The Nature of Kenotic Christology

Abstract

Abstract This chapter provides an outline of the nature of kenotic Christology, its key concepts, and issues. It offers a brief history of kenotic Christology, which focuses, firstly, on the seventeenth-century ‘krypsis-kenosis’ controversy between the Lutheran theologians of Tübingen and Giessen concerning whether Christ concealed his use of divine powers or whether he abstained from their use for the duration of his earthly ministry. The second focus of the chapter is on the kenotic Christology of the nineteenth century, outlining the Christologies of Gottfried Thomasius, Wolfgang Gess, and others. This is followed by a sketch of the technical terminology employed by kenotic theologians to articulate the nature of the incarnate Christ's kenosis or ‘self-emptying’. This terminology, together with a taxonomy of kenotic Christologies, is employed during the remainder of the book in the analysis of Kierkegaard's kenotic Christology.