Christian D Kettler – författare

Atonement. For some this word is the heart of the Christian faith. For others, it is irrelevant for Christianity and how they live their Christian lives. Often we do not see "the breadth and depth" of the atonement in the gospel. Christian D. Kettler, in his fourth book on "the vicarious humanity of Christ," suggests that we consider that the atonement is not only a vicarious death in our place and on our behalf--whether in the form of a "penal substitute" or a "moral example"--but also his vicarious humanity, having atoning significance for all of our lives, indeed, all of reality: the church, the world, and the self. These essays are collected from several years of Kettler''s thought on the doctrine of the vicarious humanity of Christ and its implications for all of life and reality, seeking to demonstrate that the doctrine of the atonement is not to be restricted to one small part of the doctrinal agenda, but has profound implications that theology sometimes does not explore. These issues include the nature of culture, aesthetics, creation out of nothing, spiritual formation, emotional weakness, the priesthood of Christ and creation, genetic engineering, and trusting in the "ideal" self.

Can there be a greater folly than writing a book about love? But how can we avoid that most basic of all desires and commands? Yet we are very poor lovers, as our history demonstrates. If God is love, though, can we find help in considering the love of Jesus Christ, and the love of Jesus thought of in terms of what T. F. Torrance called "e;the vicarious humanity of Christ"e;? This would mean that we realize our inability and the Son of God's ability to love on our behalf and in our place. Such a love mirrors the love of the Son for the Father in the Spirit, a love that reflects his eternal triune love. Therefore, could we have new perspectives on our relationships, the love of ourselves, of God, and the neighbor? How essential is love to being human, and what kind of love? What does it mean to "e;love your enemies"e;? What is the relationship between justice and love? And what are the fruits of love, the evidence of genuine love? Christian D. Kettler explores these issues in the context of the living reality of the vicarious humanity of Christ.

How does one deal with despair? Are joy and despair irreconcilable? How does the joy and despair of Jesus Christ relate to our joy and despair?Continuing to explore the implications of the vicarious humanity of Christ as he did in The God Who Believes, Christian Kettler investigates the christological implications of the all too human phenomenon of despair. All people experience the pain of personal loss and lack, of the meaninglessness of existence. We also desire and covet joy, as difficult as it is often to define or maintain. Jesus was both the man of sorrows and one who for the joy set before him endured the cross (Heb 12:2). Can we think of the despair of Christ and the joy of Christ as both being vicarious, in our place and on our behalf, and thus have a theological way to possess joy in the midst of despair as well as to have a more robust theology of the atonement? Drawing on wide-ranging resources from Augustine, Calvin, Karl Barth, and T. F. Torrance to Bob Dylan, the fantasy writer Ray Bradbury, and Ed Wood, the director of Plan Nine from Outer Space, Kettler seeks to bring Trinitarian and incarnational theology deep into our flesh, filled with real despair and joy, and find that Jesus is there, with his own despair, there to lift us up with his own joy.

Why is theology often divorced from ministry? Why is ministry left bereft of a robust theology? Ray S. Anderson, a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary for over thirty years, has left a legacy of provocative reflections on these questions. In this book Christian Kettler provides a sure guide to major themes in the work of one of the most creative theological minds to have sought to integrate theology and ministry.Early experience on a South Dakota farm and in a California parish helped form the theologian whose radical incarnational theology of the kenotic community provided a new basis for a broader, risk-taking ecclesiology. Anderson also brought theological anthropology to the front of the agenda, and therefore into ministry to actual hurting human persons. His challenging theological reflections can provoke the mind, stir the heart, and guide compassionate and wise incarnational ministry.Each chapter ends with a case study from an actual life situation, to test out and work through the implications of Anderson''s theology.

In this book, the problem of the reality of salvation is addressed by T.F. Torrance's doctrine of "e;the vicarious humanity of Christ."e; Through this approach, salvation as humanization is affirmed, yet without the problems of anthropocentric theologies. This book is unique in that it offers both a survey of contemporary Christian thinking on salvation as well as a constructive alternative based on Torrance's doctrine, a significant yet neglected contribution to modern theology.