What do you think?
Rate this book
A Primer on the Absolute Primacy of Christ: Blessed John Duns Scotus and the Franciscan Thesis
136 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
39 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 5, 2020
Read again. This time around I still found it good. I did find that some of his arguments could have used support from other sources.
The entire text of the booklet can be found at this web link: http://absoluteprimacyofchrist.org/
(At the link, videos are added to the text). The booklet can also be purchased. This is a great introduction to the Absolute Primacy of Christ put forth by Blessed John Duns Scotus. A worthy read for all those who hold to, or are considering the doctrine of Christ coming in the incarnation, even if humanity had not sinned. God's love is characterized by his desire for relationship with humanity and ultimately to receive glory. It is not the result of a lesser good, nor an evil. What was first in intention - God willing Christ to take on flesh, is last in execution - i.e. how this comes about. The work shows how the logic of the Thomist position of Relative Primacy is flawed. For the Thomist, Christ and the Blessed Virgin would not have come if there was no sin. How absurd! God predestined all of humanity to enter into relationship with God through humanity. After the fall the need for redemption was critical, but the first intention of the incarnation was not redemption, but that Christ would have primacy.
Holding the Scotist position has implications for how one sees God, the Incarnation, the Redemption, The Blessed Virgin Mary, Humanity and Creation.
This work is definitely worth a few hours, especially is one needs a foundation in which to wade into academic texts.
The entire text of the booklet can be found at this web link: http://absoluteprimacyofchrist.org/
(At the link, videos are added to the text). The booklet can also be purchased. This is a great introduction to the Absolute Primacy of Christ put forth by Blessed John Duns Scotus. A worthy read for all those who hold to, or are considering the doctrine of Christ coming in the incarnation, even if humanity had not sinned. God's love is characterized by his desire for relationship with humanity and ultimately to receive glory. It is not the result of a lesser good, nor an evil. What was first in intention - God willing Christ to take on flesh, is last in execution - i.e. how this comes about. The work shows how the logic of the Thomist position of Relative Primacy is flawed. For the Thomist, Christ and the Blessed Virgin would not have come if there was no sin. How absurd! God predestined all of humanity to enter into relationship with God through humanity. After the fall the need for redemption was critical, but the first intention of the incarnation was not redemption, but that Christ would have primacy.
Holding the Scotist position has implications for how one sees God, the Incarnation, the Redemption, The Blessed Virgin Mary, Humanity and Creation.
This work is definitely worth a few hours, especially is one needs a foundation in which to wade into academic texts.
June 30, 2024
This book is a fascinating Franciscan take on the classic question, why did God become man?
For most, the obvious and only answer is that Jesus became incarnate to die for our sins. While this is certainly true, it is only part of the story. This book shows how, based on a reading of Ephesians 2, Philippians 2, Colossians, St Irenaeus (and several other fathers, St Francis, and finally Bl John Duns Scotus, Jesus would have become incarnate whether we sinned or not because the incarnation of Christ through the Virgin Mary was God’s plan to spread his love to creation from the beginning.
In fact, the most plausible reason for Satan and the demons’ rebellion is that from the beginning of time, they saw a vision of Jesus born of the Virgin Mary and refused to serve them out of pride. This primordial vision explains why at the outset of Jesus’ ministry, the only people who truly understood Jesus’ ministry were the demons.
For most, the obvious and only answer is that Jesus became incarnate to die for our sins. While this is certainly true, it is only part of the story. This book shows how, based on a reading of Ephesians 2, Philippians 2, Colossians, St Irenaeus (and several other fathers, St Francis, and finally Bl John Duns Scotus, Jesus would have become incarnate whether we sinned or not because the incarnation of Christ through the Virgin Mary was God’s plan to spread his love to creation from the beginning.
In fact, the most plausible reason for Satan and the demons’ rebellion is that from the beginning of time, they saw a vision of Jesus born of the Virgin Mary and refused to serve them out of pride. This primordial vision explains why at the outset of Jesus’ ministry, the only people who truly understood Jesus’ ministry were the demons.
September 28, 2025
This short, little book is an excellent introduction into one of Blessed John's central theological thesis. The Subtle Doctor's prose is notoriously dense, but Fr. Maximilian does a good job of distilling his ideas down to a level most readers can understand. This is excellent place to start for anyone interested in Scotism or the Fransican intellectual tradition.
January 23, 2022
Great Introduction to Scotus'
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews