The reader of this review may be wondering how Kim squares his low Christology with Thomas’s climactic confession when he saw the risen Jesus and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). This “low develops into the high” Christology can be seen in the New Testament. Terrible example but I am sure you get my point. rock and roll!
In addition to ignoring John 11:47-52, Kim fails to address the significance of John the Baptist’s statement in the context of Jewish religion that Jesus was “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). First, Kim must deny that Jesus died on the cross to atone for human sins, since obviously such an idea makes Jesus indispensable for human salvation. The Logos in his view is not the divine or preincarnate Christ but is the creative and liberating word of God that Jesus lived and proclaimed. The That person, of course, must be Jesus Christ. "); therefore Jesus came to know things gradually Pingback: Looking for a Low Christology in the Gospel of John: A Review Article — Bowman on Target: Rob Bowman’s Blog | James' Ramblings. High Christology: Virgin Birth. This blatant misrepresentation by selective citation is typical of the whole book. Kim never so much as mentions John 20:28 anywhere in the book. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Forgiveness occurs through mutual forgiving in the Fourth Gospel: ‘If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven’ (John 20:23)” (5). Kim’s goal is to explain how John 14:6, in which Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life,” does not mean that Jesus himself is the way but that Jesus was someone who showed us the way. Low Christology begins with the human Jesus, the
Required fields are marked *. If you want to understand better how liberal scholars can profess belief in Jesus while rejecting basic Christian beliefs about Jesus, you might find this book somewhat illuminating. Truth, Testimony, and Transformation: A New Reading of the “I Am” Sayings of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel. Examples of low Christology in the Gospel of John: [Andrew] first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the messiah" (which is translated Anointed). This blog is part of Faith Thinkers, a nonprofit ministry. Maybe told them you hit 9 people in paintball when in reality you only hit 5? (1:49) 1. … Kim’s mistake here is in presupposing that a high Christology privileges some particular culture or group over others. Kim’s handling of the “I am” sayings of Jesus in John, which is the main subject of his book (especially the saying in John 14:6), amounts to little more than special pleading. we come to know; we come to know things sequentially, step by Walking on water. First, there is no word in the Greek text of John 1:10-13 that could be transliterated as ho. Thanks for the review. (The Jerusalem Bible: "And Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and men.") For example Haight, an ordained member of the Catholic Society of Jesus, subscribes to a low-ascending Christological approach and yet still contends that “Jesus must be considered divine,” and that “Jesus Christ… must be true God.” Mark and Matthew's depiction of Jesus constitutes a low christology: the emphasis, here, is on Jesus' humanity. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2014. LK 2:52 "Jesus grew both in body and in wisdom, For example, when Jesus is quoted as saying, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12), for Kim this cannot be allowed to mean that Jesus “is the light” or even that he reveals the light (which would be an exclusive claim). This is an embarrassing display of exegetical ineptness for someone who occupies the position of professor of New Testament. It therefore must mean that “Jesus’ work is the light” (32–33).
"Signs" 2. We have already seen in a previous lecture in Matthew 11:11-12, He pronounces that the least in the kingdom is greater than John. (The Jerusalem
Kim tries to address this problem in a footnote, claiming, “In 1:10-13 the Greek pronoun ho does not refer to Jesus but to the Logos” (34 n. 67). Now I know where my college-going kids get their revisionist ideas of history and theology from. Low Christology is interested in things like the fact that Jesus got hungry and thirsty, that he needed sleep, that there were things he said he did not know or that amazed him, and what these imply about how the incarnation worked. human like us in all things except sin, then Jesus comes to know like verse from Mark is even more revealing: there are some things that In order to make such a highly revisionist interpretation of the Gospel of John viable, Kim knows he must counter two traditional elements of the Christian faith. The blog of Robert Bowman, president of Faith Thinkers, Inc. Kim’s interpretation of the Prologue utterly breaks down in John 1:10-13, which talks about the Logos coming into the world and being rejected by most though accepted by some. Conjured up food enough to feed 5,000. heaven, nor the Son, only the Father knows.
On this point, Kim twice cites John 18:14 (5-6, 55), which briefly recalls Caiaphas’s statement on an earlier occasion. A low Christologist begins with the formula from the 21-22). At this point, frankly, Kim’s handling of the biblical text amounts to theological malpractice. In context, these pronouns refer to a person who “came to his own, and his own people did not accept him” (v. 11 ESV), while those who did accept him and “who believed in his name” were given authority to become God’s children (v. 12). This is a bizarre statement. Kim argues that Jesus is not the Logos but only embodies or “incarnates” the Logos (2) as do his disciples after him as they follow his example (28-29). got last week's MGRE problem correct! Christology." "skipped a step? day or hour will come -- neither the angels in He describes himself as a “humanist theologian.” In this short book (the body of which is 78 pages), Kim argues that the Gospel of John should be understood not as teaching exclusivism but inclusivism and empowerment through a “low Christology” in which Jesus was not God incarnate but “the Jewish Messiah” who worked on God’s behalf (ix, 1). To the contrary, the doctrine that Jesus Christ is the divine Logos incarnate exalts him as the source of light to all cultures and as a challenge to the darkness in all cultures, including those that profess to be keepers of the light.