Reviewed Book: Snook, Lee E. The Anonymous Christ: Jesus as Savior in Modern Theology. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1986

Wehrfritz-Hanson, Garth

English

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The Anonymous Christ: Jesus as Savior in Modern Theology

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 14Issue 1 Essays: Historical and Theological Article 185-1-1988The Anonymous Christ: Jesus as Savior in ModernTheologyGarth Wehrfritz-HansonFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationWehrfritz-Hanson, Garth (1988) "The Anonymous Christ: Jesus as Savior in Modern Theology," Consensus: Vol. 14 : Iss. 1 , Article 18.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol14/iss1/18Book Reviews 127still lives in the West, as do gnostics, Montanists, and Marcionites, and it’sinstructive to observe their original manifestations.But, of course, one book can’t do everything, and this one, if not used asa textbook, would serve as a gift you might give yourself for bedtime reading(I’d take it over ugh! Stephen King any day) or for a program of study thatputs “all that ancient stuff” together in an orderly, not overwhelming, way.Harold E. RemusWilfrid Laurier UniversityThe Anonymous Christ: Jesus as Saviour in ModernTheologyLee E. SnookMinneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1986191 pp.The rising tidal wave of contemporary Christology has begun the pro-cess of charting a new course for theology. Professor Lee Snook, whoteaches systematic theology at Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary,has published a helpful (but at the same time problematic) introduction tothe contemporary Christological scene. This is an introduction addressedto a very particular audience. Snook is speaking to “all those who have dif-ficulty taking the traditional churchly confessions of Jesus as their startingpoint” (7).According to Snook, soteriology is the ultimate measuring-stick thatdetermines the authenticity of any Christology today. An authentic Chris-tology must demonstrate how Jesus saves humankind from the multidimen-sional forms of lostness. Lostness refers to: idolatrous unbelief, hopeless-ness, anxiety and alienation, oppression, ecological disaster, isolation, falseand distorted consciousness.For Snook, there is no one, absolute, definitive Christology. EveryChristology has its bias, whether or not its proponents are conscious ofit. An authentic faith in Jesus as Saviour today will review reality as:openness, multidimensional, dialogue, complex, and pluralistic.Snook employs two major methodological categories to interpret con-temporary Christologies. First, he borrows, in a modified form, the cate-gories of George Lindbeck. Snook presents the Christologies of Karl Barth,Hans Frei, Paul Tillich, the liberation theologians, and Thomas J.J. Al-tizer as “Cultural-Linguistic”. The Christologies of Wolfhart Pannenberg,John Cobb, Edward Schillebeeckx, John Hick, Karl Rahner, and WilfredCantwell Smith are presented by Snook as “Experiential-Historical” . The128 Consensusproblematic nature of Lindbeck’s categories becomes quite pronounced, es-pecially in light of Snook’s definition of “experienced fact” in footnote 16, atthe end of chapter 1—which is diametrically opposed to Lindbeck’s categor-ical distinctions. Second, Snook employs the categories of relation and/ordisrelation (Snook’s term) of God and self, God and world, world and self.Lostness, as articulated in contemporary Christologies, is a disrelation withany or all of the three polarities. There is also a series of aggregates withinthe framework of Snook’s methodological categories.The Christologies of Barth, Frei, and Pannenberg form the first aggre-gate. They all begin with the same question: “Who is Jesus Christ?” It wasBarth who insisted that Christianity cannot be held captive by or identifiedwith worldviews from any period of history. Christ as God’s Word is thebasis of salvation and theology is always the servant of the Word. Pannen-berg, unlike Barth, begins with a “Christology from below” and is criticalof a universal-absolutist view of history. He insists that the historicity ofChrist’s resurrection is the foundation of Christian faith. Revelation andsalvation are equated with human beings knowing their ultimate destiny,i.e., they are saved from hopelessness.The Christologies of Tillich and Cobb form the second aggregate.Tillich almost totally disagreed with Barth on how theology should be theservant of the proclaimed Word. Tillich and Cobb employ contemporaryworldviews in order that the biblical worldview become intelligible to 20thcentury human beings. In the case of Tillich, an existential philosophy ofbeing is employed to explain the structures of ontological reality. Salvationis realized when Jesus the New Being heals the brokenness-estrangementbetween God and humanity, humanity and the world, humans in their rela-tionships with one another. For Tillich, soteriology is the presupposition ofall Christologies. In the case of Cobb, a process theologian, a philosophy ofbecoming is employed to establish a bridge between Christianity and con-temporary secular culture. The Christ departs from the old, challenges thestatus-quo, and leads us into an open, hopeful and transformed future. TheChrist has relativized everything to make all things new through creativetransformation.The Christologies of the liberation theologians (particularly the LatinAmericans) and Schillebeeckx form the third aggregate. Many liberationtheologians employ Marxist philosophy in their critical analysis of histori-cal worldviews. Theological praxis works toward making the world a morefriendly and just place to live for everyone, especially the poor and op-pressed. Liberation theology is rooted in concrete human experiences ofbrokenness-sin in the world and not abstract reason or logic. The Chris-tologies of liberation theologians view Jesus as Liberator of the oppressedas a sign of God’s coming eschatological kingdom. For Schillebeeckx, thecrisis of contemporary Christianity is the gap between faith and experience.His Christology is based on critical-historical exegesis of the New Testamentand experience as salvific. Experience is an all-encompassing term whichincludes: emotions, subjectivity, thought, interpretation, revelation, faith.Book Reviews 129divine truth and salvation. According to Schillebeeckx, the Gospels aresoteriologies rather than Christologies, in that they are not so much con-cerned with Jesus’ identity as they are with how people have experiencedwhat Jesus has done for them and others—these experiences are presentedas salvific.The Christologies of Altizer, Hick, Rahner, and Cantwell Smith formthe final aggregate. For Altizer, salvation is viewed as universal conscious-ness after history comes to an end and Jesus’ Word over all other words,transforms-negates unique-individual consciousness. In the case of Hick,Rahner and Cantwell Smith, Christology must be reformulated in light ofdialogue with other world religions, leading to a more universal, inclusiveChrist. According to Snook, this requires more faith in the Christ thanremaining in the security blanket of an insular, exclusive Christology. Itsgoal may lead religiously to a “universal humanity”.In his final chapter, Snook wrestles with the dilemma and paradox ofChrist’s saving significance and postmodern religious pluralism. He con-cludes by favoring the unique and superior claims of Jesus as Saviour.However, he arrives at this conclusion in humility, giving his readers thisvery important admonition: “There is much in Scripture to warn believ-ers to be everlastingly alert to the ambiguity of their own belief” (147).His discussion on the anonymous Christ (not to be confused with Rahner’s“anonymous Christian”) is remarkably brief. Considering the book’s titleone would expect the motif to be articulated more explicitly. Among otherthings, Snook employs the term to refer to the mysterious, ominous, vague,hidden, adventurous and challenging aspects of the Christ.There are two very noticeable lacunae in Snook’s theological presen-tation. First, he tends to shy away from the Christologies of RosemaryRadford Ruether, Dorothee Soelle, Patricia Wilson-Kastner and other fem-inist theologians. Second, it is very difficult to make a convincing case forthe saving significance of Jesus Christ without an explicit theologia cruets.However, all things considered, Snook should be recommended readingfor those theologians, seminary students and pastors who take the theolog-ical task seriously enough to communicate the Christian faith intelligentlyto postmodern 20th century humankind.Garth Wehrfritz-HansonSt. John’s Lutheran ChurchNew Sarepta, Alberta

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The Anonymous Christ: Jesus as Savior in Modern Theology

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