New Testament Bibliography #5: Christology

Jaroslav Pelikan, Jesus Through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985; reprint: 1999) paperback. Pelikan traces how each age drew on images from its culture to shape its unique portrait of Jesus. It is especially enlightening in the way it treats important episodes too often neglected. Not always an easy book, but it treats a complex history with care. See also The Illustrated Jesus Through the Centuries, hardcover, $25—which has a fine collection of artwork.

Stephen Davis, Daniel Kendall, and Gerald O’Collins, eds., The Incarnation: An Interdisciplinary Symposium on the Incarnation of the Son of God (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002) paperback, $30. An excellent collection of essays on a wide range of topics: biblical, historical, and systematic.

John Cavadini & Laura Holt, ed., Who Do You Say That I Am?: Confessing the Mystery of Christ (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2004) paperback, $30.

David Ford & Mike Higton, ed., Jesus, Oxford Readers (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002) paperback, $23. A wonderful anthology of texts through the ages.

Marcus Brockmuhl, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Jesus (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002) paperback, $22.

Walter Kasper, Jesus the Christ, trans. V. Green (New York: Paulist Press, 1976) paperback. One of the most balanced and careful of modern studies—often used a textbook for graduate students. Dense reading.

Gerald O’Collins, Christology: A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of Christ (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995) paperback.

2. HISTORY OF CHRISTOLOGY: From the New Testament to Chalcedon

R.P.C. Hanson, The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God: the Arian Controversy, 318-381 AD (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1988) hardback. A massive 900-page study of Nicaea, Athanasius, and the Cappadocians by one of the deans of patristic studies. This is the finest and the most exhaustive treatment of the theology of the trinitarian controversy.

John A. McGuckin, St. Cyril of Alexandria: the Christological Controversy: Its History, Theology and Texts (NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2004) paperback, $23. A superb and unusually thorough analysis of the clash between Cyril and Nestorius and the eventual resolution at the Council of Ephesus. It includes an excellent translation of the key documents. This edition, originally published by Brill in a $150 hardcover, is a bargain.

J.N.D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, 5th edition (New York: Continuum, 2000) paperback, $29. A classic back in print. Kelly gives one of the best and most concise accounts I know on the development of doctrine. It can be dense reading if one tries to read it cover to cover. Use it more as a reference book.

Khaled Anatolios, Athanasius: The Coherence of His Thought (New York: Routledge, 1998) NEW in paperback, $30.

Michel René Barnes & Daniel H. Williams, ed., Arianism After Arius: Essays on the Development of the Fourth-Century Trinitarian Conflicts (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1993).

Paul B. Clayton, The Christology of Theodoret of Cyrus: Antiochene Christology from the Council of Ephesus (431) to the Council of Chalcedon (451), Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007) hardcover, $145.

Bart D. Ehrman, The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993) paperback, $16.

Majella Franzmann, Jesus in the Nag Hammadi Writings (New York: T&T Clark, 2004) paperback, $50.

Aloys Grillmeier, Christ in the Christian Tradition, Vol. 1: From the Apostolic Age to Chalcedon, revised ed., trans. John Bowden (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1975), hardcover, $50. A classic, but technical.

Thomas Kopecek, History of Neo-Arianism, 2 vol., Patristic Monograph Series (Cambridge, MA: Philadelphia Patristic Society, 1979) paperback.

Joseph T. Lienhard, Contra Marcellum: Marcellus of Ancyra and Fourth Century Theology (Washington: Catholic University Press, 1999) hardcover, $65.

Joseph T. Lienhard, “Ousia and Hypostasis: The Cappadocian Settlement and the Theology of ‘One Hypostasis,” pp. 99-121, in Stephen T. Davis et al., The Trinity: An Interdisciplinary Symposium on the Trinity (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999).

Joseph T. Lienhard, “The ‘Arian’ Controversy: Some Categories Reconsidered,” Theological Studies 48 (1987) 415-436.

Rebecca Lyman, Christology and Cosmology: Models of Divine Activity in Origen, Eusebius, and Athanasius, Oxford Theological Monographs (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), hardcover $40.

John A. McGuckin, St. Cyril of Alexandria: On the Unity of Christ (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1995) paperback, $12.

Steven A. McKinion, Words, Imagery, and the Mystery of Christ: A Reconstruction of Cyril of Alexandria’s Christology (Leiden: Brill, 2000) hardcover, $97.

Frederick W. Norris, Faith Gives Fullness to Reasoning: The Five Theological Orations of Gregory of Nazianzus, trans. Lionel Wickham, Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae Volume XIII (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1991) hardcover, $130. Superb translation & commentary.

Richard Price and Michael Gaddis, trans., The Acts of the Council of Chalcedon, (3 volumes in packaged as a box set), Translated Texts for Historians series (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2007) paperback, $50. NEW.

Norman Russell, Cyril of Alexandria, Early Church Fathers Series (New York: Routledge, 2000) paperback, $26.

Manlio Simonetti, “Arius—Arians—Arianism,” in The Encyclopedia of the Early Church, ed. Angelo di Berardino (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992).

Basil Studer, Trinity and Incarnation: The Faith of the Early Church, ed. Andrew Louth (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1994), paperback, $20.

Thomas G. Weinandy & Daniel Keating, eds., The Theology of St. Cyril of Alexandria: A Critical Appreciation (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2003) hardcover, $60.

Peter Widdicombe, The Fatherhood of God from Origen to Athanasius, Oxford Theological Monographs, rev. ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000) paperback, $25.

Rowan Williams, Arius: Heresy and Tradition, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2002) paperback, $24.

3. HISTORY OF CHRISTOLOGY: After Chalcedon

John Meyendorff, Christ in Eastern Christian Thought (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1987) paperback. The classic treatment of Christology in the Orthodox East (something most Latin Christians know almost nothing about). Greeks wrestled with issues on the divinity and humanity of Christ with great sensitivity—something we Western Christians could learn much from.

Paul M. Blowers & Robert L. Wilken, St. Maximus the Confessor: On the Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ, Popular Patristics Series (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2003) paperback, $14.

John C. Cavadini, The Last Christology of the West: Adoptionism in Spain and Gaul, 785-820 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993).

Richard Cross, The Metaphysics of the Incarnation: Thomas Aquinas to Duns Scotus (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001) hardcover, $90.

Brian E. Daley, “Nature and the ‘Mode of Union’: Late Patristic Models for the Personal Unity of Christ,” pp. 164-196, in Stephen T. Davis, Daniel Kendall & Gerald O’Collins, The Incarnation: An Interdisciplinary Symposium (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002) hardcover.

Elizabeth A. Dreyer, The Cross in Christian Tradition: From Paul to Bonaventure (New York; Paulist Press, 2000) paperback, $24.

Stephen Edmondson, Calvin’s Christology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004) paperback, $26.

Gabriele Finaldi, The Image of Christ (London: National Gallery Co. Ltd. / New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000) paperback, $25.

Bernard McGinn, “The God Beyond God: Theology and Mysticism in the Thought of Meister Eckhart,” Journal of Religion 61 (1981): 1-19.

Caroline Walker Bynum, Jesus as Mother: Studies in the Spirituality of the High Middle Ages (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982) paperback, $16. Essays on Cistercian spirituality.

Brian Davies, The Thought of Thomas Aquinas (New York: Clarendon Press / Oxford University Press, 1992) paperback, $20.

Oliver Davies & Denys Turner, eds., Silence and the Word: Negative Theology and Incarnation (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002) hardcover, $60.

Andrew Louth, Maximus the Confessor, Early Church Fathers Series (London: Routledge, 1996) paperback $20.

Neil MacGregor & Erika Langmuir, Seeing Salvation: Images of Christ in Art (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000) hardcover, $35.

Kevin Madigan, The Passion of Christ in High Medieval Thought: An Essay on Christological Development, Oxford Studies in Historical Theology (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007) hardcover, $65. NEW.

R.W. Southern, St. Anselm: A Portrait in a Landscape (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990) paperback, $20. This has an excellent chapter on the influential Cur Deus Homo.

Melchisedec Törönen, Union and Distinction in the Thought of St. Maximus the Confessor, Oxford Early Christian Studies (New York; Oxford University Press, 2007) hardcover, $74. NEW.

Barbara R. Walters, Vincent Corrigan & Peter T. Ricketts, The Feast of Corpus Christi (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007) hardcover, $70. NEw.

Michael Zell, Reframing Rembrandt: Jews and the Christian Image in Seventeenth-Century Amsterdam (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002) hardcover, $55.

4. CONTEMPORARY CHRISTOLOGIES

Karl Rahner, Foundations of Christian Faith: An Introduction to the Idea of Christianity, trans. William V. Dych (New York: Crossroad, 1985). Rahner is arguably the greatest Catholic theologian of the twentieth century. This is a mini-summa of his theology and includes over 150 pages on his Christology.

Jon Sobrino, Jesus the Liberator: a Historical-Theological Reading of Jesus of Nazareth (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1993) paperback, $28; and Christ the Liberator: A View from the Victims, trans. Paul Burns (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2001) paperback, $28. Sobrino is a Spanish Jesuit who has spent his career working among the poor of El Salvador and was one of the survivors of the murder of the Jesuits at the UCA. These are two excellent examples of Latin American perspectives on Christology. See also his older (and now) classic study: Christology at the Crossroads: A Latin American Approach (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1978).

Marilyn McCord Adams, Christ and Horrors: The Coherence of Christology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006). NEW.

Hans Urs von Balthasar, Mysterium Paschale: The Mystery of Easter, trans. Aidan Nichols (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmanns, 1993).

Franz Josef van Beeck, Christ Proclaimed: Christology as Rhetoric, Theological Inquiries (New York: Paulist Press, 1979).

Oliver Crisp, Divinity and Humanity: The Incarnation Reconsidered , Current Issues in Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007) paperback, $28.

Jacques Dupuis, Jesus Christ at the Encounter of World Religions, trans. R.B. Barr (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1991). Dupuis’ work—probably to his surprise—earned him a sharp clash with Vatican authorities.

C. Stephen Evans, Exploring Kenotic Christology: The Self-Emptying of God (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006). NEW.

Roger Haight, Jesus: Symbol of God (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1999) paperback, $24. Very controversial—seen as minimizing basic Christian claims about Jesus.

Elizabeth A. Johnson, She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Discourse (New York: Crossroad, 1992). A moderate feminist perspective.

Elizabeth A. Johnson, Consider Jesus: Waves of Renewal in Christology (New York: Crossroad, 1990) paperback. A survey of recent approaches.

Mark Allen McIntosh, Christology from Within: Spirituality and Incarnation in Hans Urs von Balthasar (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1996).

Jurgen Moltmann, The Crucified God: The Cross of Christ as the Foundation and Criticism of Christian Theology, trans. R.A. Wilson and John Bowden (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993) paperback.

Jurgen Moltmann, The Way of Jesus Christ: Christology in Messianic Dimensions, trans. Margaret Kohl (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993).

Gerald O’Collins, Jesus Our Redeemer: A Christian Approach to Salvation (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007) paperback, $27. NEW.

Wolfgang Pannenberg, Jesus God and Man, trans. L.L. Wilkins & D.A. Priebe (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1977).

Edward Schillebeeckx, Jesus: An Experiment in Christology (New York: Crossroad, 1979)

Edward Schillebeeckx, Christ: The Experience of Jesus as Lord (New York: Crossroad, 1980) paperback.

Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Jesus—Miriam’s Child, Sophia’s Prophet: Critical Issues in Feminist Christology (New York: Continuum, 1994).

Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins (New York: Crossroad, 1983).

Juan Luis Segundo, Jesus of Nazareth, Yesterday & Today, 5 vol. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1984-1988).

Revised: February 27, 2008

Page Content developed by

William Harmless, SJ

1. INTRODUCTIONS & SURVEYS

2. HISTORY OF CHRISTOLOGY: From the New Testament to Chalcedon

3. HISTORY OF CHRISTOLOGY: After Chalcedon

4. CONTEMPORARY CHRISTOLOGIES