Humanist Christology Of Paul

Segundo's groundbreaking exegesis focuses chiefly on PaulÕs treatment of sin, faith, and the impact of their intersection on human existence. In a brilliant concluding chapter, Segundo rejects liberation theologyÕs reading of Paul as apolitical and shows how PaulÕs thought opens up for us a Òhumanizing political realm that no repression can control or render useless.Ó This profound and passionately written study will fascinate advanced students and scholars for years to come.

The author argues that Tillich is an uncompromising atheist who quite deliberately concealed the real substance of his message in an analogical code that enabled him, like Saint Paul, to be "all things to all men". This calculated ambiguity protected his standing in the Church, allowing him to undermine from within. According to the author, Tillich held that Protestantism should change fundamentally in response to the gap beween tradition and what modern man can believe. Faced with a disquieting spiritual emptiness after his own loss of faith, Tillich sought and found a new truth with which to fill the void. By guarding this truth from all but a few able to accept it, he hoped to lead individual Christians to whatever levels of religious sophistication they were capable of reaching.

In this cutting-edge collection of essays, an extraordinary and diverse group of biblical scholars, theologians, and ethicists from around the world offer perspectives on topics such as the New Testament portraits of Jesus of Nazareth and their reception history; interpretative efforts to understand the central claim that Christ became human; the consequences of the incarnation for our understanding of the variegated nature of humankind (i.e. what is the "body" into which Christ incarnated?); and the impact of Christ's humanity on the transformation of the human world.

"Christian humanism is an aspect of the gospel showing new signs of life. Long neglected and often misunderstood, Christian humanism is nothing other than the traditional message of Christianity with the accent on how the coming of Christ into the world implies God's loving care for human creatures and all that affects our well being. . . . 'The Case for Christian Humanism' will have fulfilled its purpose if readers discover that the mainstream of traditional Christianity offers magnificent resources to anyone desiring a fully human life." - from the Introduction. "Franklin and Shaw provide a convincing case for the essential computability of humanism and the Christian faith. Careful definitions and learned historical inquiry clear the ground for substantial commentary on the 'humanism' (properly understood) of the Bible, worship, and theology. The arguments give pause, and then illuminate a set of fruitful conjunctions too often abandoned by partisans of a non-Christian humanism or an anti-humanistic Christianity." - Mark A. Noll, University of Notre Dame.