DOGMA AND HISTORY: THE CREATIVE FERMENT IN BRITISH CHRISTOLOGY, 1890-1920

The subject of this essay will be the discussion of Christology, the nature of the person of Jesus Christ, in British theology from the years 1890 to roughly 1920. These years were an era of creative tension in this field of thought, as in many others. The period 1890 to 1920 was chosen because it was in reality a remarkable time in British theology. The issue of Christology was central to the ferment which may be said to have begun in earnest with the publication of a collection of essays by Anglican High Churchmen called Lux Mundi (1889). With this work Christology became central for debate and reformulation and did not retreat from its central position until after World War I. The reason for this is that a crucial factor in the ferment was the influence of German liberal theology which was being quickly translated, and widely read. The war terminated this influence and closed the era.; The discussion will first orient the reader to the wide range of productivity in theological and biblical studies in this era. Then the main part of the dissertation will be an exposition of the Christologies of the key theologians of this era. It will be seen that the theory in Christology called kenotic (depicting the incarnation as in some way a divine self-limitation) was being intensely explored, and that many of the alternatives rejecting this theory seemed to be inadequate without some form of supplementation from this theory. The theologians discussed will be mainly those perceived by their time to be important. They will include Charles Gore, P.T. Forsyth, H.R. Mackintosh, A.E. Garvie, William Sanday, H.M. Relton, James Denney and William Temple. We will not focus on marginal figures that to some may now be seen as important.; The method of the dissertation will be to exhibit this ferment by laying before the reader the positions of the constructive thinkers. Their Christologies will be examined within the context of their own theological development, the larger setting of their work, the function of their proposals and the reception their work received.; It will be contended that not only was this an era of ferment but that what was of most permanent value was its constructive creativity. These theologians maintained a fundamental continuity with their theological past while creatively appropriating much of the present, particularly from German theology. All this will work towards reactivating the discussion of the viability of the kenotic theory for the present. The conclusion will advocate such a theory and show how this past resource (in particular, P. T. Forsyth) may be of aid in so doing. By making much of what has beome forgotten of this age again available, and using some in the advocacy of a version of the kenotic theory for the present, the goal of the essay will be reached.