The Incarnate Lord: A Thomistic Study in Christology (Thomistic Ressourcement Series)

by Thomas Joseph White

Publisher:

Catholic University of America

, 2015

Overview

In recent years, Thomistic thought has seen a noteworthy revival, especially in the domain of systematic and historical theology. This resurgence of interest in Aquinas' thought is beginning to significantly affect the shape of academic theology as well as ecumenical theology. Yet there exists no serious study of Thomistic Christology, especially in dialogue with major themes in modern Christology. The Incarnate Lord, then, considers central themes in Christology from a metaphysical perspective. Particular attention is given to the hypostatic union, the two natures of Christ, the knowledge and obedience of Jesus, the passion and death of Christ, his descent into hell, and resurrection. A central concern of the book is to argue for the perennial importance of ontological principles of Christology inherited from patristic and scholastic authors. However, the book also seeks to advance an interpretation of Thomistic Christology in a modern context. The teaching Aquinas, then, is central to the study, but it is placed in conversation with various modern theologians, such as Karl Barth, Karl Rahner and Hans Urs von Balthasar. Ultimately the goal of the work is to suggest how traditional Catholic theology might thrive under modern conditions, and also develop fruitfully from engaging in contemporary controversies. The first part of the book, then, examines the ontology of the hypostatic union, the grace and human nature of Christ, the analogical similitude of the human and divine natures of Jesus, and the human knowledge and obedience of Christ. The second part of the book considers the obedient self-offering of Christ, his cry of dereliction,suffering and death, as well as his descent into hell, and physical resurrection. The conclusion of the book provides a systematic reflection on the nature of Christology as a theoretical and historical discipline.

Key Features

• Presents an invaluable perspective upon many of the crucial issues debated in contemporary Christology
• Offers readers an incisive account of contrasting positions that makes this text uniquely valuable and pleasurable to read
• Makes an excellent resource for students and scholars of Thomas Aquinas

Praise for The Incarnate Lord

This book would find its home in institutions providing gradute or post-graduate level work in the area of Catholic studies.

Garrett Trott, Catholic Library World

It is an excellent contribution to recent work on the person and work of Christ, written in a clear, accessible style…White puts forward a constructive case for a modern Christology that is, indeed, heavily indebted to the Angelic Doctor, with whose work White is masterfully familiar.

Adonis Vidu, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, MA, Theological Studies

This closely reasoned and clearly written collection of essays… presents an invaluable perspective upon many of the crucial issues debated in contemporary Christology. As one would expect, White shows an intimate familiarity with the thought of Aquinas. But he has also read carefully and deeply in modern and contemporary Christologies. His knowledge of Schleiermacher and Barth, Rahner and Schillebeeckx, von Balthasar, Pannenberg, and Moltmann is impressive. The volume as a whole is exceptionally well-crafted... the book provides excellent material for a doctoral seminar in Christology, compelling both instructor and students to come to grips with their own positions and their spiritual and pastoral implications in this most crucial of theoligical disciplines.

Robert Imbelli, Boston College, Theological Studies

Product Details

• Title: The Incarnate Lord: A Thomistic Study in Christology
• Author: Thomas Joseph White
• Series: Thomistic Ressourcement Series
• Volume: 5
• Publisher: Catholic University of America
• Print Publication Date: 2015
• Logos Release Date: 2022
• Pages: 534
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: Jesus Christ › Person and offices; Jesus Christ › History of doctrines--Middle Ages, 600-1500; Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, 1225?-1274
• ISBNs: 9780813230092, 9780813227450, 0813230098, 0813227453
• Resource ID: LLS:NCRNTLCHRSTLGY
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T20:25:47Z

About Thomas Joseph White

Fr. Thomas Joseph White is the Rector Magnificus of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas (Angelicum) in Rome. Originally a native of southeastern Georgia in the US, Fr. White studied at Brown University, where he converted to Catholicism. He did his doctoral studies in theology at Oxford University, and is the author of various books and articles including Wisdom in the Face of Modernity, A Thomistic Study in Natural Theology (Sapientia Press, 2016), The Incarnate Lord, A Thomistic Study in Christology (The Catholic University of America Press, 2015), The Trinity: On the Nature and Mystery of the One God (Catholic University of America Press, 2022), Principles of Catholic Theology Book III: On God, Trinity, Creation, and Christ (Catholic University of America Press, 2024) and Contemplation and the Cross (The Catholic University of America Press, 2025). With Matthew Levering he is the co-editor of the academic journal Nova et Vetera. In 2011 he was appointed an ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas and in 2019 was named a Distinguished Scholar of the McDonald Agape Foundation. He held the 2018-2019 McInnes Chair for theological inquiry at the Angelicum. In 2022, he was granted an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of America, and in 2023 he was elected President of the Academy of Catholic Theology. In 2023, Fr. White was also awarded the title Master of Sacred Theology, one of the highest academic awards in the Dominican Order.

 

 

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