Theorizing the Identity of Christ

Abstract

Abstract This chapter considers the period of early Christian doctrine developed as analogous to a ‘theological laboratory’, in which various doctrinal formulations were proposed and assessed over time in terms of their capacity to offer a coherent account of the apostolic teaching and practices of the church. Charles Taylor’s notion of the ‘Best Account’ is applied to illuminate some aspects of this process of development. The parallels with the modern scientific notion of ‘inference to the best explanation’ is explored, and used to challenge Walter Bauer’s influential account of the relation of heresy and orthodoxy in the early church. In place of Bauer’s account of the suppression of early orthodoxies, this study argues that multiple doctrinal formulations were proposed for discussion and possible reception, only becoming ‘orthodox’ as a result of a consensual assessment within the church. The chapter then considers Athanasius of Alexandria’s development of the concept of incarnation as the ‘best explanation’ of the witness of the New Testament to the identity and significance of Christ, and the criteria of assessment that he appears to have used in this process.