Person Personhood And The Humanity Of Christ

The quest for an understanding of humanness has been significant. As the ways in which we recognize and define our human being have significant impact, wide-ranging discussions and questions about the human have taken place, with significant theoretical and practical implications. In Person, Personhood, and the Humanity of Christ, Hakbong Kim explores Thomas F. Torrance’s critiques of the dualist and individualistic views concerning human beings in the history of philosophy and theology. This book sheds important light on Torrance’s understanding of humans as persons in relation, the trinitarian personhood as the ontological foundation for human personhood, and the humanity of Christ as key to the personalization necessary for a new moral, ethical, and social life. This presents a Christocentric anthropology and ethics, which focuses on Christ’s ongoing reconciling and humanizing ministry for us.

Theological anthropology is charged with providing an understanding of the human, but there are numerous challenges to this. Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder, the main characteristic of which is difficulty in social interaction. In its severest form, a person with low-functioning autism may be both intellectually impaired and unable to relate to others as persons. Theological anthropology can exclude people who are cognitively impaired because it has historically upheld reason as the image of God. Recent theology of intellectual disability has bypassed this difficulty by emphasising relationality as the image of God. However, this approach has the unfortunate consequence of excluding people with severe low-functioning autism. This calls for a new approach to theological anthropology. Autism, Humanity and Personhood provides a Christ-centred, inclusive anthropology which does not exclude people with severe autism. The book takes a conservative evangelical approach to severe autism and the challenges it poses to theological anthropology. It considers significant aspects of salvation history – creation, incarnation, atonement and resurrection – in order to build a solid theological foundation for an inclusive theological anthropology. As long as we look within the individual, it is difficult to find a solid basis for the humanity of people who are severely intellectually and developmentally impaired. Instead of trying to ground humanity and personhood within the individual with autism, the book outlines an extrinsic basis for theological anthropology. That extrinsic basis is the gift of humanness and personhood from Jesus Christ, who alone is fully human and the true image of God. Jesus has overcome sin and death, which have wreaked havoc on the human person. Therefore, his incarnate life, death and resurrection are more than enough basis to declare that people with the most severe intellectual and developmental impairment are truly human persons.

- What does it mean to be human? - How does a right understanding of personhood affect decisions on critical life situations? - What implications does a biblical perspective on personhood have for the pastoral ministry of healing and hope? In answering these questions, Ray S. Anderson focused on the person as determined by and sustained by the creative power of God. He explored the the implications of a biblical understanding of personhood for such critical issues as human sexuality, family relationships, abortion, and death. He broke new ground in relating pastoral care and counseling to contemporary issues which challenge Christians and their understanding of the meaning of human life.

Why are human embryos so important to many Christians? What does theology say concerning the moral status of these embryos? Answers to these questions can only be obtained by considering the manner in which Christian theology understands the great theme of the image of God. This book examines the most important aspects in which this image, and the related Christian notion of personhood, can be used in the context of theological arguments relating to the moral status of the human embryo. Thoughtful in approach and ecumenical in perspective, the author combines a thorough knowledge of the science of embryology with a broad knowledge of the theological implications. Part I Historical and Contemporary Christian Perspectives 1 The Moral Status of the Embryo 2 The Image of God 3 Being a Person from a Christian Perspective Part II The Image of God, Personhood and the Embryo 4 Creation and the Embryo 5 Incarnation and the Embryo 6 Substantive Aspects and the Embryo 7 Relational Aspects and the Embryo 8 Functional Aspects and the Embryo Conclusion Appendix: The Moral Status of New Kinds of Embryo

A Doctrine Commission publication, this volume addresses what it means to be human from the perspective of the four key elements of power, money, sex and time. It combines classical Church teaching and biblical material with ideas from contemporary debates and sources.

The eternal Son of God became man for our salvation; but what kind of human nature did he assume? The answer of this book is that he took human nature as it was because of the fall. Despite this, he lived a perfect, sinless life, and finally redeemed this "fallen nature" through his cross; this victory is the basis of atonement. The New Testament supports this christological position, and there are several indications that suggest it gives a deeper interpretation to some sections of the gospel narrative. It is clearly taught by Paul, and is the obvious implication of certain aspects of the Christology of Hebrews. During the centuries, but mainly in the post-Reformation period, a number of theologians have expounded this theory, and in the present century there have been distinct signs that it is becoming more acceptable to theological thought. The various advocates of the theory are not unrelated, for certain principles of unity hold them together. The number of advocates through the years, however, has been few. One reason for this is that the term "fallen human nature" has often been misunderstood. Additionally, throughout the history of Christology, there has been a serious tendency to neglect the humanity of Christ, and this has gone decisively against the general acceptance of the doctrine that Christ assumed "fallen human nature." If the theory is accepted, it helps to give a more adequate view of the work of Christ. There are five main theories of the atonement; all these are strengthened, and many of their weaknesses are eliminated, if this christological theory is accepted. Here is a book that contains new thinking on a great theme. It is clear, logical, and rewarding to both mind and heart.

What does it mean to be “truly human?” In Christological Anthropology in Historical Perspective, Marc Cortez looks at the ways several key theologians—Gregory of Nyssa, Julian of Norwich, Martin Luther, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Karl Barth, John Zizioulas, and James Cone—have used Christology to inform their understanding of the human person. Based on this historical study, he concludes with a constructive proposal for how Christology and anthropology should work together to inform our view of what it means to be human. Many theologians begin their discussion of the human person by claiming that in some way Jesus Christ reveals what it means to be “truly human,” but this often has little impact in the material presentation of their anthropology. Although modern theologians often fail to reflect robustly on the relationship between Christology and anthropology, this was not the case throughout church history. In this book, examine seven key theologians and discover their important contributions to theological anthropology.