Philosophical Theology - Christology

Christology

Within Christology, a number of philosophical questions have been raised, such as how the divine can incarnate as a human, how the eternal can enter the temporal, and how the divine and the human can be united in one yet remain distinct. Such questions led to earlier heresies like Arianism, Sabellianism, Docetism, etc. Often, one's epistemic theory can play an important role in how one answers such questions. There is, for instance, sometimes a clash between those who want to emphasize the rational foundation for theology and those who want to emphasize the empirical foundation for theology. There has also been a contrast made between Christology from above and Christology from below. The former emphasizes the divine side of Christ; the latter, the human side. The human side obviously tends to look at it more empirically. The Scriptures call the Incarnation as a mystery of godliness. It baffles human imagination, leading many to call it a divine mystery. Yet, philosophical theologians argue that it is also important to find a philosophical ground for asserting both the divinity and humanity of Christ. Others theologians, however, like Rudolph Bultmann, ventured to remove any myths from the Bible, a hermeneutical approach they called demythology. They have therefore looked at the New Testament Christology as greatly tampered with and in need of being demythologized. There has been a separation made between the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith (see also the Quest for the Historical Jesus).