In Defense of Extended Conciliar Christology

Abstract

Abstract This book examines the logical consistency and coherence of Extended Conciliar Christology—the Christological doctrine that results from conjoining Conciliar Christology, the Christology of the first seven ecumenical councils of the Christian Church, with five additional theses. These theses are: the claim that multiple incarnations are possible; the claim that Christ descended into hell during his three days of death; the claim that Christ’s human will was free; the claim that Christ was impeccable; and the claim that Christ, via his human intellect, knew all things past, present, and future. These five theses, while not found in the first seven ecumenical councils, are common in the Christian theological tradition. For just one example, St Thomas Aquinas affirmed all five extensions. The main question asked in this book is whether these five theses, when conjoined with Conciliar Christology, imply a contradiction. This book does not undertake to defend the truth of Extended Conciliar Christology. Rather, it shows that the extant philosophical objections to Extended Conciliar Christology fail.