This book explores how the person and salvific significance of Jesus Christ can be understood within todays secular and religiously plural world. Rather than adopting an exclusivist approach, it presents Christology in a manner that steers clear of both rigid absolutism and reductive relativism. At its core lies a thought-provoking question: how might Christology be interpreted not in opposition to, but in dialogue with, other religious traditions? Engaging with biblical sources, often-overlooked strands of theological heritage, and contemporary theological discourse, the book offers a fresh perspective on the concept of incarnation. It reinterprets it as representation, moving beyond the traditional doctrine of Christs two natures towards a more dynamic understanding of two fundamental relationshipsJesus relationship with God and his relationship with humanity.
This work was originally published in German as Jesus Christus Repräsentant Gottes by Theologischer Verlag Zürich (TVZ) in 2021. This English edition has been translated from the original and adapted to the context of Anglo-American theology and religious studies.
Contents
Preface
7 Preliminary Considerations: Contextual Christology
1.1The Religions as Context
1.2Natural Self-Affirmation?
1.3Outline of the Argument
8 The Problem: Christology and the Theology of Religions
2.1Interreligious Appreciation?
2.2Renunciation of Textual Justification?
2.3The Person and Mission of Jesus Christ
2.4Particularity and Universality
2.5The Theology of Israel as a Precedent
9 The Agenda: Representation as the Key Concept of Christology
3.1Clarification of the Term Representation
3.2Application of the Concept of Representation to the Interpretation of
Jesus Christ
10 Implementation: Unfolding Representational Christology
4.1Person and Work of Jesus Christ
4.2Revisions of Logos-Incarnation-Nature Christology
4.3Defining Relationships with Sensitivity to Difference
4.4Spirit Christology
4.5Wisdom Christology
4.6Word, Spirit, and Wisdoman Interim Evaluation
4.7The Revelation and Withdrawal of God
4.8The Work of Jesus Christ and Its Effects
4.9Christ-Event and Christ-Content
11 Selected Approaches to a Representational Christology
5.1Schubert M. Ogdens Concept of Representation
5.2Roger Haight: Jesus as Symbol of God
12 Conclusions and Further Reflections
6.1Soteriological Exclusivism?
6.2Solus Christus?
6.3An Application: the Quran as a Representation of God?
6.4Closing Remarks
Bibliography
Index of Names
Reinhold Bernhardt, Ph.D. (1989), University of Heidelberg, was a Professor of Systematic Theology/Dogmatics at the University of Basel, Switzerland, from 2001 to 2024. He has published monographs, edited volumes, and numerous articles on various theological topics, primarily from an interreligious perspective.
