Edwards, an Australian priest and theologian, died unexpectedly in 2019 before the appearance of this book, based on his 2018 Duffy Lectures at Boston College. He was an important Roman Catholic voice in the religion and science dialogue.
The Danish Lutheran theologian Niels Henrik Gregersen introduced the term “deep incarnation” in 2001. The concept expresses Gregersen's extension of Luther's theology of the cross. Gregersen holds that God's incarnation in Jesus Christ is not just into an individual human being, but also into the whole of creation. Because the incarnation is radically “deep” in this way, it has implications for understanding the redemptive nature of the cross. Gregersen argues that the death of Jesus Christ reveals or is an “icon” of God's redemptive cosuffering with all sentient life. Deep incarnation means that God bears with creatures the costs of the suffering involved in evolution (xvii–xviii, 1–5).
In the first chapter, Edwards briefly surveys both Gregersen's original statement of this analysis and how Elizabeth Johnson, Celia Deane-Drummond, Christopher Southgate, and Richard Bauckham have taken up and used this concept in their own theologies. He concludes with a summary of how Gregersen has developed his ideas in recent years, including Gregersen's thought-provoking suggestions that one can speak of the incarnation in strict, broad, and soteriological senses and that the whole of creation is the “cosmic body of Christ” (22). Edwards then, in chapter-long studies, brings the notion of deep incarnation into dialogue with the incarnational theologies of Irenaeus, Athanasius, and Karl Rahner. These chapters are excellent short studies drawing out the connections among incarnation, creation, and salvation (deification) in the thought of the respective theologians. The final chapter sketches Edwards’ own understanding of deep incarnation developed in light of these studies.
In this final chapter, Edwards makes several important claims. The first is well summarized in this quotation: “By the divine intention, the flesh assumed in the incarnation is that of Jesus of Nazareth in all its internal relationality with other human beings, with the community of life on our planet, and with the universe itself in all its dynamic processes” (113). In other words, the incarnate Word made flesh is co-constituted by its internal relations to the whole of creation.
Edwards’ second claim concerns the apparent contradiction between the traditional divine attribute of impassibility and the claim that God suffers with suffering creatures. He notes that some theologians maintain the traditional idea of divine impassibility and reject the idea of divine suffering, whereas others abandon the attribute of impassibility. Edwards proposes a third alternative, that a deeper understanding of divine transcendence can alter the traditional notion of divine impassibility. In reliance on Irenaeus, Athanasius, and especially Rahner, Edwards proposes that “a God who can freely and lovingly enter into the pain of creation and feel with suffering creatures is actually more truly and fully transcendent than a God who is unable to do this” (113–14). A deeper understanding of divine transcendence, in short, shows that God can transcend impassibility. Although I completely agree with Edwards on what he wants to claim about divine suffering, I must confess that his “third alternative” seems to me to be a convoluted way of saying that God is not really impassible. It seems cleaner simply to reject impassibility as a mistaken assumption of Greek metaphysics.
Finally, Edwards argues that the cross of Jesus can be understood as “the sacrament of God's redemptive suffering with creatures” (117). This is implied by the idea of “deep incarnation” as well as by ideas drawn from Irenaeus, Athanasius, and especially Rahner (117–23). In turn, this seems to imply what Edwards calls “deep Resurrection,” the promise that God will take all of creation into the divine life (123–28). This is truly a lovely analysis and conclusion, though Edwards does not address any of the usual objections to universal salvation.
Edwards’ final book is largely accessible to advanced undergraduates, but may need some supplemental explanation by professors. It expresses beautiful theological ideas and is a fitting last testament to the kind and gentle spirit of its author.
