The Humility of the Eternal Son: Reformed Kenoticism and the Repair of Chalcedon

by Bruce Lindley McCormack

The Chalcedonian Definition of 451 never completely resolved one of the critical issues at the heart of the unity of the 'person' of Christ. In this eagerly-awaited volume - the result of deep and sustained reflection - distinguished theologian Bruce Lindley McCormack examines the reasons for this philosophical and theological failure. His book serves as a critical history that traces modern attempts at resolution of this problem, from the nineteenth-century Lutheran emphasis on Kenoticism (or the 'self-emptying' of the Son in order to be receptive to the will of the Father) to post-Barthian efforts that evade the issue by collapsing the second person of the Trinity into the human Jesus - thereby rejecting altogether the logic of the classical 'two-natures' Christology. McCormack shows how New Testament Christologies both limit and authorize ontological reflection, and in so doing offers a distinctively Reformed version of Kenoticism. Proposing a new and bold divine ontology, with a convincing basis in Christology, he persuasively argues that the unity of the 'person' is in fact guaranteed by the Son's act of taking into his 'being' the lived existence of Jesus.

Genres: Theology

350 pages, Hardcover

Published November 25, 2021

Reviews

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine having his brain.

[Lukas Stock · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an excellent work of dogmatic theology. McCormack has crafted a proposal for christological reflection that seems as if it will likely become a standard English language work in years to come for students.

That being said, while I respect McCormack’s work here I disagree on many of his conclusions and almost all his presuppositions. His rejection of classical metaphysics seems unnecessary. His critiques of Chalcedon, particularly his identification of its inherent “logical aporia,” are valuable but seem to me answerable from within a classical commitment to Chalcedon itself, without any “repair” work needed.

Perhaps most unfortunate is the muddiness with which he discusses Jesus and the Logos. At times they sound like two distinct beings or subjects. McCormack very clearly develops a single subject christology, so accusing him of Nestorian tendencies would be wrong, but he continues to speak of the God-human (an extremely helpful way of speaking of the person of Christ) in ways that seem to separate the God and the human which makes me wary. I frequently read him (I believe fairly) as articulating things such that there remains in Jesus Christ a “he and a he.”

Quite disappointingly for a work published in 2021 on “repairing” Chalcedon, McCormack doesn’t even mention, let alone engage with, non-Chalcedonian christologies or theologians. One wonders if time spent with ancient sources who are committed to the classical metaphysics of the Chalcedonian bishops while rejecting their definition would offer helpful insight for McCormack’s problems with Chalcedon.

This book is almost certainly required reading for students of theology and those engaged in any kind of academic work regarding christology, and will challenge those interested in fidelity to the classical articulations found in the Tradition.

[Cody Bivins-Starr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huge if true. McCormack is exceptionally clear in his argumentation, to the degree that if he is right, he is right. I’m unsure how to think about his “repair of Chalcedon” and if I accept the problems of a single-subject Christology he finds there. But, the implications of his repair, having incarnation be proper to the determination of the Eternal Son, are far reaching.

Having been present at his first preview of the next volume, and if the most recent seminar with him is any indication, this trilogy will be a force to be reckoned with (alongside Sonderegger).

[Jon Coutts · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book. I'm going to have to think about it for quite some time - preferably in conversation with friends who specialize in christology - but it's rigorous and compelling. Between this and Sonderegger's trilogy it's an exciting (albeit underfunded) time to be a theologian!

[Richard Woodhouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now that I am about 3/4 of the way through this book, I wanted to update my review. This book is even better than I originally thought, as I have slowly, I admit, made my way through it. Professor McCormack has a very good writing style and He makes some difficult topics fairly "easy" to grasp and work through. Though kind of short, His take on Sergius Bulgakov, has been so helpful. Its going to have Me going back to this great Russian Thinkers writings again. As usual, this author has a lot of insights on Karl Barth and this book furthers that. I also think that the fairly new insights on the "History of Religions" approach to Early Christology is a huge improvement, on the 19th to mid 20th century theories on slow evolving "High Christology". McCormack is right, I think on the significance of the work of Scholars like Larry Hurtado, Richard Bauckham and others. The old Jesus was divinized slowly through "Helenistic" myth making, has been shown to be not the case. I first came upon this research a long time ago, by the German scholar, Martin Hengel, and His impetus has been carried further by the above mentioned people, along with others. Finally, I like the fair minded though not timid way, that Professor McCormack deals with all the issues of Christology and the various historical views and theories. Well, that's enough for now. I have to get a coffee and get back to the rest of this very good book.

[Stephen Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible book, and one that is certain to be groundbreaking for christology. A full review will be forthcoming on my website.

[Nathan Porter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Possibly the worst book on Christology since Theodore of Mopsuestia's De Incarnatione. McCormack’s Christology is a half-Nestorian, half-Apollinarian monstrosity—Nestorian because he expressly denies that the Word is the acting agent in Jesus Christ, and "inverted Apollinarianism" (his words) because it excludes the Word's agency from Jesus, just as Apollinaris had removed his human agency from the union.

As with every other failed Christological project, M.'s working assumption is that divine and human agency are roughly univocal, such that one must give way in order for the other to be present in its full integrity in Christ. There can be no other explanation for M.'s claim that, in order for Jesus's human nature to be truly active, the divinity must remain merely "receptive"—as though divine and created natures were bound up in one and the same chain of finite causes and therefore capable of interfering with each other's activities. In the end, M.'s God is little more than a creature, his Christ unrecognizable to anyone but a heretic.

[André Sette · Rating 5 out of 5]

O livro de cristologia que mais me deixou engajado, do começo ao fim. Vai ser lembrado por muitos anos como um dos mais criativos e geniais. A forma como ele consegue desenvolver um discurso teológico responsável, pela bíblia, pela história, pela boa investigação, servirão como modelo último para as próximas gerações.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume is the first of a three-volume work. As the subtitle suggests, McCormack is attempting to repair (not reinvent) Chalcedon. The issue he sees with Chalcedon is that it either suggests a two-subject Christology (one human, one divine) or leads to Christ's humanity being instrumentalized by his divinity. In addition, he rejects impassibility and divine simplicity and believes that these two doctrines undermine the reality of Christ's incarnation (which will be further elaborated in vol 2). In contrast-after conversing with Barth, von Balthasar, and Bulgakov, on the one hand, and Jenson, Jungel and a lesser-known French Catholic, on the other-McCormack argues that the person of Christ prior to the incarnation is receptive and as such the proper divine person to receive humanity to himself. One of the most refreshing aspects of this book for me is that the author clarifies that he no longer believes that election logically precedes and constitutes the Trinity. This will likely be a major conversation partner for those interesting in Christology, especially post-Barthian expressions of this most cherished and defended of doctrines.

[Christian Brewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to give four stars mainly just because I have massive disagreements with his project, however, McCormack is an incredible writer with a style to be emulated. He is skillful in both his historical and biblical arguments, and his final chapter, a sort of prologue to his constructive work, leaves one eager to see he completes the task, even if disagreements abound.

[Wyatt Houtz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book. Must read