Albany Via Media

July 28, 2010

To the Editor:

Continuing with my discussion of Bishop Spong's 12 Theses, here is my take on Thesis 2.

Thesis 2: Since God can no longer be conceived in theistic terms, it becomes nonsensical to seek to understand Jesus as the incarnation of the theistic deity. So the Christology of the ages is bankrupt.

The first phrase of Thesis 2, "Since God can no longer be conceived in theistic terms," appears to depend on the conclusion of Thesis 1. As I indicated in my earlier post on Thesis 1, I find Thesis 1 meaningless in any way that I — as a lay person who is neither a theologian nor a philosopher — could make sense of. Bishop Spong may not be able to conceive of God in “theistic terms”, but I can and do (assuming here, of course, that I understand what Bishop Spong means by “theistic terms”!).

In any event, I do understand Jesus as the incarnation of God. (Is “God” the same as “the theistic deity”?)

If by “the Christology of the ages” Bishop Spong means that:

• Jesus is both human and divine
• Jesus is the incarnate Son of God the Father
• Jesus is/has been/will be coexistent with the Father and the Holy Spirit throughout eternity
• Jesus is God in the same way that the Father is God and the Holy Spirit is God
• Jesus is not either the Father or the Holy Spirit

then I disagree that the Christology of the ages is bankrupt. For me, at least, it is the Christology of right now. I concede that I don't understand the technical Latin and Greek terms that were used in the definitions of the faith found in the Historical Documents section in the back of the Prayer Book. The distinctions among substance, being, essence, personhood, and so on — so important to the authors of our Creeds — go right over my head. The incarnation, life, teachings, death, descent to the dead, resurrection, ascension, and coming glory of Jesus Christ do not depend on those technical terms. Those terms attempt to describe the reality that Jesus already is. I recite the Nicene Creed every Sunday with a full heart and uncrossed fingers.

Allison de Kanel