Christophany: The Fullness Of Man

Faith Meets Faith

by Raimon Panikkar

One of the most original scholars of world religions explores the relationship of humanity and divinity.

Raimon Panikkar’s life work has centered on articulating the way divinization is our full humanization, and how a human being, fully alive, is the best revelation of divinity. “The guiding thread of Christophany,” Panikkar writes, “is to lead to a personal experience of that mystery.” More than simply a book about mysticism, Christophany offers the attentive reader a way to experience the mystical depths of life. To know Jesus is to experience Jesus’ mystical life, in particular to share in divinity, and to know God as “Abba.” What happened in the life of Christ will happen in us and, in our transformed lives, God lives in us without us losing our own being.

Genres: Theology, Spirituality, Religion, Philosophy, Christianity

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Raimon Panikkar was a proponent of inter-religious dialogue. He continued to work as a Roman Catholic priest and a scholar specialized in comparative religion.

Reviews

[John Dawidow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. My biggest take away is the concept of Trinity, and how Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not substances but rather beings, almost as if they are represented by functions rather than matter. This perspective moves God from a separate entity into one that directly acts as part of our current reality.

Another take away is that Christ for Christians is a symbol for reality, and that the incarnation is constantly taking place. The Father is constantly creating the Son and the Son is constantly returning to the Father, and the means by which that happens is through the Spirit. So our experience and fullness of reality is the ultimate experience of Christ.

Another take away is how monotheism has crippled our spiritual developments, and that monotheism doesn’t allow for divinization, because monotheism implies that God is a separate entity, and that matter is corrupt, and that we can never attain the fullness of God. Christ in the flesh disputes that claim. In fact, throughout the gospels, especially in John, he constantly speaks of the reality that he and the Father are one. And the statement is controversial, and nearly gets him killed because of their monotheistic belief in his environment, which I found interesting.

Overall, a very fruitful book, yet very difficult to read, and to comprehend at times.

[Eve · Rating 5 out of 5]

mystical theology or theological mysticism (your call), this life-changing book shows a path both to personal wholeness and to a renewed sense of action in the world. it is slow going, not an easy read, but Pannikar's ideas are both revolutionary and restorative.

[Edgar Alvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

En este libro Panikkar resume la complejidad de su pensamiento, trasmitiendo que la complejidad del símbolo está en su profundidad capaz de atravesar las culturas de forma horizontal y vertical. Un deseo de encontrar una vía al diálogo interreligioso. Sin duda Panikkar fue uno de los mejores filósofos de la religión del siglo XX. Se le va a extrañar.

[Ephrem Arcement · Rating 5 out of 5]

Panikkar has his finger right on the pulse in this work. Even if there are some things in this book that will be problematic for wherever one finds him/herself on the theological spectrum (and there are!), Panikkar, I believe, is taking us in the right direction.

[Massimo Buongiorno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leggere Panikkar è davvero un balsamo per la mente. Un uomo così sensibile, profondo, complesso, colto da suscitare qualche moto di invidia nei suoi confronti anche da parte del lettore più smaliziato. Eppure, guardando le sue interviste, si intravede una semplicità d'animo ed un'umiltà spiazzanti.
Questo libro è un po' il compendio della sua visione cristiana e del mondo: un piccolo gioiello. Consigliatissimo.