Christology: A Global Introduction: An Ecumenical, International, and Contextual Perspective

Christology provides an ecumenical, international, and contextual introduction to the person of Christ in contemporary theology, both in the Western academy and in two-thirds world theologies. It offers three main perspectives on Christology (biblical, historical, and contemporary) and combines classical and contextual work done in Christology over the course of church history.

Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen begins with a survey of the various approaches to studying New Testament Christology on the basis of contemporary biblical studies. He compares and contrasts the Gospels’ testimonies to Christ as well as the outline of Pauline Christology.

Next, Kärkkäinen explores Christology from a historical perspective. He outlines the early Christological debates, including those at Nicea (325) and Chalcedon (451), and describes their relevance to later history and contemporary theology. Kärkkäinen then describes the search for the historical Jesus and its relevance to Christology, as well as the reasons for its ultimate failure.

An extended discussion of 10 major Western Christologies forms the next section and provides the primary focus of the book. Included is an introduction to the work of ecumenically and theologically representative theologians, such as Karl Barth, Jurgen Moltmann, Wolfhart Pannenberg, and Karl Rahner, as well as Norman Kraus, Stanley Grenz, and John Hick.

Finally, Christology delves into contextualized interpretations of Christ in various parts of the world. North American, feminist, process, black, and postmodern Christologies are discussed and evaluated. Asian (“Christ as universal Savior”), African (“Christ as Ancestor”), and Latin American (“Christ as Liberator”) Christologies round out the discussion.

Christology should fit textbook needs in a variety of traditional and contemporary theology classes. The book will be a natural complement to a standard doctrine of Christ textbook in that it provides in one place materials that normally can be found only in several scattered sources. Additionally, it offers valuable insight for scholars, pastors, and readers interested in contemporary Christology.

Essential for students, scholars, pastors, and laypeople, this informative volume brings fresh perspectives on theological matters. With the Logos Bible Software edition, searching by topic or Scripture references will further help your understanding—you’ll compare, for example, the systematic theologies of various scholars or denominations.