ABSTRACT
In every generation Christian theology is faced with the task of articulating the intuitions of the biblical tradition about the significance of Jesus Christ in a way that engages its own cultural context. The task of reforming Christology will indeed require the reconstruction of previous doctrinal formulations, as it has throughout church history. The “philosophy of science” involves critical reflection on the relations among and self-understanding of organized fields of study. Substance categories played a dominant role in many traditional formulations of Christology, sometimes obscuring the importance of interpreting the relation of Jesus Christ to God, humanity and the cosmos in these doctrines. Every judgment made about the significance of Jesus Christ is embedded within a context already mediated by one’s interpreted experience of a tradition. Rational assessment of the historical Jesus operates within a web of beliefs about the relation of God to the world. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
