Oliver Crisp - The Word Enfleshed

Episode: What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem? Much, actually. Oliver Crisp brings his considerable philosophical acumen to bear on Scripture and tradition in order to break new ground in christology. Oliver and OnScript host Matthew Bates think through classical topics in christology, including the eternal generation of the Son and the Trinity, the incarnation, image of God, and the hypostatic union. Discover why Oliver is addicted to theology, how writing The Word Enfleshed helped feed the addiction, and why philosopher Mike Rea can appropriately be labeled "the man."

Guest: Oliver Crisp is Professor of Systematic Theology in Fuller Theological Seminary’s School of Theology. Along with Dr. Fred Sanders, Oliver has initiated the Los Angeles Theology Conferences, which are held at Biola and Fuller in alternate years. Dr. Crisp is also widely published. He is the author of numerous articles, ten monographs, and has edited or co-edited another ten. Some of his titles include Divinity and Humanity (2007), Deviant Calvinism (2014), and Jonathan Edwards Among the Theologians (2015). The book under current discussion is The Word Enfleshed.

Book: Oliver D. Crisp, The Word Enfleshed: Exploring the Person and Work of Christ (Baker Academic, 2016). The literature on Christology is large and ever-expanding. The same is true for work on the atonement, which has blossomed in the last decade. Few studies attempt to connect the dots between these two theological topics, however. In this volume, respected theologian Oliver Crisp offers a fresh analytic-theological account of the person and work of Christ, focusing on the theme of union with God Incarnate. Along the way, he engages a range of contemporary and historic Christian thinkers and tackles a number of key issues in contemporary discussions. Wide-ranging and carefully argued, this unified account of the person and work of Christ will be of interest to scholars and students of Christian theology.

The OnScript Quip (our review): Rooted in tradition but daringly imaginative, The Word Enfleshed combines philosophical precision with an easy, lucid style. This wide-ranging book treats classical christological cruxes pertaining to eternal generation, the incarnation, the hypostatic union, and the atonement. Thanks to Crisp, the church's christological grammar is now considerably sharper. -- Matthew W. Bates, Quincy University, OnScript