Abstract

Christianity is distinguished by its confession of the definitive universal significance of an individual human being, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. This dissertation is concerned with the systematic presentation of the content and truth of this belief in the theology of the German Lutheran theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg . ;In his christology, Pannenberg sets out to justify rationally that and how Jesus Christ might be said to be definitively identified with the eternal God in light of modern understanding of reality as historical process. 'Proleptic christology' seeks to engage and overcome historicist criticism of the belief that Jesus is the definitive presence of God in history through revision of classical positions on Christ, God and metaphysics: Jesus is 'proleptically' established "true God, true man" in the present by the 'retroactive' power of the God who exists fully only in the eschatological Future. The purpose of the dissertation is to interpret and evaluate Pannenberg's christology in relation to his development of a doctrine of this God of the Future and correlative attempt at metaphysical justification of the same. ;Chapter 1 develops the historical and conceptual background to Pannenberg's christology through an investigation of his construction of the categories 'history' and 'revelation'. Chapter 2 offers an exposition of Pannenberg's christology with particular focus upon his position concerning the "indirect" character of Jesus' personal and essential unity with God. Chapter 3 aims at further elucidation of the concept of personal unity through investigation of the reciprocal and relational character of divine personhood central to Pannenberg's Trinitarian theology. Chapter 4 focuses upon Pannenberg's complementary doctrine of the essential unity of God with particular attention directed to the significance of his appropriation of both the metaphysical and theological notions of the divine essence as the Infinite and Love respectively. ;The conclusion is reached that Pannenberg has effected a coherent historicized transposition of Chalcedonian teaching in what might be called a "two-futures" christology that engages the biblical data and modern philosophical thought with brilliant apologetic effect. In the final analysis, however, this achievement comes at the cost of sacrificing the ontological difference between the being of God and creation