 |
|
     |
|
|
|
Princeton's Bruce McCormack protests against the "uncritical expansion of the concept of perichoresis today on the past of a good many theologians." He suggests that the term "is rightly employed in trinitarian discourse for describing that which is dissimilar in the analogy between intra-trinitarian relations among the divine 'person' on the one hand and human to human relations on the other. Nowadays, we are suffering from 'creeping perichoresis,' that is, the overly expansive use of terms which have their home in purely spiritual relations to describe relations between human beings who do not participate in a common 'substance' and who, therefore, remain distinct individuals even inthe most intimate of their relations. This surely has to be true of the relation of the human believer to the human Jesus as well."
A salutary caution against overinflating the terminology. But EJesus clearly points to the similarity between divine perichoresis on the one hand, and our relationship with Him and the Father and with one another on the other. What else are we to make of John 17:21ff: "that they all may be one, even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in us." The unity of the disciples is "even as" the unity of the Father and Son, which is a perichoretic unity; and the unity of disciples with the Father and Son is also an "in" relationship, not only with "them" in "Us," but also "I in them, and Thou in Me." It appears that Jesus wants to emphasize the analogy rather than the dissimilarity.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Wednesday, December 22, 2004 at 04:03 PM
Permission is given to use material on this site, provided the source is cited, blog entries are republished in full, and the author is notified in advance.
1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary
The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter
A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons
Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature
Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen
The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism
A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel
From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution
Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper
A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament
Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church
