Elaine R.S.’s Reviews > The Mystery of Christ: Life in Death > Status Update
Elaine R.S.
is on page 73 of 186
I liked this chapter much more. It is a very honest reflection at the idea of tradition, of doing theology, and whether "orthodoxy" can be reclaimed as a valid category in spite of the sobering reality.
Where to turn than to its founding champion, St. Irenaeus?
Some compelling evocations, some stretches of the imagination, and yet, genuine.
— Jul 18, 2026 06:54AM
Where to turn than to its founding champion, St. Irenaeus?
Some compelling evocations, some stretches of the imagination, and yet, genuine.
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Elaine R.S.
is on page 86 of 186
An interesting critique of "the Fall" as some "event", somehow different from creation, alongside a re-evaluation of the oft-repeated idea of death as unnatural wholesale... Behr takes aim here at not just the Western conception of the fall of man, but the naive Eastern reformulation as well. he sets this up, pointing at how, for St. Paul, the introduction of such a concept is driven by Christ as hypothesis.
— Aug 01, 2026 07:37PM
Elaine R.S.
is on page 44 of 186
I get what this first chapter was going for, but, despite being so central to the book's thesis, it remains surprisingly weak in its attempt to centralize the Cross. Specifically, there remains no reason given to not conceptually separate the Cross and the Resurrection, bar an aphorism that "by His death Christ conquers death- no other way". Which only ever gets you as far as "there are inseparable"... a truism.
— Jul 13, 2026 07:50PM
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It is in the assertion that the former rule is crucicentrism, rather than Christocentrism, that I yet don't necessarily agree, as I was not convinced by the previous chapter. There is something to be appreciated in the dynamism of Christ as a whole life, a whole person... whether the Cross is any more a microcosm of that than the Resurrection... I am not sure. I remain unconvinced that its inherent contradiction, the aphorism of "God crucified", is any more representative.
*to the extent Scripture also reveals the Father, through Christ, by the Spirit, through the prophets... again, this Triune self-similarity in which we participate...
I couldn't help but imagine myself once a "prophet", having grasped the truth of Christ in the Spirit, recognized so only by the power, wisdom, and discernment of said Spirit, by said Spirit, in Christ...
Religious truth is circular. But whether that circularity can lead to flourishing, or an outgrowth of life "in the Spirit", is of import. A rich tapestry is available to the creators of meaning. To those whose hypothesis is Christ, then, the Scriptures form such a rich fountainhead, as does tradition, and the world.
As Behr puts it:
"This is a task which lies before every one who would respond to Christ. As we have seen, the appeal to a canon of truth was not meant to curtail thought, but to ensure that it did not dissolve into endless regress or mythology. The canon functions to make genuine theological reflection possible. 'The rule did not limit reason to make room for faith, but used faith to make room for reason. Without a credible first principle, reason was lost in an infinite regress.' As Christ is the treasure hidden in the scriptures, the scriptures will themselves yield abundant riches as disciples continue to contemplate the precious pearl that is Christ.
That said... I did find the analogies to "axioms" and "reason" problematic, albeit, not disqualifying, as they remained always analogical, and not an integral appeal.