The Unity of Christ and the Historical Jesus: Aquinas and Locke on Personal Identity1

Albert Schweitzer wrote that, at Chalcedon, the “doctrine of the two natures dissolved the unity of the Person, and thereby cut off the last possibility of a return to the historical Jesus.” In this article, I argue that a likely cause of this pervasive perception of Chalcedon is the reflexive deplo...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Stevenson, Austin (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell 2021
In: Modern theology
Year: 2021, Volume: 37, Issue: 4, Pages: 851-864
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Locke, John 1632-1704 / Thomas Aquinas 1225-1274 / Council (451 : Chalkedon) / Christology / Personality / Consciousness
IxTheo Classification:KAA Church history
KCC Councils
NBF Christology
VA Philosophy
ZD Psychology
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Summary:Albert Schweitzer wrote that, at Chalcedon, the “doctrine of the two natures dissolved the unity of the Person, and thereby cut off the last possibility of a return to the historical Jesus.” In this article, I argue that a likely cause of this pervasive perception of Chalcedon is the reflexive deployment by modern thinkers of a Lockean concept of personhood grounded in consciousness. I argue, by way of contrast, that Thomas Aquinas’s substantial account of personhood provides greater space for historical approaches to Jesus by protecting the finite integrity of Christ’s human nature and the unity of his personhood. I conclude by highlighting an implication of this discussion for the role of metaphysics in theological reflection.
ISSN:1468-0025
Contains:Enthalten in: Modern theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/moth.12663