Description
Much of the preaching and teaching today demands that people actively earn their relationship with God. This prevailing understanding runs counter to the theology of the brothers Thomas F. Torrance (1913-2007) and James B. Torrance (1923-2003), who promoted the radical notion that all of humanity has its true being in Christ. In The Claim of Humanity in Christ, Alexandra Radcliff refutes the Torrances’ many critics, asserting the significance of their controversial understanding of salvation for the interface between systematic and pastoral theology. Radcliff then widens the scope of her argument, constructively applying the implications of the Torrances’ work to a liberating doctrine of sanctification. The Christian life is conceived as the free and joyful gift of sharing by the Spirit in the Son’s intimate communion with the Father, revealing the reality of who we are in Christ.
About the Author
Alexandra S. Radcliff earned her doctorate in theology as the Donald M. Baillie Scholar at the University of St Andrews. She is Assistant Editor of Participatio and works at the Stony Brook School in New York.
Contents
Foreword by Andrew Purves
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1: The Triune God of Grace and Salvation
1. The Father as Covenant not Contract God: Filial over Federal
2. The Vicarious Humanity of the Son: Ontological over External
3. Drawn to Participate by the Holy Spirit: Objective over Subjective
Part 2: Sanctification and Human Participation
4. Christ Is Our Holiness: Objective over Subjective
5. Growing Up into Christ: Ontological over External
6. Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus: Filial over Federal
Conclusion
Bibliography
Endorsements and Reviews
The Scottish theologian Thomas F. Torrance is reckoned to be one of the leading Christian thinkers of the twentieth century. But many find his work difficult to read. Dr. Alexandra Radcliff has produced a highly readable account. … She brings the Torrances’ Christ-centred, Trinitarian theology to bear on contemporary spiritual life and renewal.
Professor Thomas A. Noble, Nazarene Theological Seminary and Nazarene Theological College, Manchester
Alexandra Radcliff’s impressive study of the theology of Thomas F. Torrance and James B. Torrance explores what the experience of salvation might look like for Christians. … This is an important work that helpfully opens new vistas for readers who will see the implications of a proper understanding of justification and sanctification for the Christian life.
Professor Paul D. Molnar, St John’s University, New York
Above all, I highly recommend Radcliff’s work that is a comprehensive account of the Torrances’ soteriology.
Ximan Xu, in The Expository Times, Vol 129, No 9
