Table Of ContentOUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi
OXFORD STUDIES IN ANALYTIC THEOLOGY
SeriesEditors
MichaelC.Rea OliverD.Crisp
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi
OXFORD STUDIES IN ANALYTIC THEOLOGY
AnalyticTheologyutilizesthetoolsandmethodsofcontemporaryana-
lytic philosophy for the purposes of constructive Christian theology,
payingattentiontotheChristiantraditionanddevelopmentofdoctrine.
This innovative series of studies showcases high-quality, cutting-edge
researchinthisarea,inmonographsandsymposia.
published titles include:
MetaphysicsandtheTri-PersonalGod
WilliamHasker
TheTheologicalProjectofModernism
FaithandtheConditionsofMineness
KevinW.Hector
TheEndoftheTimelessGod
R.T.Mullins
Atonement
EleonoreStump
Humility,Pride,andChristianVirtueTheory
KentDunnington
InDefenseofExtendedConciliarChristology
APhilosophicalEssay
TimothyPawl
LoveDivine
JordanWessling
ASystematicAccountofGod’sLoveforHumanity
VoicesfromtheEdge
CentringMarginalizedPerspectivesinAnalyticTheology
MichellePanchuk,MichaelRea
ThePrinciplesofJudaism
SamuelLebens
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi
The Contradictory
Christ
JC BEALL
1
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi
3
GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford,OX26DP,
UnitedKingdom
OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship,
andeducationbypublishingworldwide.Oxfordisaregisteredtrademarkof
OxfordUniversityPressintheUKandincertainothercountries
©JcBeall2021
Themoralrightsoftheauthorhavebeenasserted
FirstEditionpublishedin2021
Impression:1
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedin
aretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,withoutthe
priorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress,orasexpresslypermitted
bylaw,bylicenceorundertermsagreedwiththeappropriatereprographics
rightsorganization.Enquiriesconcerningreproductionoutsidethescopeofthe
aboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment,OxfordUniversityPress,atthe
addressabove
Youmustnotcirculatethisworkinanyotherform
andyoumustimposethissameconditiononanyacquirer
PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyOxfordUniversityPress
198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY10016,UnitedStatesofAmerica
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
Dataavailable
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2020951048
ISBN 978–0–19–885236–0
DOI:10.1093/oso/9780198852360.001.0001
PrintedandboundinGreatBritainby
ClaysLtd,ElcografS.p.A.
LinkstothirdpartywebsitesareprovidedbyOxfordingoodfaithand
forinformationonly.Oxforddisclaimsanyresponsibilityforthematerials
containedinanythirdpartywebsitereferencedinthiswork.
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi
Forallwho’vesensedthecontradiction,andtoanywho’veyettodoso...
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi
Preface
Aim
Thisbookhasoneaim:toadvanceacontradictorychristology–andthereby
a contradictory christian theology – as concisely as possible compatible
withuser-friendliness,andwithanemphasisonthebigpictureratherthan
intricatedetails.Assuch,thebookdoesnotansweralldetailsthatacademic
theologiansorphilosophersorbiblicalscholarsmayraise;futurediscussion
enjoysaninvitationfromthefuture.Thepointofthecurrentworkistoput
theaccountinbroaderconversationsbeyondacademicjournals.(Thisisn’t
tosaythatthebookisa‘tradebook’–itisn’t–orthatit’swrittenwithaneye
specificallyonthemythical‘generalreader’,butthebookiswrittenwithout
pausingateverypotentialacademicconcern.)
Previouswork
Substantial parts of this material were first published in The Journal of
AnalyticTheology(JAT)asasymposiumonmyinitialdefinitionanddefense
ofContradictoryChristology(Beall,2019a).Despitetheoverlap,thisbook
presents significant new aspects of the account, including positive reasons
foracceptingtheaccount,comparativecommentsonsalientalternatives,a
handful of new objections and replies, and a brief glimpse towards future
workonaunifiedapproachtowardsthetrinity.
Futurework
This book focuses on christology, and in particular the so-called funda-
mentalproblemofchristology(muchmoreonwhichthroughoutthebook),
namely,theapparentcontradictionofChrist’sbeingfullyhumanandfully
divine.Thebookisintendedtobethefirstinatwo-bookseries(ofsorts),
thesecondfocusingin depth onthetrinity. Thefinal chapterof thisbook
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi
viii preface
(viz., §6) sketches a few – but only a very few – preliminary issues in the
directionsofsubsequentwork.
Hope
Myhopeisthatreaderswhoareatleastnotdogmaticallycommittedtothe
standardoff-the-shelfstoryoflogic(viz.,so-calledclassicallogic)findthis
booktobenotonlyinterestingbutilluminating–perhapsevenliberating,
loosening one not from the demands of a rational christian theology but
from the demands of a logically consistent one, allowing one to shake off
thescalesandaccepttheinconsistenttruthinitsscandalousbutawesome
glory.
I carry no illusion of final achievement in this work. Elements of the
full truth, we know not exactly which ones, are vastly beyond us. But as
responsible,systematicthinkersweareobligedtogivethetrueandcomplete-
as-possible account, to the best of our abilities. This book is a step in that
direction.Bymylights,thetruetheoryofChristisinconsistent:itcontains
contradictions, claims that are false but, critically, also true. Conveying at
leastthatmuchismyhope.
Targetaudience
The target audience is genuinely interdisciplinary (and ‘transdisciplinary’
and so on); it’s a very broad and varied audience. This book is written in
awaythatisintendedtobeaccessibletoboththeologiansandphilosophers;
however,thebookchieflyaimstomakeatheologicalcontribution,written
and read by theologians who are not only interested in how best to make
senseoftheapparentcontradictionofChrist,butarealsointerestedinthe
pursuit of systematic theology as a systematic truth-seeking enterprise, an
enterprisetherebysubjecttotheuniversalconstraintsoflogicandthespace
oflogicalpossibility.
Conventionsgoverningstyle
Religiousnamesandadjectives:spelling.Whileitsrationaleremainsunclear
tomeInonethelessfollowstandardEnglishconventioninusinguppercase
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF – FINAL,2/12/2020,SPi
preface ix
‘C’,‘J’,and‘M’whentalkingaboutChristians,Jews,andMuslims,understood
asthosewho,respectively,accepttargetchristiandoctrine(formypurposes,
doctrineandcreedsaffirmedatleastupthroughtheCouncilofChalcedon
in 451), jewish doctrine, and islamic doctrine. In turn, and as reflected in
the previous sentence, I use lowercase letters when the target terms are
in adjectival position.One rationale forthisissimply aesthetic. Scattering
a multitude of uppercase letters all over a Page makes for Aesthetically
displeasing Pages. Another rationale is that my chosen convention is in
keepingwithrelated conventions,includingthecommonobservationthat
one can be a Platonist without spending one’s life dreaming of platonic
essences or engaging in platonic relations or even endorsing all platonic
doctrines. The same considerations apply to christological theories (any
christology),whicharesystematicaccountsofChrist.Ifaspecificchristology
isunderdiscussion,suchasConciliarChristology(perTimothyPawl’swork)
or even Contradictory Christology as specifically developed in this book,
uppercaselettersmaybeused–butevenhere,Iadmit,there’sverystrong
pressureagainsttheuppercase.
Quotation marks. I use single quotation marks in what, at least in phi-
losophy,isoftencalledtheAnalysisconvention.Onthisconvention,single
quotationmarksareusedinthreeverydifferentways,wherethegivenusage
is always clear from context. First, I generally use single quotation marks
tomentionwords,aswhenImentiontheword‘mention’.Ialsousesingle
quotation marks for direct quotation, as when I directly quote Professor
Dr. Oliver Crisp who, in conversation, once replied to something I said
by saying nothing more nor less than ‘Very good.’ (The only exception to
thedirect-quotationconventionisexceedinglyrare:viz.,adirectquotation
withinadirectquotationwithinadirectquotation.Thisissorarethatfurther
commentontheconventionisunnecessary.)Finally,Iusesinglequotation
marksforscarequotesor(equivalently)shudderquotes,aswhenIsaythat
enjoyable‘pains’mightnotbepainsatall.Asalways,communicationrests
largelyoncontext,andwhenitcomestoquotationconventionscontextis
the cure. And if one wants a rationale for adhering to the given Analysis
convention,Iturntotworationales.First,onceagain,thereisanaesthetic
one:singlequotationmarksdothejobwithoutclutteringpages.Secondis
Ockham-ish:whyusemoremarkswhenfewerwilldo?
Em dashes. Here again, I follow the given Analysis style by spelling an
em dash as an en dash flanked by the single-space character – as I do in
thissentence.(Theother,perhapsmorecommon,wayofspellingemdashes
doessowithoutspaces—asdoneinthisparentheticalremark.)TheAnalysis
