Fidelity with Plausibility

Wesley J. Wildman is Assistant Professor of Theology at Boston University. He is coeditor with W. Mark Richardson of Religion and Science: History, Method, Dialogue.

"This book's scope is unusually wide: it truly deals with Christology across the whole range of relevant issues—philosophical, historical, scientific, religious. It has a clear, consistent thesis: the advocacy of 'modest Christologies.' The thesis has significant originality, for Wildman points out strikingly the way in which 'modest' Christologies need not be 'low' ones and the way in which Christologies may make many 'modest' sounds and still remain structurally 'absolute.' The book is organized with clarity and briskly written—rarely lingering on a subject once the argument has been made. The topic is highly significant—Wildman addresses core questions of a core subject." — S. Mark Heim, Andover Newton Theological School

• Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Introduction PART IReflections on Ernst Troeltsch and the Origins of the Crisis of Plausibility in Contemporary Christology Introduction to Part I Chapter 1. Christology and the Historical Jesus Strategies for Managing DependenceCriticism of the Extant Dependence StrategiesTroeltsch on the Dependence of Faith and Dogmatics upon History Chapter 2. Christology and the History of Religions The Theology of the History of ReligionsSupernaturalism and the History of ReligionsThe Development of Doctrine and the History of Religions Chapter 3. Christology and the Sciences The Philosophical SciencesThe Natural SciencesThe Human SciencesConclusion PART IIModest Christology and the Resolution of the Crisis of Plausibility in Contemporary Christology Introduction to Part II Chapter 4. The Absolutist Principle and Modest Christologies The Origin and Structure of the Absolutist PrincipleAbsolutist ChristologyModest Christology Chapter 5. Incarnational and Inspirational Modest Christologies: Two Case Studies John Hick: The Logic of Modest Inspirational ChristologiesThe First Step: The Myth of God IncarnateThe Second Step: Jesus as InspiredThe Third Step: Jesus' Inspiration as Divine Love IncarnateJohn Cobb: The Logic of Modest Incarnational ChristologiesThe First Step: Christ as Principle of Creative TransformationThe Second Step: Identification of Jesus as ChristThe Third Step: Affirming Christian Uniqueness Chapter 6. Modest Christological Solutions to Internal Challenges History: Christological Dependence on Knowledge of JesusTradition: Reassessing Christological DevelopmentMetaphysics: The Universal and the ParticularAssessment of These Three Perspectives Chapter 7. Modest Christological Solutions to External Challenges Ethics: Christological Responsibility?Natural Sciences: Evolutionary Biology and CosmologyReligious Pluralism: The Modest Consensus Conclusion Modest Christologies and the Quest for a Believable JesusApproaching the Conceptual Heart of Modest Christologies Notes Bibliography Index