Reviewed Book: Widdicombe, Peter. The fatherhood of God from Origen to Athanasius. Oxford: Clarendon Pr; [S.l.]: Oxford Univ Pr, 1994. Oxford theological monographs

Kannengiesser, Charles

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 22Issue 2 Essays Ecumenical and Historical Article 1411-1-1996The fatherhood of God from Origen to AthanasiusCharles KannengiesserFollow 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 CitationKannengiesser, Charles (1996) "The fatherhood of God from Origen to Athanasius," Consensus: Vol. 22 : Iss. 2 , Article 14.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol22/iss2/14142 Consensusthe Gospels, and Paul, make about the resurrection, and the even moredivergent interpretations of these statements that come out of the variouscurrent theological camps.What’s lacking, of course, in such a broad and brief survey, is a senseof the fire and, yes, faith, that inform both the troubling conclusions ofCrossan, Funk and others; and the strong, sometimes harsh, reactions ofmore conservative theologians. And the danger in depending upon evensuch an even-handed survey as this is that we may have already relegatedthe third-questers to history along with Reimarus, Renan, Schweizer andthe rest. That would be sad, for we surely owe it to Christians strugglingto find and hold a faith for the twenty-first century, to let our preachingand teaching show we too have struggled, and still believe.Ted HeinzeNew Germany Lutheran Parish,New Germany, Nova ScotiaThe Fatherhood of God from Origen to AthanasiusPeter WiddicombeOxford: Clarendon Press, 1994290 pp.In a relatively small (ca. 250 pages of text) but costly volume, PeterWiddicombe, of McMaster University, offers a survey of the doctrine con-cerning divine fatherhood in the Alexandrian tradition. A central categoryof Christian thought, ‘divine fatherhood was a notion received by Origenfrom his philosophical background as well as from Scripture. He deepenedthe notion through a systematic analysis of divine titles found in the OldTestament, and he thoroughly rooted it in the teaching of the New. ThusOrigen became, in fact, the first proper theoretician of divine Trinity. Wid-dicombe seems to be at his best, when his careful and clear thinking unfoldsthe doctrinal implications of the Origenian construct (Part I, in particularchap. 3, pp. 63-92). Thus, for instance, he stresses Origens emphasis onthe eternity of fatherhood and sonship in God, a thesis which would againbe a matter of dispute during the Arian controversies of the fourth cen-tury. The distinction of Father and Son being central in Origen’s essay OnPrayer^ chapter 4 offers a genuine theological evaluation, rich in spiritualinsights, of that essay.After a needed transition through the very obscure beginnings of theArian crisis (Part II), the bulk of the study (Part III, pp. 145-254) is de-voted to a thoughtful and attractive description of Athanasius’s synthesis.First, the philosophical and scriptural aspects of Athanasian thought areclarified in chapter 8; then divine fatherhood according to Athanasius isBook Reviews 143considered in itself (chap. 9), and so is the relationship between Fatherand Son (chap. 10). A contemplation in broad lines of the Athanasian doc-trine of salvation and of its linkage with trinitarian and anti-Arian theologyoccupies chapter 11.On a classical issue, which he treats with rather conventional methods,Widdicombe succeeds in providing a delightful reading. His smoothly lin-ear exploration of concepts remains in all cases well organized. Therebyhe provides very opportune help to many students, should they be eageror at least in need to understand a Patristic tradition. The direct contactwith the analysed sources, and their assumption into a coherent interpre-tation testifying to their present relevance, are at the core of each chapter.Historical erudition, not being neglected, remains nevertheless marginal. Incontroverted matters, Widdicombe deliberately keeps a conservative stance,which entails a prudent balance in his style and judgment, at the cost ofsome misinformation about current scholarship. He reads his ancient au-thors with the devotion of a nineteenth century Anglican clergyman, even ifsome of his observations more than once reflect a more contemporary questof identity in matters of faith. A “Postscript” tries even to face the femi-nist challenge, but only in recalling academically on the archaic foundationsin Western culture and society of masculine metaphors used in traditionalGod-talk.A short bibliography and three indexes complete the work. In the fieldof highly specialized Patristic studies such a monograph feels refreshing andenjoyable. It nurtures the dream of preserving a continuity of thought andlanguage with the Fathers, a dream valuable as much as many others at atime of future-centred ideologies and brand-new technologies pervading allforms of traditional thinking.Charles KannengiesserMontreal, QuebecOn Evil: Disputed QuestionsThomas AquinasTranslated by Jean T. and John A. OesterleNotre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1995$49.95 USDialectic and Narrative in Aquinas: An Interpretationof the Summa contra GentilesThomas S. HibbsNotre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1995$34.95 US

The fatherhood of God from Origen to Athanasius

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