Читать книгу The Craft of Innovative Theology. Argument and Process онлайн

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It is true that if God had been incarnate in a person with Down’s, then there would have been a different teaching style. The parables and stories would have been different. The conversations with opponents would have to resort less to good argument and more to intuitive assertion. But this could have all worked: humanity near such a life could still see the reality of God residing in that life in a unique way. It could have still been a life that provoked worship from those around that life.

Now much is made of the challenge of a male Jesus for women. The objection is simple: the experiences of men and women are distinctive; Jesus never knew the challenge of the menstrual cycle or the distinctive experience of childbirth. So how can a male Jesus be representative of all humanity?

The standard answer is simple: to be a human one has to be a particular human. You have to be born into a family, at a certain time, or a certain gender. Although the Incarnation could have taken a variety of forms, it did need to be a form – a particular person. And the Jewishness, maleness, and first centuryness are all part of what it is to be a human person.