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The Logic of Divine Blessedness and the Salvific Teleology of Christ
Author(s) -
Wittman Tyler
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
international journal of systematic theology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.149
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1468-2400
pISSN - 1463-1652
DOI - 10.1111/ijst.12143
Subject(s) - teleology , doctrine , philosophy , possession (linguistics) , epistemology , connection (principal bundle) , theology , flesh , mathematics , linguistics , chemistry , geometry , food science
This article recovers a fundamental part of the logic inherent in the traditional doctrine of divine blessedness for the sake of commending the efficacy of the incarnate Son's mission. This recovery begins with two theses derived from Thomas Aquinas’ account in the Summa theologiae , where divine blessedness includes an intrinsic connection between self‐sufficiency and aseity through the concept of self‐possession. It is then argued that revisionists and critics of the doctrine tend to soften this connection, and that something like the traditional logic is indispensable to the salvific teleology of the Word become flesh.