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Preface
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vii PREFACE u u Jesus’ question to his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29) continually recurs to those who believe in him as the Christ. Each generation answers it in a variety of ways. This is born out in the Christologies studied in this book. Each reflects something of the context it comes from and how its author experienced this. Yet each also reflects something of Jesus, who first asked this question. These diverse Christologies add new voices to the conversation about Jesus, his saving significance, and the meaning of life that has been ongoing since his ministry began. Each of these new voices is worth listening to. Each of these Christologies chooses a way or ways of understanding Jesus’ saving significance. These choices reflect varying assessments of how Jesus as the Christ relates to the present. This book divides these ways into five types and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of each. A guiding conviction behind this arrangement is that each type primarily addresses a distinct kind of sin or evil. By lifting up the different kinds of sin and evil that different ways of understanding Jesus’ saving significance address, this book shows how these can correct and supplement each other. The different atonement models studied here should be seen as unfolding different aspects of Jesus’ saving significance rather than as mutually exclusive alternatives. Many people, places, and institutions played a role in the writing of this book. Melanie Schwanbeck and then Brittany Dove, library technicians at St. Andrew’s College library, were a great help in getting books and journals from other libraries in the Saskatoon Theological Union. The interlibrary loans department at the University of Saskatchewan was also tremendously helpful in getting essential materials . Melanie Schwanbeck helped me repeatedly when I had trouble with my computer. St. Andrew’s College provided me with a very able and industrious research assistant in Jeff Martens-Koop for the fall of 2008. Ministry at Turtle River Larger Parish and then Wesley United Church in Prince Albert led me to appreciate how different atonement models address different forms of suffering, sin, and evil. Teaching viii Preface Christology at Serampore College, Serampore, and Dalit theology at the United Theological College in Bangalore, India, gave me insights for chapter 5. Students in the Christology classes I have taught at St. Andrew’s College and St. Stephen’s in Edmonton have helped shape my appreciation of the Christologies discussed here. Tatha Wiley, Gord Waldie, and Harold Wells read part or all of the manuscript, offering valuable suggestions, corrections and encouragement. I thank all of the above for their help with this book. Leslie cheered me on to finish it. I dedicate it to her, and to Simon and Ian. ...