Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 95 No. 1, 2025.
Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.53745/bs.95.1.6
The Incarnation of the Eternal Logos as a Theological Archetype. The Principle of Incarnation and Its Implications for Faith
Stipo Kljajić
; Catholic Faculty of Theology University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
From the earliest days of Christianity, one of the fundamental dogmatic truths— the foundational truths of faith upon which other Christian doctrines are built—has been the belief in the incarnation of God: the divine act of becoming human, a belief almost exclusively unique to Christianity. While this, alongside Jesus’ death and resurrection, represents a central event in the history of salvation, the mystery of God becoming human, or Jesus’ humanity, is far from self-evident. On the contrary, especially in contemporary theological discourse, it often encounters not outright rejection but at least subtle evasion. Thus, the introductory chapter of the article addresses the supposed tension between Jesus’ divinity and humanity, as well as the important Christian position that Jesus’ humanity does not compromise His divinity. The second chapter emphasizes the significance of the Incarnation as a unique and wondrous event, drawing primarily on John 1:14 and Philippians 2:7-8. The third chapter seeks to answer the question of why God became incarnate: whether to redeem humanity (and creation as a whole, or cosmos) from the bondage of sin and death, and/or out of love, to provide humanity with an example of true humanity (a model of humanness). Before concluding, particular attention is given to the Catholic understanding of the earthly Jesus as seen through the perspective of Francis of Assisi, highlighting the importance of the Incarnation as a model of service, from the manger to the cross: the One who became incarnate out of love serves out of love, so that humanity, by serving others in love, might reciprocate God’s love.
Keywords
incarnation; deification; »self-emptying«; »self-tent-pitching«; redemption from bondage; model of humanness; love-motivated service
Hrčak ID:
330349
URI
Publication date:
25.4.2025.
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