Christology
Assessing the Christology of Wolfhart Pannenberg (8)
Pannenberg maintains that God has revealed the end of history in the event of Jesus’ resurrection. He holds that the resurrection retroactively validated the entire work of God’s self-revelation in the incarnation. Challenging Pannenberg’s strong emphasis on the concept of historical, we may asked whether it would not be more reasonable to hold that, [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Assessing the Christology of Wolfhart Pannenberg (7)
Pannenberg’s rejection of both the historicity of the virgin birth and the idea that the pre-Easter Jesus had any direct Messianic self-consciousness is rooted in his interpretation of the notion of historical contingency.
By approaching Christian theology from the vantage-point of the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection, it seems that Pannenberg has provided the basis for a [...]
Assessing the Christology of Wolfhart Pannenberg (6)
Pannenberg contends that “it is never possible … to show the motive” for the development of the resurrection narratives. He asserts that a “demonstration of the origin of the Christian easter faith has never been attempted, even by its severest critics” (The Apostles’ Creed in the Light of Today’s Questions (1972), p. 74, emphasis mine).
Pannenberg [...]
Assessing the Christology of Wolfhart Pannenberg (5)
In order to maintain his emphasis on the unity of fact and meaning, Pannenberg relates Jesus’ pre-existence to the fact of the resurrection. He affirms Jesu’ pre-existence as part of the meaning of the fact of the resurrection. He does this on the basis of the retroactive power of the resurrection – “Viewed from the [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Assessing the Christology of Wolfhart Pannenberg (4)
Pannenberg’s analysis of Jesus’ Messianic self-consciousness commits him to a demythologized interpretation of the birth narratives. His interpretation of Jesus’ birth is in distinct tension with his interpretation of the resurrection where he places a strong emphasis on the unity of fact and meaning. Since, however, he rejects the factuality of the virgin birth on [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Assessing the Christology of Wolfhart Pannenberg (3)
Pannenberg’s use of the expression – intention distinction in relation to both the virgin birth story and the Apostles’ Creed seems rather confusing.
(a) The virgin birth story
It is not clear how Pannenberg’s use of the words, “intention” and “meant” is to be understood when he accepts the story’s “theological intention (which) lies in [...]
Assessing the Christology of Wolfhart Pannenberg (2)
Pannenberg’s analysis of Jesus’ Messianic self-consciousness commits him to a demythologized interpretation of the birth narratives. His interpretation of Jesus’ birth is in distinct tension with his interpretation of the resurrection where he places a strong emphasis on the unity of fact and meaning.
He rejects the factual character of the birth narratives on the basis [...]
Assessing the Christology of Wolfhart Pannenberg (1)
In his Christology, Pannenberg adopts a ‘from below’ approach rather than a ‘from above’ approach (Jesus – God and Man (1968; German edition, 1964), pp. 33-37).
Using historical reason, he concludes that it is more reasonable to defend the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection rather than denying it.
He accepts Kirn’s definition of the historical method: “A historical [...]
Jesus: God with us, God for us, God in us
(1) God with us
In his birth, we see Jesus as God with us.
God has not kept His distance from us. He has come near to us. He has become one of us. He is God with us.
This is how we know that God sympathizes with us in our suffering. He has suffered. He is [...]
Matthew 1:1-25
* The New Testament is an inspirational classic in the history of the world’s great literature, but surely we can forget about the Old Testament!
* The Sermon on the mount is a masterpiece of ethical teaching, but surely we can do without all this talk about Jesus Christ dying to be our Saviour!
—–
Statements like these [...]
The Virgin Birth – Believing the Fact and Receiving Its Message
1. Believing the Fact
(a) Can we hold to the meaning while dispensing with the fact?
Some want a ‘Christianity’ without the Virgin Birth. They tell us that the Virgin Birth story should be interpreted symbolically rather than literally. They tell us that people are entitled to believe different things.
What are we to make of this kind [...]
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