Asarkos biography

The Logos asarkos, for Barth, loses its “abstractness,” insofar that to even think of the Logos in terms of flesh has always already been the condition God had.
Robert W. Jenson has recently written a short article clarifying his argument against the doctrine of the Logos asarkos (Word without flesh).
This paper investigates the theological debate surrounding the nature of the Logos and the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

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All Blog Posts With Tag: logos asarkos

Karl Barth famously argued that Jesus has always possessed a human nature from the beginning of creation, therefore a so-called preexistent Word of God (i.e. Logos) without human nature never existed. Karl Barth affirmed the Virgin Birth, but this does not mean that the second person (or mode-of-being as Barth […]

Related: Bruce McCormack, Fourth Gospel, Karl Barth, logos asarkos, logos ensarkos, logos incarnandus, logos incarnantus, prologue, Richard Bauckham, The Humility of the Eternal God

Jesus Christ is the revelation of the Word of God in human form, and the entire Bible (in the words of Karl Barth) is a human witness to Jesus Christ who is the very Word of God. Many Christians wrongly identify the Bible as the Word of God, but the […]

Related: bible, Karl Barth, logos asarkos, logos incarnandus, logos incarnantus, T. F. Torrance, The Mediation of Christ, Thomas F. Torrance, Thomas Forsyth Torrance, Word of God

Karl Barth believed in the Virgin Birth, unlike many of his follower

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Concerning the Logos asarkos: Interacting with Robert W. Jenson

Abstract

Robert W. Jenson has recently written a short article clarifying his argument against the doctrine of the Logos asarkos (Word without flesh). In this article I offer a critique of his remarks, showing that his reasoning has two consequences that are problematic. First, it implies that the Second Person of the Trinity incarnate has parts. Second, it raises significant concerns for divine impassibility.

Introduction

In a recent article, Robert W. Jenson has offered a clarification of his views on the Logos asarkos. ((Robert W. Jenson, “Once more the Logos asarkos”, International Journal of Systematic Theology 13.2 (2011): 130-133. As with Jenson’s other writings, this short paper bears careful scrutiny.)) It provides readers of Jenson’s work with a helpful addendum (though not retraction) to his previously published works on the matter of the Logos asarkos. This, very roughly, is the idea that the Word of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, in some sense pre-exists his incarnate, or creatur

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Eastern Orthodox Icon, Resurrection: Harrowing of Hell (source: wikipedia)

The Johannine Prologue (John 1:1-18) is a purple passage of the bible, and "In the beginning was the Word (λόγος), and the Word (λόγος) was with God, and the Word (λόγος) was God." (John 1:1 RSV) is among the most famous verses in the entire bible. The original Greek of John uses the ancient Stoic term λόγος (logos), which is translated as 'Word' in most all modern English translations, and occasionally as 'Speech' in some older translations. A myriad of books have been written on John's use of this Neo-Platonic and Stoic term.

John's employment of λόγος (logos) in John 1:14 is especially signification for the Christian formation of the doctrines of the Trinity and Incarnation. "And the Word (λόγος) became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father." (John 1:14 RSV). A surface reading may suggest that the second person of the Trinity (i.e. the λόγος) existed in a pre-incarn