Spirit and Sonship: Colin Gunton's Theology of Particularity and the Holy Spirit (Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology, and Biblical Studies)

This book weaves together an interpretation of Christian Scripture with a conversation between Colin Gunton and Dietrich Bonhoeffer concerning the role the Holy Spirit plays in shaping the person and work of Christ. The result is a theological description of human personhood grounded in a sustained engagement with, and critique of, Gunton's theological description of particularity - a topic central to all his thinking. In the course of the conversation with Bonhoeffer the book also offers one of few broad assessments of his work as a systematic theologian. In bringing together the work of two important modern theologians, this book explores both the possibilities of theology generated from Christian Scripture and the central importance of the doctrines of Christ and the Trinity in understanding what it means to declare someone or something unique. Introduction The failure of western metaphysics according to Gunton Plato's preference for the mind Augustine's rational God Trinitarian particularity as remedy for modernity Basil's trinitarian ontology A possible exegetical description Luke-Acts as a canonical practice of theology Bonhoeffer as a conversation partner Outline of the thesis Establishing an exegetical description Gunton's particular christology The hypostasis of the Messiah Theological interpretation of Scripture Genre and canonical practice Collaboration between spirit and Messiah Particularity and narrative identity Locating the Messiah as Son of David and Son of God Locating the Messiah : a relational matrix Perfection through conflict Mapping Gnton's concepts on Luke's narrative God the Spirit and Messiah Jesus Hypostatic substantiality and the economy of salvation Establishing a theological alternative Gunton on displacement and disengagement The displacement of God by the human mind Disengagement from the other Bonhoeffer on displacement and disengagement Knowledge of ultimate reality Meeting Christ, the who of knowledge Meeting Christ, the where of knowledge The spirit enables sonship Bonhoeffer on theological and non-theological thinking Gunton's general theology of revelation Reason and perception in knowing the world General revelation as knowledge mediated by the other The spirit of truth and the perfection of knowledge The spirit of truth as the mediator of knowledge Saving knowledge of god mediated through Scripture Saving knowledge through personal relationships An interim assessment Luke on knowledge of sonship in the spirit God's most intimate other Sonship and the authority of grace Inspired knowledge of sonship enabling the good Knowledge of sonship and the end of heteronomy Sonship : renewed placement and engagement The spirit opens sonship Bonhoeffer on individuation within the community From Adam to Chri, from inauthenticity to ultimate reality Individual being from responsible action Gunton on the free, personal hypostases The material person Personal correspondence Persons acting in and for freedom Luke on sonship through filial relations Perfecting relations through personal address The spirit and participating with the Son The spirit as gift from the Father Personal particularity and filial relations The spirit preserves sonship Gunton's issues with ecclesiology Bonhoeffer on Christ and the church Christ as the kollectiv or gesamtperson The form of Christ in the community Gunton on the spirit and the church The church as an eschatalogical work A trinitarian ontology for the church The church and divine presence Luke on the spirit of sonship The spirit, transcendent actor, or immanent possession The absolute particularity of the Son A paucity of exegetical description in Gunton's theology The validity of Gunton's presuppositions Revelation and particularity Social ontology and particularity Sociality and particularity Developing a theology of particularity. David A Höhne. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.