Deep Incarnation: God's Redemptive Suffering With Creatures

by Denis G. Edwards, Niels Gregersen (Foreword)

A Catholic Press Association Award Winner Based on the Duffy Lectures, an annual lecture series at Boston College, this book explores the concept of "Deep Incarnation," a way of making connections between incarnation and the whole of creation. Author Denis Edwards, who was an international authority on the dialogue between science and faith, draws upon the work of Niels Gregersen, Elizabeth Johnson, and others to address this "What relationship is there between the wider natural world -- the world of galaxies and stars, mountains and seas, bacteria, plants and animals -- and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ?"

Genres: Theology

140 pages, Paperback

Published June 26, 2019

Reviews

[Jackson Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “how does the incarnation relate to God’s salvation of the cosmos?”, than this is a great book for you. Edwards surveys a selection of influential theologians on the incarnation like Irenaeus, Athanasius, Karl Rahner, Niels Henrik Gregersen, Richard Bauckham, and Elizabeth Johnson, as well as contributes his own constructive account of ‘Deep Incarnation’.

[Harry Allagree · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author, Denis Edwards, an Australian priest/theologian died at age 79 just after this was published. That's very unfortunate, because he was very fine writer. This is a book of very "heavy" incarnational theology, but Edwards has the knack of putting definitions of what he's trying to say into simple, understandable words. Using the works of four diverse contemporary advocates of "deep incarnation" theology, and comparing them with two great patristic era theologians, Irenaeus & Athanasius, and one 20th century theologian, the late great Karl Rahner, Edwards displays differences and "resonances. At the end he shows how all their conclusions on deep incarnation compare with his own convictions. This is a book that takes some time to read & absorb, despite is short 132 pages of text, and is surely one to be re-read.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author tackles the subject of incarnation on the larger scope of creation, outside of humanity, unlike the majority of theologians. While a quick and easy read, I did not walk away feeling that I was that much better for having read it. I do agree that the environment is important and that as stewards of God's creation, it is important that we take care of it instead of plundering it. However, I came to this conclusion from studying the Bible and understanding our place it.

The topic of the incarnation and its impact for creation is not new, as the author points to the writings of Irenaeus (2nd century AD) & Athanasius (4th century AD). From there, he then looks at a more contemporary theologian to support his idea. If you are wanting to build a theology around the environment, this could be a good starting point. As a jumping off point, this is a good book and I think it would be valuable to Christians who have not thought a lot about the environment or who are passionate about the environment.