Southern Baptist Theology in the Late Twentieth Century
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 54, No. 2 – Spring 2012
Managing Editor: Malcolm B. Yarnell III
By Oliver D. Crisp. New York: T&T Clark, 2009. 192 pages. Softcover, 34.95.
Oliver Crisp’s God Incarnate: Explorations in Christology examines a set of historic and contemporary doctrinal problems regarding the person of Christ, specifically those problems related to the incarnation. As “an exercise in analytic theology,” Crisp borrows certain technical resources and the general rigor of contemporary analytic philosophy in order to construct a logically coherent apology for orthodox Christology in light of contemporary advancements in philosophy and science, an effort he refers to as “retrieving doctrine” (1–3). As in his other works on Christology, Crisp’s God Incarnate sets out to “interrogate, correct, and amend contemporary theological myopia” (15).
Following “a traditional dogmatic ordering of Christological topics,” Crisp’s work falls into eight chapters (4). In brief, they are: “Christological Method”; “The Election of Jesus Christ”; “The Pre-Existence of Christ”; “The ‘Fittingness’ of the Virgin Birth”; “Christ and the Embryo”; “Was Christ Sinless or Impeccable?”; “Materialist Christology”; and “Multiple Incarnations.” That Crisp’s methodology and objective might be made clear I consider the first two chapters in some detail.
First, consider the logical priority of the Christological method and the sources of authority that inform it found in chapter one. Here, Crisp introduces the reader to a complex of questions regarding the proper place of Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience for theological construction. Crisp appeals to a four-fold hierarchical authority structure (17). Beginning with Scripture, what he refers to as the “final arbiter of matters theological,” he then appeals in descending order of authoritative value to the (first seven) ecumenical statements of the Christian church (e.g. the Chalcedonian Creed of 451), Confessions and conciliar statements (e.g. the Westminster Confession of 1646 or the Belgic Confession of 1561), and lastly, to Theologoumena or theological opinions expressed by theologians of the church (e.g. Augustine, Jonathan Edwards, or Karl Barth). Crisp then proceeds to a helpful section titled, “Christology from above and below” and another called “high and low Christology.” These categorical distinctions describe, without delimiting, a number of representatively active approaches to contemporary Christology. It is clear from chapter one that Crisp sets out these certain, clear structures for the theological task in a manner broad enough to invite those of various traditions to consider a series of legitimate and urgent problems that face contemporary Christianity. This is by far the most pedagogical chapter of the work. Though not perhaps as scrutinizing and rigorous as the others, this chapter is certainly the most accessible. It is carefully written and highly instructive and perhaps ought to be well read twice before proceeding with the rest of the work.
Next, consider the controversy that surrounds the Reformed doctrine of the election of Jesus Christ in chapter two. This is the idea that “election depends in some important and substantive sense on Christ’s merit” (38). Chapter two contains four parts. In part one, Crisp offers a historical survey (one that certainly overcomes criticisms to the analytic program as being ahistorical) of the doctrine of election in Reformed theology with particular emphasis on the dogmatic theological developments of the post-Reformation. And carefully working through a number of confessional statements and theologoumena, he illumines what he labels, “the conservative Reformed position” (36). That is, the position that Christ’s (atoning) work is the mechanism by which the divine decree to elect obtains (37). In the course of his exposition, he points out that not all in the Reformed tradition speak with the one voice on the matter. Some, he observes, like those of the French, “Amyraldian” wing of the Reformed tradition, make certain (and often very subtle) distinctions at this point, claiming inverse to the conservative position that Christ’s work is the “causal factor” by which election obtains (36). In part two, Crisp lays out a series of instructive propositions from the work of the seventeenth century Swiss theologian, Francis Turretin in favor of the conservative Reformed position. In so doing, Crisp illumines the subtle but important distinctions of the various Reformed positions on the doctrine of Christ’s election. In the third part, Crisp develops an argument for what he calls a “moderate reformed position,” one that makes sense of the disparate theological opinions in Reformed theology. In the fourth and final part, Crisp considers the contemporary value of his position in light of certain Barthian ideals. Though the meticulousness of this chapter may repel some, there is great reward awaiting the careful and patient reader. And these chapters are archetypical for what the reader will find in each successive chapter.
Of the many virtues of Crisp’s work, its accessibility and great reservoir of content are its chief marks. However, those who set out to profit from Crisp’s mental labor will not find easy answers to hard questions in God Incarnate (or any of Crisp’s other works for that matter). God Incarnate is an invitation to think through contemporary Christological problems with Crisp. An invitation of this value beckons a clear response.
