Christ and Horrors

Who would the Saviour have to be, what would the Saviour have to do to rescue human beings from the meaning-destroying experiences of their lives? This book offers a systematic Christology that is at once biblical and philosophical. Starting with human radical vulnerability to horrors such as permanent pain, sadistic abuse or genocide, it develops what must be true about Christ if He is the horror-defeater who ultimately resolves all the problems affecting the human condition and Divine-human relations. Distinctive elements of Marilyn McCord Adams\' study are her defence of the two-natures theory, of Christ as Inner Teacher and a functional partner in human flourishing, and her arguments in favour of literal bodily resurrection (Christ\'s and ours) and of a strong doctrine of corporeal Eucharistic presence. The book concludes that Christ is the One in Whom, not only Christian doctrine, but cosmos, church, and the human psyche hold together.

• Examines what it might mean for Christ to \'save\' humankind from the worst kinds of dehumanizing experiences, and what this implies about his nature and work • Marilyn McCord Adams expertly marshals a wealth of biblical, patristic, medieval and modern sources to support her arguments • Provides a penetrating reassessment of central tenets of the Christian faith, ultimately reaffirming their philosophical coherence

Preface; 1. Christology as natural theology; 2. Posing the problems; 3. Sharing the horrors; 4. Psychologizing the person; 5. Recovering the metaphysics; 6. Learning the meanings; 7. Cosmic coherence: the primacy of Christ; 8. Resurrection and renewal; 9. Horrors and holocausts, sacrifices and priests; 10. Christ in the sacrament of the altar.