Does God Have a Body? Rāmānuja’s Challenge to the Christian Tradition
The Christian tradition’s core theological assertion is the embodiment of God in the person of Jesus Christ. Yet, even while asserting God’s incarnation in space and time, the tradition has usually denied embodiment unto the Godhead itself. Theologians have based this denial on Jewish iconoclasm, Gr...
| Published in: | Journal of Hindu-Christian studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Univ.
2018
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| In: |
Journal of Hindu-Christian studies
Year: 2018, Volume: 31, Pages: 18-36 |
| IxTheo Classification: | AX Inter-religious relations BK Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism CC Christianity and Non-Christian religion; Inter-religious relations NBC Doctrine of God |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | The Christian tradition’s core theological assertion is the embodiment of God in the person of Jesus Christ. Yet, even while asserting God’s incarnation in space and time, the tradition has usually denied embodiment unto the Godhead itself. Theologians have based this denial on Jewish iconoclasm, Greek idealism, and inferences from God’s omnipresence, transcendence, and infinity. This speculative essay will argue that Hindu Śrīvaiṣṇava theologian Rāmānuja successfully addresses these concerns. He argues for the embodiment of an omnipresent, transcendent, and infinite personal God. Rāmānuja largely derives his arguments from the Hindu scriptures. Nevertheless, their rational explication and internal coherence render divine embodiment a legitimate theological option for the Christian tradition, whose scriptures present both anthropomorphic and iconoclastic concepts of God. Since Godhead embodiment is ontologically coherent and rationally defensible, Christians must accept or reject it based on axiological grounds, by evaluating the felt consequences of the doctrine in Christian life. For embodied beings, any pastoral theology should commend embodiment within the Godhead. |
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| ISSN: | 2164-6279 |
| Reference: | Kommentar in "Rāmānuja at 1000 (2018)"
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Hindu-Christian studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.7825/2164-6279.1696 |