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In Accordance with the Scriptures: The Shape of Christian Theology
This book explores the shape of Christian theology when seen by beginning from the proclamation of the gospel “in accordance with the Scriptures,” that is, with the Scriptures (the “Old Testament”) unveiled in the light of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, rather than presuming the later framework of “The Bible,” with its distinct two testaments. Drawing upon writings, iconography, and the liturgical life of the church in the early centuries, John Behr shows how the mystery of Christ includes not only the head, the Lord Jesus Christ, but also the whole body of Christ, the church, born in the womb of the Virgin Mother. He also reveals how the scriptural arc from Adam to Christ is recapitulated in our own growth, as human, from passively coming-into-being in mortality to our birth into life through death and deification. The shape that Christian theology takes as it develops in this way presents to us, as Irenaeus puts it, the truth about God and the human being, and how these are united in the one Christ, both head and body.
- GenresTheology
223 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 6, 2025
20 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
John Behr
66 books99 followersFr John Behr is Regius Professor of Humanity at the University of Aberdeen. He previously taught at St Vladimir’s Seminary, where he served as Dean from 2007-17; he is also the Metropolitan Kallistos Chair of Orthodox Theology at the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam and the Amsterdam Center for Orthodox Theology.
Fr John hails from England, though his family background is Russian and German – and clerical on both sides. From the Russian side, his great-grandfather was sent to London by Metropolian Evlogy to serve there as a priest in 1926; his father was also a priest, ordained by Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom), as are his brother (at St Paul’s Monastery on Mt Athos) and his brother-in-law (Sts Cyril and Methodius, Terryville, CT). His maternal grandparents met at Karl Barth’s graduate seminar in Basel, and served in the Lutheran Church in Germany, where his grandfather was a Lutheran pastor.
After completing his first degree in Philosophy in London in 1987, Fr. John spent a year studying in Greece. He finished an M.Phil. in Eastern Christian Studies at Oxford University, under Bishop Kallistos (Ware), who subsequently supervised his doctoral work, which was examined by Fr. Andrew Louth and Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury. While working on his doctorate, he was invited to be a Visiting Lecturer at St Vladimir’s Seminary in 1993, where he has been a permanent faculty member since 1995, tenured in 2000, and ordained in 2001. Before becoming Dean in 2007, he served as the editor of St Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly, and he still edits the Popular Patristics Series for SVS Press.
His doctoral work was on issues of asceticism and anthropology, focusing on St Irenaeus of Lyons and Clement of Alexandria, and was published by Oxford University Press (2000). After spending almost a decade in the second century, Fr John began the publication of a series on the Formation of Christian Theology (The Way to Nicaea, SVS Press 2001, and The Nicene Faith, SVS Press 2003). Synthesizing these studies, is the book The Mystery of Christ: Life in Death (SVS Press, 2003). In preparation for further volumes of his Formation series, Fr John edited and translated the fragments of Diodore of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia, setting them in their historical and theological context (OUP 2011). More recently Fr John published a more poetic and meditative work entitled Becoming Human: Theological Anthropology in Word and Image (SVS Press, 2013) and a full study of St Irenaeus: St Irenaeus of Lyons: Identifying Christianity (OUP, 2013). Most recently he has completed a new critical edition and translation of Origen’s On First Principles, together with an extensive introduction, for OUP (2017), and John the Theologian and His Paschal Gospel: A Prologue to Theology (OUP 2019). He is currently working on a new edition and translation of the works of Irenaeus.
His other passion is cycling, especially restoring and riding vintage bicycles including a historic Hetchins and a Dursley Pedersen. The Tour de France dominates the Behr family life during July, dictating the scheduling of important family events. Fr John’s wife, a Tour de France enthusiast and armchair cyclist, teaches English at a nearby college, and their two sons and daughter are being taught to appreciate the finer points of French culture: the great “constructeurs” of the last century, La Grande Boucle, and … cheese.
Fr John hails from England, though his family background is Russian and German – and clerical on both sides. From the Russian side, his great-grandfather was sent to London by Metropolian Evlogy to serve there as a priest in 1926; his father was also a priest, ordained by Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom), as are his brother (at St Paul’s Monastery on Mt Athos) and his brother-in-law (Sts Cyril and Methodius, Terryville, CT). His maternal grandparents met at Karl Barth’s graduate seminar in Basel, and served in the Lutheran Church in Germany, where his grandfather was a Lutheran pastor.
After completing his first degree in Philosophy in London in 1987, Fr. John spent a year studying in Greece. He finished an M.Phil. in Eastern Christian Studies at Oxford University, under Bishop Kallistos (Ware), who subsequently supervised his doctoral work, which was examined by Fr. Andrew Louth and Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury. While working on his doctorate, he was invited to be a Visiting Lecturer at St Vladimir’s Seminary in 1993, where he has been a permanent faculty member since 1995, tenured in 2000, and ordained in 2001. Before becoming Dean in 2007, he served as the editor of St Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly, and he still edits the Popular Patristics Series for SVS Press.
His doctoral work was on issues of asceticism and anthropology, focusing on St Irenaeus of Lyons and Clement of Alexandria, and was published by Oxford University Press (2000). After spending almost a decade in the second century, Fr John began the publication of a series on the Formation of Christian Theology (The Way to Nicaea, SVS Press 2001, and The Nicene Faith, SVS Press 2003). Synthesizing these studies, is the book The Mystery of Christ: Life in Death (SVS Press, 2003). In preparation for further volumes of his Formation series, Fr John edited and translated the fragments of Diodore of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia, setting them in their historical and theological context (OUP 2011). More recently Fr John published a more poetic and meditative work entitled Becoming Human: Theological Anthropology in Word and Image (SVS Press, 2013) and a full study of St Irenaeus: St Irenaeus of Lyons: Identifying Christianity (OUP, 2013). Most recently he has completed a new critical edition and translation of Origen’s On First Principles, together with an extensive introduction, for OUP (2017), and John the Theologian and His Paschal Gospel: A Prologue to Theology (OUP 2019). He is currently working on a new edition and translation of the works of Irenaeus.
His other passion is cycling, especially restoring and riding vintage bicycles including a historic Hetchins and a Dursley Pedersen. The Tour de France dominates the Behr family life during July, dictating the scheduling of important family events. Fr John’s wife, a Tour de France enthusiast and armchair cyclist, teaches English at a nearby college, and their two sons and daughter are being taught to appreciate the finer points of French culture: the great “constructeurs” of the last century, La Grande Boucle, and … cheese.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 15, 2025
Amazing how many times this book blew my mind in just 120 short pages. Extremely well-crafted from start to finish.
Behr makes a compelling case for the importance of allegorical readings of the Scriptures (and all of human history for that matter) starting with Jesus’s death and resurrection (the end of the story, AKA the “arc of God’s economy”) in mind. We are masterfully guided through a selection of early church writings, liturgical practice, and iconography to show how allegory is actually the norm and not the exception for followers of Jesus.
At the end of the day, this book brought me closer to Jesus. And that’s really the only reason I have for picking up a theology book in the first place.
10/10 would recommend
Behr makes a compelling case for the importance of allegorical readings of the Scriptures (and all of human history for that matter) starting with Jesus’s death and resurrection (the end of the story, AKA the “arc of God’s economy”) in mind. We are masterfully guided through a selection of early church writings, liturgical practice, and iconography to show how allegory is actually the norm and not the exception for followers of Jesus.
At the end of the day, this book brought me closer to Jesus. And that’s really the only reason I have for picking up a theology book in the first place.
10/10 would recommend
September 23, 2025
A pretty mind-bending book in many ways. Some helpful, others unhelpful.
May 12, 2025
When we do theology, one place to start is with the "Bible," which is a book that essentially runs from creation to consummation with Jesus in the middle. But, what if such a starting point is too constrictive? Might we think in terms of the Scriptures, which allow for a broader understanding of authorities? With that question as a starting point, what might Christian theology look like?
John Behr is a professor of Humanity at Aberdeen University and was formerly a professor at St. Vladimir's Seminary. He identifies with Eastern Orthodoxy. From that perspective, he offers this look at "The Shape of Christian Theology" in his brief but deep book, "In Accordance with the Scriptures."
Behr begins in Chapter 1, "Figuring Scripture," by deconstructing the traditional view of Christian theology that is rooted in a narrative pattern that follows a trajectory of Creation-Fall, Salvation History- Incarnation-Crucifixion-Resurrection-Ascension- Pentecost, a narrative that culminates in the Second Coming. The problem with this pattern, which is supported by a liturgical calendar, is that no council ever determined a canon, and the first full listing doesn't come until Athanasius in the 4th century. Thus, to understand Christian theology, he suggests we must unmoor it from that narrative pattern, including the "Bible" as a book, and instead look to the scriptures for guidance. It is a complicated scenario, but intriguing. In seeking to lay out his vision, he draws on Irenaeus' concept of recapitulation, such that the NT is a recapitulation of the entirety of Scripture. In essence, reading the OT in light of Christ. As we think of this in terms of doing theology, he places the contemporary reader into the mix in an intriguing way. I'll leave it at that, but it does seem like a helpful way of engaging the scriptures.
The second chapter is titled "The Paschal Christ." As we consider the message of the Scriptures, Behr points to the incarnation as the lens, but more importantly, following Athanasius, moving from "womb to tomb." For Behr, the tomb is a womb, such that it is in the tomb that Christ is truly born. He points out that Athanasius's On the Incarnation does not mention the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke; instead, the date of Jesus' death, as well as other martyrs, is understood to be his birthday.
As we move forward to Chapter 3, Behr reflects on "The Virgin Mother." Here, he focuses on how Paul and early Christians envisioned the church as the womb by which the believer is born. He notes that Mary's name is rarely mentioned in the New Testament, but many early Christians envisioned the Virgin mother giving birth to believers. Ultimately, she is identified with the church.
Chapter 4 is titled "Becoming Human." This is an interesting chapter in that Behr addresses the way we hear the Scriptures regarding humanity, especially in terms of sin and salvation. While Protestants, drawing on the Bible, have focused on the fall, the same is not true of early Christians. Thus, the relationship of Adam to Jesus is understood very differently, especially since the Christ is understood to pre-exist Adam. Thus, following Irenaeus, the vision here is one of growth, from infancy to maturity. Adam represents infancy, with the Christ representing maturity. He also draws on Gregory of Nyssa and Maximus the Confessor to develop this idea of the growth of the human being into the maturity that is the Christ. Behr concludes by noting that "Reading scripture from the perspective of the end that is the pascha of Christ, Ireneaus, Gregory, and Maximos see the whole economy of God as bringing his creature, through growth in time, to come to be in the image and likeness of God and to share in the uncreated power of God." (p. 122).
It is this paschal Christology that brings everything together, such that death is converted into birth. What Behr does here, in a very brief book, is invite us to let go of our traditional view of the Bible as a book and see a different picture centered in Christology. At least, that is how I read it.
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John Behr is a professor of Humanity at Aberdeen University and was formerly a professor at St. Vladimir's Seminary. He identifies with Eastern Orthodoxy. From that perspective, he offers this look at "The Shape of Christian Theology" in his brief but deep book, "In Accordance with the Scriptures."
Behr begins in Chapter 1, "Figuring Scripture," by deconstructing the traditional view of Christian theology that is rooted in a narrative pattern that follows a trajectory of Creation-Fall, Salvation History- Incarnation-Crucifixion-Resurrection-Ascension- Pentecost, a narrative that culminates in the Second Coming. The problem with this pattern, which is supported by a liturgical calendar, is that no council ever determined a canon, and the first full listing doesn't come until Athanasius in the 4th century. Thus, to understand Christian theology, he suggests we must unmoor it from that narrative pattern, including the "Bible" as a book, and instead look to the scriptures for guidance. It is a complicated scenario, but intriguing. In seeking to lay out his vision, he draws on Irenaeus' concept of recapitulation, such that the NT is a recapitulation of the entirety of Scripture. In essence, reading the OT in light of Christ. As we think of this in terms of doing theology, he places the contemporary reader into the mix in an intriguing way. I'll leave it at that, but it does seem like a helpful way of engaging the scriptures.
The second chapter is titled "The Paschal Christ." As we consider the message of the Scriptures, Behr points to the incarnation as the lens, but more importantly, following Athanasius, moving from "womb to tomb." For Behr, the tomb is a womb, such that it is in the tomb that Christ is truly born. He points out that Athanasius's On the Incarnation does not mention the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke; instead, the date of Jesus' death, as well as other martyrs, is understood to be his birthday.
As we move forward to Chapter 3, Behr reflects on "The Virgin Mother." Here, he focuses on how Paul and early Christians envisioned the church as the womb by which the believer is born. He notes that Mary's name is rarely mentioned in the New Testament, but many early Christians envisioned the Virgin mother giving birth to believers. Ultimately, she is identified with the church.
Chapter 4 is titled "Becoming Human." This is an interesting chapter in that Behr addresses the way we hear the Scriptures regarding humanity, especially in terms of sin and salvation. While Protestants, drawing on the Bible, have focused on the fall, the same is not true of early Christians. Thus, the relationship of Adam to Jesus is understood very differently, especially since the Christ is understood to pre-exist Adam. Thus, following Irenaeus, the vision here is one of growth, from infancy to maturity. Adam represents infancy, with the Christ representing maturity. He also draws on Gregory of Nyssa and Maximus the Confessor to develop this idea of the growth of the human being into the maturity that is the Christ. Behr concludes by noting that "Reading scripture from the perspective of the end that is the pascha of Christ, Ireneaus, Gregory, and Maximos see the whole economy of God as bringing his creature, through growth in time, to come to be in the image and likeness of God and to share in the uncreated power of God." (p. 122).
It is this paschal Christology that brings everything together, such that death is converted into birth. What Behr does here, in a very brief book, is invite us to let go of our traditional view of the Bible as a book and see a different picture centered in Christology. At least, that is how I read it.
-
May 3, 2025
Simply exceptional. One of the best and most thought-provoking words on the patristic vision of theology and biblical hermeneutics that I have read. Hear Behr’s own summary of this book’s main idea:
“Reading scripture from the perspective of the end that is the pascha of Christ, Ireneaus, Gregory, and Maximos see the whole economy of God as bringing his creature, through growth in time, to come to be in the image and likeness of God and to share in the uncreated power of God. In their different ways, they present a very realistic picture, one that matches our concrete existence and experience: we do, in fact, all come to be passionately, on the part of our parents, as well as passively, on our part, into existence in time with a path of growth before us, which inexorably leads to death. But as our end is co-terminal with that of Jesus Christ, through the mystery of his pascha, our death can now be a voluntary and active birth into life as a human being in the image of God. For Irenaeus, this is mapped by the seven stages of human life; for Gregory, it reflects the dynamic power of nature, “the all-contriving,” as it molds and shapes the creature, training it by death, to arrive at its end; while Maximos sees the path in cosmological terms, bringing the whole cosmos, “as another human being,” into unity with God.”
Not mentioned in this little excerpt are Origen of Alexandria and Athanasius, who Behr also heavily relies on in understanding the overall “shape” of theology. Behr is jaded by modern systematic approaches to theology and chronological storyline approaches to the canonical text of Scripture. Behr is more interested in how the apostles and the early fathers understood the Scriptures (Old Testament) to unfold the economy of God and teach us about what it means to be truly human. For Behr, according to the fathers, we all become truly human through growth in our genesis from Adam, and we reach true human through death and new life in Christ. Admittedly, it is a little tough to follow Behr at first, but I found the everything really came together in the fourth chapter. This work will prove deeply influential on my own reading of the church fathers and my theological anthropology. This book will also give you a newfound appreciation for ancient hymnography and iconography. So well done!
“What we have thus found when tracing the shape of (early) Christian theology is a remarkable union of theology and anthropology bound intrinsically together in a paschal Christology—if, indeed, these can be separated even “in thought alone.” Premised upon the pascha of Jesus Christ and the conversion of death into birth that it effects, as proclaimed by the apostles in accordance with the scriptures, we are offered a way to understand the reality of the span of our life as the scriptural movement from Adam to Christ, individually and collectively, in a growth that culminates in the mystery of the transformation heralded by Paul (1 Cor 15:51–54).”
“Reading scripture from the perspective of the end that is the pascha of Christ, Ireneaus, Gregory, and Maximos see the whole economy of God as bringing his creature, through growth in time, to come to be in the image and likeness of God and to share in the uncreated power of God. In their different ways, they present a very realistic picture, one that matches our concrete existence and experience: we do, in fact, all come to be passionately, on the part of our parents, as well as passively, on our part, into existence in time with a path of growth before us, which inexorably leads to death. But as our end is co-terminal with that of Jesus Christ, through the mystery of his pascha, our death can now be a voluntary and active birth into life as a human being in the image of God. For Irenaeus, this is mapped by the seven stages of human life; for Gregory, it reflects the dynamic power of nature, “the all-contriving,” as it molds and shapes the creature, training it by death, to arrive at its end; while Maximos sees the path in cosmological terms, bringing the whole cosmos, “as another human being,” into unity with God.”
Not mentioned in this little excerpt are Origen of Alexandria and Athanasius, who Behr also heavily relies on in understanding the overall “shape” of theology. Behr is jaded by modern systematic approaches to theology and chronological storyline approaches to the canonical text of Scripture. Behr is more interested in how the apostles and the early fathers understood the Scriptures (Old Testament) to unfold the economy of God and teach us about what it means to be truly human. For Behr, according to the fathers, we all become truly human through growth in our genesis from Adam, and we reach true human through death and new life in Christ. Admittedly, it is a little tough to follow Behr at first, but I found the everything really came together in the fourth chapter. This work will prove deeply influential on my own reading of the church fathers and my theological anthropology. This book will also give you a newfound appreciation for ancient hymnography and iconography. So well done!
“What we have thus found when tracing the shape of (early) Christian theology is a remarkable union of theology and anthropology bound intrinsically together in a paschal Christology—if, indeed, these can be separated even “in thought alone.” Premised upon the pascha of Jesus Christ and the conversion of death into birth that it effects, as proclaimed by the apostles in accordance with the scriptures, we are offered a way to understand the reality of the span of our life as the scriptural movement from Adam to Christ, individually and collectively, in a growth that culminates in the mystery of the transformation heralded by Paul (1 Cor 15:51–54).”
May 3, 2025
If Christianity is to survive another century, its authors like John Behr who will be heralded as the seed planters of reformation. Seeds not of new ideas but of the ancients; Irenaeus, Orgen, Gregory & Maximus. Death, as Behr points out, is not an enemy to be defeated as it is more a birth to be integrated, a metamorphosis into the ultimate aim of God’s creation project: The Christ. In this paradigm The Fall is not a tragedy but a revealing of our (and Adam’s) immature beginnings. It is the reason for our growth, repentance and our eventual glorification as finished creatures echoed in the words of Pilate “behold the man” and in the words of Jesus “It is finished”. Behr sums this process up simply as; ”we grow from Adam to Christ”.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews