L'incarnation (1960 Ferrier), book
L'incarnation <French> / The Incarnation (1960) is a book by Francis Ferrier.
Abstract
Rather than exploring the life of the historical Jesus, Francis Ferrier here strives to understand how Jesus was known in Catholic dogma and theology. As such, Ferrier's work is much more theological than historical. From the outset he presupposes Jesus' divinity and much of his work investigates how Jesus was understood and interpreted in later christological formulas. That being said, his opening chapters do approach the question of the historical development of the doctrine of the incarnation from an interesting angle. Unsatisfied by the simplistic way that the author of the Gospel of John merely stated, but did not elaborate upon what it meant for Jesus to become "flesh," (cf John 1.14), Ferrier explores this word in all of its various languages and reiterations from the Old Testament, to the Gospels, to the Pauline corpus, and even to the language employed by the early Church Fathers. In the end, he demonstrates how the term can at times simply demonstrate the concrete reality of part of human existence that is tangible or corruptible (i.e. everything in our body that is not our bones), while at other times it is used as a synonym for all of humanity. Using this information as a backdrop, Ferrier like many other theologians before him then strives to understand how Jesus can be simultaneously flesh and divine and what that means for those who believe in him. ~Deborah Forger
Editions
Published in Paris [France]: Cerf, 1960.
Translations
Contents
Introduction
- I. The Word "Flesh" in the Bible and Early Christian Writings
- II. The Mystery of the Hypostatic Union: The Crucial Problems of Christology
- III. The Mystery of the Hypostatic Union: The Theological Presentation of the Mystery of the Hypostatic Union and the Person of Christ
- IV. The Controversy about the Divine Purpose of the Incarnation
- V. The Human Nature of the Word
- VI. The Divine and Human Activities of the Word Incarnate
Selected Bibliography
External links
- [ Google Books]