The Incarnation: Classical Christology and Public Theology

Abstract

Classical christology matters for public theology. In the Gospel of John, the Logos who creates the cosmos became flesh. Chalcedon (451 CE) clarified the divine/human union in Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus the creating Logos enlightens every human, Aquinas taught, with the capacity for thought and agency in social existence, the light of reason. The public sphere is a free space for discussion of matters bearing on human flourishing. Public theology is attentive to both the historical particularity of belief in Jesus the Messiah and the universal horizon of the Logos in creation and conscience. Promoting social justice, public theology addresses topics, structures, dynamics and meanings in the public sphere of liberal democracies.