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Tempering the cosmic scope problem in Christian soteriology: hylemorphic animalism and Gregory of Nazianzus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2019

JONATHAN CURTIS RUTLEDGE Open the ORCID record for JONATHAN CURTIS RUTLEDGE [Opens in a new window]
JONATHAN CURTIS RUTLEDGE*
Affiliation:
St. Mary's College, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JU, UK
*
e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Christian scripture provides good reason to think that Christ's redemptive work has cosmic scope (cf. Colossians 1:19–20). Explanations of how Christ's work might extend to all creation (including any sufficiently human-like extraterrestrials) have not, however, received significant sustained attention in theology. In this article, I consider two attempts to explain the cosmic scope of redemption, and after identifying shortcomings with each explanation, I offer a philosophical anthropology (hylemorphic animalism), which when combined with a principle of soteriology due to Gregory of Nazianzus provides a full explanation for how Christ's redemptive work might extend to all creation.

Type
Original Article
Information
Religious Studies , Volume 57 , Issue 2 , June 2021 , pp. 266 - 286
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

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