theology of divine suffering in a way that interacts with and significantly enriches contemporary Catholic theology. In this book, Joshua R. Brotherton engages twentieth-century Thomistic theology, as well as the thought of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) and Pope St. John Paul II. Drawing from the vast secondary literature on von Balthasar, Brotherton offers a balanced assessment of his work on the topic of divine suffering, both critical and appreciative. Recognizing von Balthasar’s laudable attempt to integrate mystical spirituality and systematic theology, Brotherton seeks to distinguish valid insights from confused mixtures of metaphorical, meta-symbolic, and philosophical (metaphysical) discourse on God, particularly with respect to the classical problem of how the Creator who willed to become incarnate may be said to suffer. Truly, “One of the Trinity has suffered,” and yet this mystery of faith must be carefully explained and understood in conformity with sustained Catholic reflection on divine immutability and simplicity, the dual nature and unique personhood of Christ, the Trinity of divine subsistent relations, the freedom of God in creating and becoming man, the analogy of being, the problem of evil, and the immensity and infinite value of Christ’s redemptive suffering.
Freedom and Necessity in Modern Trinitarian Theology
Author: Brandon Gallaher
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198744609
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 319
Book Description
Freedom and Necessity in Modern Trinitarian Theology examines the tension between God and the world through a constructive reading of the Trinitarian theologies and Christologies of Sergii Bulgakov (1871-1944), Karl Barth (1886-1968), and Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988). It focuses on what is called "the problematic of divine freedom and necessity" and the response of the writers. "Problematic" refers to God being simultaneously radically free and utterly bound to creation. God did not need to create and redeem the world in Christ. It is a contingent free gift. Yet, on the other side of a dialectic, he also has eternally determined himself to be God as Jesus Christ. He must create and redeem the world to be God as he has so determined. In this way the world is given a certain "free necessity" by him because if there were no world then there would be no Christ. A spectrum of different concepts of freedom and necessity and a theological ideal of a balance between the same are outlined and then used to illumine the writers and to articulate a constructive response to the problematic. Brandon Gallaher shows that the classical Christian understanding of God having a non-necessary relationship to the world and divine freedom being a sheer assertion of God's will must be completely rethought. Gallaher proposes a Trinitarian, Christocentric, and cruciform vision of divine freedom. God is free as eternally self-giving, self-emptying and self-receiving love. The work concludes with a contemporary theology of divine freedom founded on divine election.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198744609
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 319
Book Description
Freedom and Necessity in Modern Trinitarian Theology examines the tension between God and the world through a constructive reading of the Trinitarian theologies and Christologies of Sergii Bulgakov (1871-1944), Karl Barth (1886-1968), and Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988). It focuses on what is called "the problematic of divine freedom and necessity" and the response of the writers. "Problematic" refers to God being simultaneously radically free and utterly bound to creation. God did not need to create and redeem the world in Christ. It is a contingent free gift. Yet, on the other side of a dialectic, he also has eternally determined himself to be God as Jesus Christ. He must create and redeem the world to be God as he has so determined. In this way the world is given a certain "free necessity" by him because if there were no world then there would be no Christ. A spectrum of different concepts of freedom and necessity and a theological ideal of a balance between the same are outlined and then used to illumine the writers and to articulate a constructive response to the problematic. Brandon Gallaher shows that the classical Christian understanding of God having a non-necessary relationship to the world and divine freedom being a sheer assertion of God's will must be completely rethought. Gallaher proposes a Trinitarian, Christocentric, and cruciform vision of divine freedom. God is free as eternally self-giving, self-emptying and self-receiving love. The work concludes with a contemporary theology of divine freedom founded on divine election.
Viri Dignitatem: Personhood, Masculinity and Fatherhood in the Thought of John Paul II
Author: David H. Delaney
Publisher: Emmaus Academic
ISBN: 1645853594
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 445
Book Description
In numerous works both before and after his papal election, John Paul II offers ample reflection on the themes of personhood, relationality, and sexual complementarity, but while he advances a clearly articulated theology of femininity and motherhood, as in his apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem, he might seem to offer no equivalent treatment of masculinity and fatherhood. In Viri Dignitatem, David Delaney seeks to surface and systematize the rich but often overlooked theology of masculinity and fatherhood that is found dispersed throughout John Paul II’s writings, demonstrating its essentiality for understanding his larger anthropology. In the first part of the study, Delaney treats the foundations of this anthropology, establishing John Paul II’s thought on personhood, relation, and human action. Building on this, the second part considers sexual differentiation, drawing out from John Paul II’s teaching on the body, femininity, Mary, and the Church his corresponding perspective on masculinity, which is itself rooted in nuptial complementarity and the revealing work of Christ. The third part focuses on John Paul II’s theology of fatherhood, which Delaney presents as both a natural and spiritual vocation that is based on the Fatherhood of God as this is manifested and imaged by the incarnate Son. Finally, the fourth part provides a synthetic assessment of this theology of masculinity and fatherhood, showing its coherence and addressing contemporary criticisms and misinterpretations. At a time of accelerating crises of sexuality, the family, and fatherhood, Delaney’s Viri Dignitatem provides a welcome and important elaboration of John Paul II’s teaching on the dignity and vocation of man.
Publisher: Emmaus Academic
ISBN: 1645853594
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 445
Book Description
In numerous works both before and after his papal election, John Paul II offers ample reflection on the themes of personhood, relationality, and sexual complementarity, but while he advances a clearly articulated theology of femininity and motherhood, as in his apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem, he might seem to offer no equivalent treatment of masculinity and fatherhood. In Viri Dignitatem, David Delaney seeks to surface and systematize the rich but often overlooked theology of masculinity and fatherhood that is found dispersed throughout John Paul II’s writings, demonstrating its essentiality for understanding his larger anthropology. In the first part of the study, Delaney treats the foundations of this anthropology, establishing John Paul II’s thought on personhood, relation, and human action. Building on this, the second part considers sexual differentiation, drawing out from John Paul II’s teaching on the body, femininity, Mary, and the Church his corresponding perspective on masculinity, which is itself rooted in nuptial complementarity and the revealing work of Christ. The third part focuses on John Paul II’s theology of fatherhood, which Delaney presents as both a natural and spiritual vocation that is based on the Fatherhood of God as this is manifested and imaged by the incarnate Son. Finally, the fourth part provides a synthetic assessment of this theology of masculinity and fatherhood, showing its coherence and addressing contemporary criticisms and misinterpretations. At a time of accelerating crises of sexuality, the family, and fatherhood, Delaney’s Viri Dignitatem provides a welcome and important elaboration of John Paul II’s teaching on the dignity and vocation of man.
Queer Theology
Author: Gerard Loughlin
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470766263
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 368
Book Description
Queer Theology makes an important contribution to public debate about Christianity and sex. A remarkable collection of specially commissioned essays by some of the brightest and best of Anglo-American scholars Edited by one of the leading theologians working at the interface between religion and contemporary culture Reconceptualizes the body and its desires Enlarges the meaningfulness of Christian sexuality for the good of the Church Proposes that bodies are the mobile products of changing discourses and regimes of power.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470766263
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 368
Book Description
Queer Theology makes an important contribution to public debate about Christianity and sex. A remarkable collection of specially commissioned essays by some of the brightest and best of Anglo-American scholars Edited by one of the leading theologians working at the interface between religion and contemporary culture Reconceptualizes the body and its desires Enlarges the meaningfulness of Christian sexuality for the good of the Church Proposes that bodies are the mobile products of changing discourses and regimes of power.
The Broken Body
Author: Sarah Coakley
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118780809
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 341
Book Description
A fascinating collection of essays exploring a fresh contemporary approach to the person and doctrine of Jesus Christ How should Christians think about the person of Jesus Christ today? In this volume, Sarah Coakley argues that this question has to be ‘broken open’ in new and unexpected ways: by an awareness of the deep spiritual demands of the christological task and its strikingly ‘apophatic’ dimensions; by a probing of the paradoxical ways in which Judaism and Christianity are drawn together in Christ, even by those issues which seem to ‘break’ them most decisively apart; and by an exploration of the mode of Christ’s presence in the eucharist, with its intensification,‘ breaking’ and re-gathering of human desires. In this sequel to her celebrated earlier volume of essays, Powers and Submissions, Coakley returns to its unifying theme of divine power and contemplative submission, and weaves a new web of christological outcomes which remain replete with controversial implications for gender, spirituality and ethics. The Broken Body will be of interest to those working in the fields of systematic theology, philosophy of religion, early Christian studies, Jewish/Christian relations, and feminist and gender theory. ‘Fusing biblical and patristic theology, analytic philosophy, and spiritual tradition, Sarah Coakley has produced a fascinating, inspiring, and compelling account of Christ’s identity, and its importance for questions of life.’ Professor Mark Wynn, University of Oxford ‘Coakley argues that good Christology arises only from intellectual and spiritual postures learnt by encountering Christ openly. This volume subtly and powerfully facilitates such encounter, with God and, in him, with our neighbours, especially the Jewish people.’ Professor Judith Wolfe, University of St. Andrews ‘Everything we have come to expect from Sarah Coakley is here in this extraordinary collection: wonderful clarity; startling and fruitful comparisons, within and beyond the theological canon; a brisk defiance of feminist conventions that in turn sharpens and deepens feminist analysis; a resistance to cheap theological certainties; and an abiding faithfulness, anchored in Christ, borne aloft by the Spirit. Christology is here shown to embrace abjection and jouissance, to advocate sacrifice that is itself the end of patriarchal violence, and to demand a eucharistic sharing that is incomplete without solidarity to the outcast and the poor, themselves the face of the living Christ. In these essays Coakley exemplifies the semiotic richness of priest and scholar, a breaking open of theological reserves that will transgress, startle, renew, instruct. This is sacrifice, re-made.’ Professor Katherine Sonderegger, Virginia Theological Seminary How should Christians think about the person of Jesus Christ today? In this volume, Sarah Coakley argues that this question has to be ‘broken open’ in new and unexpected ways: by an awareness of the deep spiritual demands of the christological task and its strikingly ‘apophatic’ dimensions; by a probing of the paradoxical ways in which Judaism and Christianity are drawn together in Christ, even by those issues which seem to ‘break’ them most decisively apart; and by an exploration of the mode of Christ’s presence in the eucharist, with its intensification,‘ breaking’ and re-gathering of human desires. In this sequel to her celebrated earlier volume of essays, Powers and Submissions, Coakley returns to its unifying theme of divine power and contemplative submission, and weaves a new web of christological outcomes which remain replete with controversial implications for gender, spirituality and ethics. The Broken Body will be of interest to those working in the fields of systematic theology, philosophy of religion, early Christian studies, Jewish/Christian relations, and feminist and gender theory.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118780809
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 341
Book Description
A fascinating collection of essays exploring a fresh contemporary approach to the person and doctrine of Jesus Christ How should Christians think about the person of Jesus Christ today? In this volume, Sarah Coakley argues that this question has to be ‘broken open’ in new and unexpected ways: by an awareness of the deep spiritual demands of the christological task and its strikingly ‘apophatic’ dimensions; by a probing of the paradoxical ways in which Judaism and Christianity are drawn together in Christ, even by those issues which seem to ‘break’ them most decisively apart; and by an exploration of the mode of Christ’s presence in the eucharist, with its intensification,‘ breaking’ and re-gathering of human desires. In this sequel to her celebrated earlier volume of essays, Powers and Submissions, Coakley returns to its unifying theme of divine power and contemplative submission, and weaves a new web of christological outcomes which remain replete with controversial implications for gender, spirituality and ethics. The Broken Body will be of interest to those working in the fields of systematic theology, philosophy of religion, early Christian studies, Jewish/Christian relations, and feminist and gender theory. ‘Fusing biblical and patristic theology, analytic philosophy, and spiritual tradition, Sarah Coakley has produced a fascinating, inspiring, and compelling account of Christ’s identity, and its importance for questions of life.’ Professor Mark Wynn, University of Oxford ‘Coakley argues that good Christology arises only from intellectual and spiritual postures learnt by encountering Christ openly. This volume subtly and powerfully facilitates such encounter, with God and, in him, with our neighbours, especially the Jewish people.’ Professor Judith Wolfe, University of St. Andrews ‘Everything we have come to expect from Sarah Coakley is here in this extraordinary collection: wonderful clarity; startling and fruitful comparisons, within and beyond the theological canon; a brisk defiance of feminist conventions that in turn sharpens and deepens feminist analysis; a resistance to cheap theological certainties; and an abiding faithfulness, anchored in Christ, borne aloft by the Spirit. Christology is here shown to embrace abjection and jouissance, to advocate sacrifice that is itself the end of patriarchal violence, and to demand a eucharistic sharing that is incomplete without solidarity to the outcast and the poor, themselves the face of the living Christ. In these essays Coakley exemplifies the semiotic richness of priest and scholar, a breaking open of theological reserves that will transgress, startle, renew, instruct. This is sacrifice, re-made.’ Professor Katherine Sonderegger, Virginia Theological Seminary How should Christians think about the person of Jesus Christ today? In this volume, Sarah Coakley argues that this question has to be ‘broken open’ in new and unexpected ways: by an awareness of the deep spiritual demands of the christological task and its strikingly ‘apophatic’ dimensions; by a probing of the paradoxical ways in which Judaism and Christianity are drawn together in Christ, even by those issues which seem to ‘break’ them most decisively apart; and by an exploration of the mode of Christ’s presence in the eucharist, with its intensification,‘ breaking’ and re-gathering of human desires. In this sequel to her celebrated earlier volume of essays, Powers and Submissions, Coakley returns to its unifying theme of divine power and contemplative submission, and weaves a new web of christological outcomes which remain replete with controversial implications for gender, spirituality and ethics. The Broken Body will be of interest to those working in the fields of systematic theology, philosophy of religion, early Christian studies, Jewish/Christian relations, and feminist and gender theory.