A PROCESS CHRISTOLOGY

Dr. Griffin's opus represents an attempt at integrating the theological method based upon the so-called ""process philosophy"" of Whitehead and Hartshorne with two dominant trends in current theology: the quest for the historical Jesus, and the emphasis on God's self-evaluation in human history. Or stated another way, Griffin's essential thesis is that the application of the principles of process philosophy to theology can reconcile God's ""mighty acts"" in history with the historical Jesus, and simultaneously reconcile the historical Jesus with the Christ of faith. The first part of the book is a statement of the problem, articulated through examination of the words of modern theologians (Bultmann, Niebuhr, Tillich, Schleiermacher). The second and third parts provide the elements of a solution to the problem by demonstrating, for example, that the historical Jesus expressed a content which may be appropriately accepted as revelation, and by utilizing process concepts to interpret the assertion that Jesus is God's decisive revelation. Griffin is a theologian writing for theologians, and it would be unfair to allow the opacity of his style to obscure the very real value of the synthesis which he accomplishes. His book is one which no student of theology can afford to ignore.