A Christology of history and contextualization: Hans Urs von Balthasar's mission Christology and Kosuke Koyama's contextualizing Christology. Issue 2 (April 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lett, Jacob
• Is Part Of: Missiology. Volume 51:Issue 2(2023)
• Page Start: 183
• Page End: 195
• Publication Date: 2023-04
• Subjects: Christology -- Koyama -- Balthasar -- contextual theology -- missiology -- contextualization -- missional theology; Missions -- Periodicals; 266.005
• DOI: 10.1177/00918296221101619
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0091-8296

Abstract

In this article, I put Koyama's contextual Christology in conversation with Balthasar's mission Christology and consider how they understand history, culture, and the "I" in light of their respective Christologies. In the process, I examine how different Christo-logics shape the nature of theological contextualization, particularly in the way they frame how Christ and, by extension, the church encounter the particularities of history and persons. In the end, I ultimately argue that Balthasar's Christology offers the "theo-logic" for the dramatic understanding of history that Koyama is performing in his contextual theology and that a dual-nature Christology leads to a dual practice of contextual theology.