The Humanity Of Christ Viewed In Relation To Theological Sentiment And Religious Life Etc

In the past the passions were regarded as sicknesses of the soul due to Adam’s sin. As the Redeemer, Christ shares in our humanity and experiences the passions, but given his divine status he quickly overcomes the passions by his superior reason as the Word. In effect, Christ is displayed as a Stoic sage who is unperturbed by the passions. The book is critical of this traditional perspective for its inability to think of the Incarnation as the Word’s real participation in our humanity. Christ is not a Stoic sage who displays an uninvolved holiness, but the Word become flesh who displays an astonishing breadth and intensity of emotional life, which reveals what it means for the fullness of divinity to dwell bodily in him. Reformed theology moved beyond the traditional perspective in affirming the strong emotions of Christ as proof of his humanity, but Christ’s divinity was given insufficient attention. The book proposes a complex view of Christ’s emotions, which are regarded not merely as proof of his humanity, but reveal the personal attributes of divinity communicated to his humanity. To observe Christ’s emotions is to witness the mutual interaction of humanity and divinity in his person, which accomplishes our salvation (deification). To imitate Christ, then, means that Christ’s emotions become the emotions of his followers, so that by seeing as God sees and feeling as God feels, they go forth in obedience to Christ’s commandment to love one another as he has loved us, which is to live the way of the cross for the sake of the ongoing embodiment of God in the world.

Professor Knox considers the several attitudes towards Christ's humanity adopted by the Early Church, and discusses ways in which modern Christians should consider the humanity of Christ. This clear account of a complex subject is designed for both the scholar and thoughtful layman.

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.

In Exegesis of the Human Heart Andrew J. Summerson explores Maximus the Confessor’s use of biblical interpretation to develop an adequate account of Christian human emotion.

In this book, the problem of the reality of salvation is addressed by T.F. Torrance's doctrine of "the vicarious humanity of Christ." Through this approach, salvation as humanization is affirmed, yet without the problems of anthropocentric theologies. This book is unique in that it offers both a survey of contemporary Christian thinking on salvation as well as a constructive alternative based on Torrance's doctrine, a significant yet neglected contribution to modern theology.