The Broken Body

A fascinating collection of essays exploring a fresh contemporary approach to the person and doctrine of Jesus Christ

How should Christians think about the person of Jesus Christ today? In this book Sarah Coakley argues that this question has to be 'broken open' in new and unexpected ways: by an awareness of the deep spiritual demands of the Christological task and its strikingly 'apophatic' dimensions; by a probing of the paradoxical ways in which Judaism and Christianity are drawn together in Christ, even by those issues which seem to 'break' them most decisively apart; and by an exploration of the mode of Christ's presence in the eucharist, with its intensification, ' breaking' and re-gathering of human desires. In this sequel to her celebrated earlier volume of essays, Powers and Submissions, Coakley returns to its unifying theme of divine power and contemplative submission, and weaves a new web of Christological outcomes which remain replete with controversial implications for gender, spirituality and ethics.

Readers will also find:

• A discerning philosophical analysis of the problem of the 'identity' of Jesus Christ, including a rich discussion of the Chalcedonian tradition and its precursors;
• A comprehensive exploration of the themes that seem to divide Judaism and Christianity and yet richly inform the issue of their eschatological future together;
• An insightful exploration of the Christian eucharist and its 'efficacy' as a lens on the topic of Christology;
• A complete new treatment of the meaning of the 'apophatic' Christ.

Perfect for academics working in the fields of systematic theology, the philosophy of religion, and early Christian studies, The Broken Body: Israel, Christ and Fragmentation will also benefit students and academics in Jewish and Christian relations, as well as feminist and gender theory.