Revelation and the Word of God (Theological Foundations of the Christian Church, vol. 2)
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
A unique work of Fundamental Theology, Revelation and the Word of God explores key issues of divine revelation as open questions. They include: Why is revelation so elusive? Existential and philosophical problems of revelation in the context of apologetics. The self-revelation of God in mystery. What does it mean to say, as the Bible does, that God ‘speaks’ and ‘acts’? How does revelation relate to the Bible, history, religious experience and the church? The relational and personalist dimensions of revelation. What the biblical Wisdom tradition contributes to our understanding of revelation.
The threefold form of the Word of God: Jesus Christ – the incarnate Word (Logos) and Wisdom (Sophia) of God; the Scriptures that witness to him; and the church’s proclamation (kerygma) in preaching, sacraments and other ways. The role of hermeneutics, cultural constraints and imagination in the reception of revelation. Critique (including Feminist Theology) of claimed ‘revelation’. Is there revelation today? How do developments in doctrine and practice relate to divine revelation? The liturgy as a vehicle of the Word of God. The Word in pastoral practice. Jesus Christ as the crown and criterion of divine revelation according to the Fourth Gospel.
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- Explores key issues of divine revelation as open questions
- Analyzes the threefold form of the Word of God
- Studies the role of hermeneutics, cultural constraints and imagination in the reception of revelation
- Preface
- 1. The Elusiveness of Revelation
- 2. The Actuality of Revelation
- 3. Word and Wisdom in Both Testaments
- 4. ‘The God who Acts’ and ‘the God who Speaks’
- 5. What is Revealed and How?
- 6. Personhood, Participation and Practice
- 7. Revelation in Experience, Reason and Imagination
- 8. From Revelation to the Church
- 9. The Word of God in its Threefold Form
- 10. The Church the ‘Earthen Vessel’ of Divine Revelation
- 11. Critique of Revelation
- 12. Continuous Revelation?
- 13. The Word of God in the Liturgy
- 14. Jesus Christ the Revelation of God
- Bibliography
- Index
In this scholarly and accessible study, Paul Avis explores the centrality of divine revelation to Christian theology. Stressing the creaturely forms through which divine disclosure is apprehended, he shows how Word, Sacrament, and Church shape our understanding of God’s unsurpassable revelation in Christ. With characteristic lucidity and judicious commentary, Professor Avis again proves a wise and reliable guide on an important theological subject.
—David Fergusson, University of Cambridge, UK
What does it really mean, in our time, to talk about God’s revelation? In this wide-ranging and original study, Paul Avis directly tackles the biggest challenges - philosophical, theological and pastoral - that this question raises. He shows that an account of revelation is not just a prolegomenon, but rather addresses the heart of Christian faith.
—Rachel Muers, University of Edinburgh, UK
With wide-ranging erudition, Paul Avis gets to the heart of the matter and asks if and how we can encounter God. Avis looks unflinchingly and sympathetically at the problems we moderns have with the concept of revelation, but he also puts forth a robust and nuanced account of meeting the living God and making a life with others who are open to the same encounter. This volume is generous, judicious, and profound, a model of good theology.
—William T. Cavanaugh, DePaul University, USA