Analytic Christology and the Theological Interpretation of the New Testament

Description

This study draws upon the resources of both contemporary analytic theology and the theological interpretation of the New Testament in order to investigate a set of important issues in Christology. It is the first work in analytic Christology to draw upon both recent scholarship in biblical studies and recent contributions to analytic philosophy and theology. Thomas H. McCall explores the themes of union with Christ and the faith of Christ as these are developed by the "apocalyptic" and "New Perspective" interpreters of Pauline theology. The volume offers a careful analysis of recent dogmatic proposals about the identity of Christ and the doctrine of election, and provides an examination of debates over the subordination of the Son in Hebrews. It also probes the relationship of the incarnate Son to his Father in Johannine theology. McCall presents an exegetically-grounded theological engagement with recent work on the place of logic in the doctrine of the incarnation. Cover Analytic Christology and the Theological Interpretation of the New Testament Copyright Dedication Acknowledgments Table of Contents Introduction 0.1 Analytic Theology and Reflection on Christ 0.2 Theological Interpretation and the Biblical Witness to Christ 0.2.1 Theological Interpretation: An Initial Characterization 0.3 A Preview of Coming Attractions 1: Crucified with Christ: The Ego and the Omega 1.1 Introduction 1.2 The Apocalyptic Interpretations of Paul 1.2.1 The Apocalyptic Paul 1.2.2 Radical Apocalyptic Options 1.3 Toward Theological Analysis 1.3.1 Replacement Theories 1.3.2 Fusion Theories 1.3.2.1 The Theory of Final Assumptions 1.3.2.2 Too Many Persons? 1.3.2.3 Too Many Natures? 1.3.2.4 Too Many Sinners? 1.4 A Traditional Interpretation Reconsidered 1.5 Crucified with Christ: A Modest Proposal 1.6 Conclusion 2: The Faith of the Son: Pistis Christou Reconsidered 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The Current Debate 2.2.1 Faith in Christ: The Traditional “Lutheran” Reading 2.2.2 The Faith of Christ: A Recurring Proposal 2.2.3 Faith in and with Christ: Further Developments 2.2.4 Moving Forward: The Inevitability of Theological Interpretation 2.3 The ..st.. ...st.. Debate and the Humanity of Christ 2.4 ..st.. ...st.. and the Righteousness of God 2.4.1 Hays on the Christological Revelation of the Divine Attributes 2.4.2 Keeping It Simple: Ressourcing Traditional Doctrines of God 2.4.3 Making It Complex: Contemporary Essentialism and the Doctrine of God 2.4.4 Summary 2.5 ..st.. ...st.. and Salvation 2.5.1 Hays’s Concerns 2.5.2 Reaching Backward and Moving Forward: Ressourcement and Theological Interpretation 2.6 Conclusion 3: The Identity of the Son: The Incarnation and the Freedom of God 3.1 Introduction 3.2 McCormack’s Gambit 3.2.1 The Barth Wars: The Opening Salvo 3.2.2 The Empire Strikes Back: Responses to the Revisionist” Proposal 3.2.3 McCormack’s Constructive Proposal 3.2.4 McCormack’s Theological Exegesis 3.3 Theological Analysis 3.3.1 Is It “Biblical?” Exegesis and Theology 3.3.2 Does It Hold Together? Concerns about the Coherence of the Revisionist Proposal 3.3.3 The Issue of Divine Freedom 3.3.3.1 Necessitarian Versions 3.3.3.2 Non-Necessitarian Versions 3.3.4 The Identity of The Decider 3.3.4.1 The Father 3.3.4.2 The Son 3.3.4.3 The Decider 3.3.5 Some Final Observations 3.4 Conclusion 4: The Submission of Christ 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Hebrews 5:7-10: Some Initial Observations 4.3 Karl Barth and Thomas Aquinas on the Obedience of the Son 4.3.1 Karl Barth on the Eternal Subordination of the Son 4.3.2 Thomas Aquinas on the Son’s Missional Obedience 4.4 Barth’s Gambit: A Theological Analysis 4.4.1 Barth, Consistency, and Monotheism 4.4.2 Barth and the Threat of Ontological Subordination: The Authority of the Father 4.4.3 Barth and Hebrews 5 4.5 Obedience and the Beatific Vision: Reconsidering Aquinas’s View 4.6 Conclusion 5: The Communion of the Son with the Father 5.1 Introduction 5.2 The Furor Over Social Trinitarianism: Toward Clarity 5.2.1 Social Trinitarianism as Socio-Political Advocacy 5.2.2 “Social Trinitarianism” as “Eastern” (vs. “Western”) Theology 5.2.3 Social Trinitarianism as Theology that Employs the Social Analogy” 5.2.4 Social Trinitarianism as Theology that Makes Use of the “Modern Notion” of Person 5.2.5 Social Trinitarianism and Intra-Trinitarian Love 5.2.6 Social Trinitarianism and Distinct Agency 5.2.7 “Real” Social Trinitarianism 5.2.8 Conclusion 5.3 An Anti-Social Proposal Analyzed 5.3.1 Ward’s Trinitarian Doctrine 5.3.2 Theological Exegesis and Philosophical Theology 5.3.3 An Analysis of Ward’s Christology 5.3.3.1 Some Concerns about the “Identity” Claim 5.3.3.2 Some Questions about the Divinity of Christ 5.3.4 Conclusion 5.4 The Communion of the Father and the Son: A Closer Look 5.4.1 The Love of the Father for the Son 5.4.2 The Father-Son Communion and the Issue of Agency 5.5 Conclusion 6: The Logos and His Logic 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Divine and Human: The Proposal 6.2.1 Beall’s Paraconsistent Logic 6.2.2 Logic and Theology: An Appreciative Interlude 6.2.3 The Christological Proposal 6.3 The True and the False: Issues for Further Consideration 6.3.1 Christ and His Creed 6.3.2 Christ and His (Possible) Worlds 6.3.3 Christ and His Church 6.4 The Lord’s Logic 6.4.1 Dominical Counterexamples? 6.4.2 Christ and Contradiction 6.5 Conclusion Bibliography Index