A Review of Writings in French on Christology in the 20th Century

Abstract

Christology has witnessed an astonishing and powerful awakening since the dawn of the Second Vatican Council. This explosion comes after centuries of absorption into speculative theology. And after a sustained period of tension between the search for the historical Jesus which both called into question the dogmatisation of faith in Jesus Christ and the dominance of scholastic theology. This remarkable revival of Christology in the 20th century has, in the last ten years, been closely evaluated and examined by at least three French authors:Jean-Louis Souletie, Les grands chantiers de la christologie [Major Projects in Christology] Coll. Jésus et Jésus-Christ, n. 90, Paris: Desclée, 2005, 268 pages Elisabeth Parmentier / Michel Deneken, Catholiques et protestants ― théologiens du christ au XXème siècle [Catholics and Protestants ― 20th Century Theologians of Christology] Coll. Jésus et Jésus-Christ, n. 96, Mame-Desclée, 2009, 565 pages Bernard Sesboüé, Les trente glorieuses de la christologie (1968-2000), [1968-2000: Christology’s Glorious Thirty Years] Brussels: Lessius, 2012, 478 pages. These three works aim to consider and bring together the extraordinary contributions of contemporary theologians to Christology: making this vast, complex and rich field of study accessible to the reader. Depending on their particular point of view, they all provide a panorama of the state of 20th century Christology. Jean-Louis Souletie sets out to write a comprehensive review of the state of field by mapping the complex themes which have emerged on the long road Christology has followed from the classic De Verbe Incarnato up to the very diverse Christologies of today. The other two works aim to present the major writings which inform the various aspects of the contemporary Christological movement. Parmentier and Deneken introduce twenty theologians, Catholic and Protestant, examining their Christologies in ecumenical terms. In turn, Sesboüé presents over one hundred and twenty works, mainly Catholic and by topic. Together these three works complement each other extremely well, to offer a broad overview of Christology in the 20th century.