Veli-Matti Karkkainen: Christology
Critique is also likely to be encountered in the historical overview of classical Christology. Kärkkäinen succumbs to the frequent but often unacknowledged dependency among systematic theologians on the thought of Theodore de Régnon who developed the false characterization of a universal dichotomy between Greek and Latin theologies. The tendency to distinguish between different methodological approaches among the schools of Antioch and Alexandria may be helpful from a theological perspective but is untenable in light of contemporary historical research.
While these issues make the book less desirable as a stand-alone textbook than its companion volumes, the value of Kärkkäinen’s keen eye for important Christological debates, his dynamic analysis of nineteenth and twentieth century thought, and his exceptional insights into non-Western writers remain undisputed. The sheer variety of perspectives in this book is sure to inspire a number of new studies and sermons on the saving work of Christ. The sometimes provocative ideas of contemporary non-Western Christian thought in particular opened the eyes of this reader to a world of creative Christian aspirations that hope to more fully comprehend the mystery of the Son of God in the world today.
Reviewed by Wolfgang Vondey
Publisher’s page: http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/christology/230441
Category: In Depth, Winter 2006
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