Divine Self-Investment
A Book Review
Many Christians throw around the term “liberal” as a tag for anything they feel is outside their own dogma. But liberal Christian theology is a robust and historical thread of theological thought. Often liberal theologians are accused of not having strong Christologies, views of scripture, or care about truth. Whatever one thinks about liberal theology, there are very serious and truth seeking proponents of its ideas. Dr. Tripp Fuller is one such theologian and his book Divine Self-Investment: An Open and Relational Constructive Christology, shows a rigorous and thoughtful approach to a liberal Christology. In fact, Dr. Fuller writes, “The goal here is to demonstrate the Christological possibilities that remain largely unacknowledged and developed in liberal theology.” (p8)
As a liberal, open and relational theologian, Dr. Fuller sets up a discussion of the ideas of a logos Christology and a pneuma (spirit) Christology. This is an incredibly entertaining and accessible book, which was a bit surprising because it is also a doctoral dissertation. It is my opinion that Dr. Fuller’s personality and voice lend themselves to accessible and entertaining. Having listened to his podcast for most of its fifteen years, I heard the voice and personality which is a positive when reading theology. Like many modern theologians contemplating the effects of trauma on faith and our approach to the things of faith, Dr. Fuller discusses Andrew Park. I recognized the refrains of Park seen in works like The Back Side of the Cross by Diane Leclerc and Brent Peterson when Dr. Fuller writes; “When the church does not expand the definition of sin to include the problem in its entirety, we end up trying to fit victims into a role and narrative of healing that is fit for the violator. For the victims do not need another nightmare, they need a dream of peace, justice, and healing.” (p 123)
The beauty of Divine Self-Investment is that it succeeds in combining the ideas of spirit and logos Christologies into a cogent, open, and relational Christology. The truth of what Dr. Fuller achieves is that the Church catholic needs both a spirit and logos Christology in order to understand the cross and the ministry of Jesus, the eternal Logos. This combination is important to understanding the framework that Dr. Fuller uses. The fact is that most conservative open and relational theologians will agree with Fuller on many of his points. Especially his explanations of the combination of spirit and logos; “When the Spirit and Logos reflections are connected within an Open and Relational perspective, certain elements of divine self-investment become clear.” (p143) Going further, the Wesleyan-Holiness Open and Relational theologian will resonate with Dr. Fuller’s explanation of knowing the love of Christ. “If one comes to know themselves as known and loved by God in Christ, and one can see her life as also sustained and empowered by God, they might seek to discover and share the mind of Christ in which their will comes to cohere with God’s will.” (p147)
This is a book that is accessible, entertaining, and relevant for a wide range of theological frameworks. It will be familiar to open and relational thinkers and process thinkers alike, but not exclusively. Dr. Fuller makes a potentially dry subject come alive and, as he might say, a very “zesty” discussion of the purpose of Christ.
Fuller, Tripp. Divine Self-Investment: An Open and Relational Constructive Christology. SacraSage. Kindle Edition