I would like to begin by thanking Matthew Wiley, who has taken the lead in organizing this symposium, as well as the four colleagues who have taken the time during this most unusual season of academic life to engage with my work. It is a privilege to be given the time and space to think…

The strengths of Dr. McFarland’s Christological proposal lie in (a) its epistemological draw, and (b) its deep roots in Chalcedonian reasoning. Indeed, the force of McFarland’s epistemic claims emerge from an elegant reading of the Chalcedonian heritage and its implications. Yet, I wonder if, in McFarland’s zeal to center the human nature of Christ, he…

The central thesis of Ian McFarland’s book, The Word Made Flesh, seems straightforward enough: the Christology hammered out in the Chalcedonian Definition remains “the most adequate account of Christian convictions regarding Jesus” (p. 3). But upon closer inspection, McFarland’s “Chalcedonianism without reserve” is quite arresting, even provocative. He suggests that the classic distinction drawn between…

“As the voice, so the vision of God is the end of the creature; no one looks on the Lord and lives.” —Katherine Sonderegger “Whoever wishes to deliberate or speculate soundly about God should disregard absolutely everything except the humanity of Christ.” —Martin Luther In 599, Gregory the Great was alerted that the Bishop of…

The two-nature doctrine of Chalcedonian Christology has often been joined to a “partitive” impulse in biblical exegesis according to which distinct aspects of Jesus’ incarnate ministry are categorized either as manifestations of his deity (e.g., miracles), or manifestations of his humanity (e.g., suffering and dying). Ian McFarland wishes to resist this partitive tendency while preserving…

In The Word Made Flesh (p. 8), I claim that a proper application of the distinction between hypostasis and nature in a Christological context entails the following two theses: When we perceive Jesus of Nazareth, we perceive no one other than the God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. When we perceive Jesus…

John Polkinghorne’s favorite contemporary theologian is Jürgen Moltmann. Even so, he once lamented the “spectacle of a distinguished theologian [Moltmann] writing over three hundred pages on God in creation with only an occasional and cursory reference to scientific insight.” It is as well that he later wrote of Moltmann and science in different and positive…

“In proclaiming the resurrection of Christ, the apostles proclaimed also the resurrection of mankind in Christ; and in proclaiming the resurrection of mankind, they proclaimed the renewal of all creation with him.” Doctrines of creation are of tremendous importance to Oliver O’Donovan’s moral theology. Creation is not conceived merely as an abstract set of theological…

Over a series of seminal works, Kathryn Tanner has established herself as one of America’s leading theologians working at the intersection of theology and culture. Active in the Episcopal Church, Tanner has been a member of the Theology Committee that advises the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops. She is a past president of the American Theological…

Have scientific findings problematized the affirmation of the basic Christian doctrines of God as Creator—e.g., God as Creator of the cosmos, humanity and the world as in some way corrupted through the entrance of sin and evil, and ontological claims about humanity as created in God’s image? Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976), Professor of New Testament at…

Frequently overlooked in Christian discussions on the doctrine of creation is the 2000-year old Jewish tradition. In many ways, Jewish thinkers shared the same concerns as their Christian counterparts; ever since the conflict with Greek philosophy, the rabbis and Jewish philosophers responded in similar ways as Christians to defend the biblical account of creation or…

Think of your favorite scientist or theologian. Now imagine: what hymn would you want sung at their funeral, because you knew it was their favorite hymn? At the funeral of the Swiss biblical scholar Adolf Schlatter (born 1852) on May 23, 1938, the large crowd assembled in the Tübingen municipal cemetery sang Schönster Herr Jesu—“Fairest…