Description
Book SynopsisThe Future of Christology addresses the questions that Christology currently faces and/or will face in the future in 12 topics. The book consists of two parts. In the first part Kim deals with five topics related to traditional Christology, while in the second part he wrestles with seven topics related to issues of Christology. The 21st century is a challenging time for Christianity. Changes in values, worldviews, and views of the universe that have occurred in various fields of the humanities, society, history, culture, and the natural sciences are in the process of forming a new zeitgeist. As the times and ways of thinking change, statements regarding Christ should change accordingly. A Christology that fails to communicate meaningfully with the times is indeed void of vitality. Postmodernism, dehistoricization and post-ideology, multiculturalism, multiple religions, and, above all, the rapid development of the natural sciences that characterize the 21st century pose a serious challenge to traditional Christology. Our age is asking what Jesus Christ means in the 21st century in various dimensions of history, culture, nature, and even beyond the earth. First of all, it is imperative to understand the questions posed regarding Christology accurately. Who is Christ in the age of an infinite cosmos? How do daily human life, social devotion, and praxis relate to salvation? How can we discuss salvation history in an era of post-history? Where does Christ stand in the public sphere? Can the Chalcedonian definition of the two natures of Christ, “true God and true human being,” encompass nature and the cosmos? Would a third nature of Christ be necessary? Will the cyborg, which may appear in the near future, be the object of Christ’s salvation? If scientific determinism becomes popular in the future, will the basis of faith in Christ lose ground? If intelligent life exists in the universe, what does Christ mean to such life? This book provides innovative answers to these questions in an academic context.
Trade ReviewDong-Kun Kim’s The Future of Christology: Jesus Christ for a Global Age is a timely reminder that faith in Jesus Christ not only has a distinguished intellectual history, but also an interesting and creative present that opens onto a promising global future. This is an exciting book, written from a standpoint of confidence — open to life, scholarship and culture, but also theologically positive and constructive to the core. If you are tired of sterile academic theology, this book is for you. -- Gary D. Badcock, Peache Professor of Divinity, Huron University College at Western University
Table of ContentsPart I. Topics Related to Traditional Christology Chapter 1: Methodology of Christology Chapter 2: Incarnational Theology and Prospects Chapter 3: Harmony of the Cosmic Christ and the Historical Jesus Chapter 4: Issues in Soteriology Chapter 5: Salvation: Is It God’s Grace or Human Cooperation? Part II. Topics Related to Issues of Christology Chapter 6: Open Discipleship of Christ Chapter 7: Christ in the Age of Plurality Chapter 8: Christ in History and Dehistoricization Chapter 9: Christ in the Public Sphere Chapter 10: The Decline of Comprehensive Christology and the Emergence of Private Christology Chapter 11: Scientific Determinism and Christ Chapter 12: Christ of the Earthlings?
