Reviewed Book: Altizer, Thomas J J. The Genesis of God: A Theological Genealogy. Louisville, Ky: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993

Froese, H. Victor

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 21Issue 2 Aspects of Ecumenity Article 1511-1-1995The Genesis of God: A Theological GenealogyH. Victor FroeseFollow 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 CitationFroese, H. Victor (1995) "The Genesis of God: A Theological Genealogy," Consensus: Vol. 21 : Iss. 2 , Article 15.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol21/iss2/15124 Consensuscommitment to faith as continuously seeking understanding, and Mascall’sThomism moved through his lifetime from the thoughtful Neo-Thomisticpositions of his He Who Is (London: Longmans, 1945) into positive reflec-tions on the work of Rahner and Lonergan in his Gifford lectures. The Open-ness of Being (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1971), as well as on ChristianTheology and Natural Science: Some Questions in their Relations (Ham-den, Conn.: Archon Books, 1965); Mascall, we must always remember, wastrained as a mathematician. Among his other works which still bear carefulscrutiny, although occasional pieces from the late 1970s, are his Theologyand the Gospel of Christ: An Essay in Reorientation (London: SPCK,1977) and the companion piece. Whatever happened to the Human Mind?Essays in Christian Orthodoxy (London: SPCK, 1980).One does not go to Mascall’s Memoirs to find in them the same depthone finds in the works already noted; one goes to them rather after havingread the earlier works for dinner conversation with a friend. They are notwell-integrated and although autobiographical are not an autobiography.They are memoirs, no more and no less. One might have wished thatMascall had said more about some issues, and although his obsession withBritish eccentrics is often humorous, the book might have done well withfewer such tales. One is not always certain that the length of a biography inthe piece is necessarily a mark of a character’s value or that all commentsare worth the stating, until one recognizes that every word guides the readerto become better acquainted with the character of the Memoirs himself—his laughter, his catholic tastes, and his final deep concern for the unityof Christendom. [Note on this topic his The Triune God: an EcumenicalStudy (Worthing: Churchman, 1986) and the earlier The Recovery of Unity:A Theological Approach (London: Longmans, 1958).]Not every press would have risked a book of this size and most wouldhave administered a much heavier editorial hand—I among others ampleased that Gracewing (Fowler Wright Books, distributed in Canada byMeakin and Associates, Nepean, Ont.) chose to allow the last words,whether they always be necessary or not, to this author.Peter C. ErbWilfrid Laurier UniversityThe Genesis of God: A Theological GenealogyThomas J.J. AltizerLouisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993200 pp.In this highly original work, the chief exponent of “death of God” the-ology reconstructs the Deity’s origin. Perhaps best known for The GospelBook Reviews 125of Christian Atheism (1968), Thomas J.J. Altizer has since quietly con-tinued his subversion of mainstream Christianity with such works as TheSelf-Embodiment of God (1977), History as Apocalypse (1985), and Genesisand Apocalypse (1991). The Genesis of God is Altizer’s latest subversiveact.From the beginning Altizer’s thought has arisen from his reading ofHegel. And in the eight dense chapters that make up Genesis^ Hegel’stheology looms in the background (and, at times, in the foreground), set-ting the tone and dictating the dialectical method of Altizer’s argumenta-tion. (Readers unfamiliar with the debate concerning Hegel’s Christianitymight consider first reading chapter 2, “Hegel and the Christian God”.)For Hegel and Altizer, the self-emptying of God in the incarnation signifiesthe divestment of a transcendence that means detachment, aloofness, andpassivity—it means the death of that “God” understood by Nietzsche as“the deification of nothingness” . The crucifixion is the death of that Godbut, simultaneously, the resurrection of God, now understood as fully iden-tified with human beings and their fate. The essence of secularity, viz., therefusal to acknowledge a reality beyond concrete historical existence thatrenders life meaningful, is (so the argument goes) a product of this Christianinsight. For Hegel, immanence emerges as the only true transcendence.But immanence involves finitude and temporality. These, in turn, implybeginning and ending. Herein lies the rationale for tracing back the genesisof God, a project that orthodox Ghristian theology could never undertake.Holding firmly to the principle that the kenosis of God in Christ reveals thetrue (eternal?) identity of God, Altizer argues that the act of creation itselfis a type of Ghrist’s self-emptying and death. The crucified Creator reversesthe absolutely sovereign and transcendent Creator of orthodoxy “who is andonly is infinite and eternal” (p. 112) by willing to dirty His [sic] hands ina historical creation. In this sense, “the crucifixion is a repetition of thecreation. . . a repetition which is a total enactment of the self-emptying orself-sacrifice of the original creation” (ibid.).Readers of the Trinitarian theology of Julian of Norwich will be familiarwith such parallelisms. But in Altizer’s hands, they assume a strongly anti-trinitarian tone. The orthodox doctrine of the Trinity, he claims, representsa compromise with a conception of God which, taking apocalyptic Chris-tianity as the norm, is fundamentally anti-Christian. If God is fully revealedin Christ, Christ exclusively defines God; there is no transcendence holdingimmanence in tension. For Altizer, the logic leading to this conclusion isinescapable, as is confirmed by the history of the West which has slowly butconsistently abandoned orthodox Trinitarianism and accepted, implicitly,Hegel’s Sabellianism. This development, suggests Altizer, is refiected in theanti-trinitarian tendencies in the great epic poets of the West—in particu-lar, Milton, Blake, and Joyce. And Altizer uses these artists effectively inmaking his argument.Altizer’s prose is often unnecessarily difficult, but he is a serious thinkerwho periodically rewards the diligent reader with the exhilaration thatcomes from beholding an exquisitely designed conceptual edifice.126 ConsensusThe question remains: Would we want to live in this building? Butperhaps the question misses the point. Altizer implies that we alreadydo. Indeed, a case could be made that were modernity forced to explainits faith in Christian terms, Altizer’s thought would be a sure guide. Butfor Trinitarians who have not yet made modernity their eternal home, thevalue of Genesis lies in unveiling the tacit unorthodox presuppositions ofthe contemporary West and in making possible a more discerning orthodoxresponse—and, perhaps, in forcing a more thorough understanding of theTrinitarianism they so piously espouse.Highly recommended for readers of apologetic, systematic, and philo-sophical theology.H. Victor FroesePhillips Theological Seminary,Enid, OklahomaProfessing the Faith: Christian Theology in a NorthAmerican ContextDouglas John HallMinneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 1993566 pp.Having moved to Lunenburg from rural New Denmark, it was a shockto me that the church is no longer the centre of the community in mostof Canada. In thinking about the reason for this, it has been interestingto read Professing the Faith. Hall’s book addresses the question, “Whatdoes it mean to profess the faith as North American Christians living atthe close of the second millennium C.E.?” (p. ix)I have appreciated Hall’s book because it addresses an urgent questionfor all of us—a question which will certainly affect our weekly preaching.Hall writes in a style I can understand, which means he is clear and straightforward. Many of the theologians that I have read in the past I could notreally understand. I also appreciate that Hall tries to base his answer tothe main question on Biblical themes and the historical interpretations ofthose Biblical themes. In doing so, he shows respect for both conservativeand liberal traditions.Hall begins his book with an introduction to the situation in NorthAmerica today. Being a Canadian he addresses both the Canadian andthe U.S. situation. Canada is not always lumped in with the U.S. HoweverMexico is left out of North America.The book has three main parts: Part I Theology: The Christian Doc-trine of God; Part II Creaturely Being; Part HI Jesus the Christ, Savior.Each part includes three chapters. The first chapter in each part deals with

The Genesis of God: A Theological Genealogy

Scholars Commons

Consensus
Volume 21
Issue 2 Aspects of Ecumenity Article 15
11-1-1995
The Genesis of God: A Theological Genealogy
H. Victor Froese
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus
This Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by an
authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.
Recommended Citation
Froese, H. Victor (1995) "The Genesis of God: A Theological Genealogy," Consensus: Vol. 21 : Iss. 2 , Article 15.
Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol21/iss2/15
124 Consensus
commitment to faith as continuously seeking understanding, and Mascall’s
Thomism moved through his lifetime from the thoughtful Neo-Thomistic
positions of his He Who Is (London: Longmans, 1945) into positive reflec-
tions on the work of Rahner and Lonergan in his Gifford lectures. The Open-
ness of Being (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1971), as well as on Christian
Theology and Natural Science: Some Questions in their Relations (Ham-
den, Conn.: Archon Books, 1965); Mascall, we must always remember, was
trained as a mathematician. Among his other works which still bear careful
scrutiny, although occasional pieces from the late 1970s, are his Theology
and the Gospel of Christ: An Essay in Reorientation (London: SPCK,
1977) and the companion piece. Whatever happened to the Human Mind?
Essays in Christian Orthodoxy (London: SPCK, 1980).
One does not go to Mascall’s Memoirs to find in them the same depth
one finds in the works already noted; one goes to them rather after having
read the earlier works for dinner conversation with a friend. They are not
well-integrated and although autobiographical are not an autobiography.
They are memoirs, no more and no less. One might have wished that
Mascall had said more about some issues, and although his obsession with
British eccentrics is often humorous, the book might have done well with
fewer such tales. One is not always certain that the length of a biography in
the piece is necessarily a mark of a character’s value or that all comments
are worth the stating, until one recognizes that every word guides the reader
to become better acquainted with the character of the Memoirs himself
—
his laughter, his catholic tastes, and his final deep concern for the unity
of Christendom. [Note on this topic his The Triune God: an Ecumenical
Study (Worthing: Churchman, 1986) and the earlier The Recovery of Unity:
A Theological Approach (London: Longmans, 1958).]
Not every press would have risked a book of this size and most would
have administered a much heavier editorial hand—I among others am
pleased that Gracewing (Fowler Wright Books, distributed in Canada by
Meakin and Associates, Nepean, Ont.) chose to allow the last words,
whether they always be necessary or not, to this author.
Peter C. Erb
Wilfrid Laurier University
The Genesis of God: A Theological Genealogy
Thomas J.J. Altizer
Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993
200 pp.
In this highly original work, the chief exponent of “death of God” the-
ology reconstructs the Deity’s origin. Perhaps best known for The Gospel
Book Reviews 125
of Christian Atheism (1968), Thomas J.J. Altizer has since quietly con-
tinued his subversion of mainstream Christianity with such works as The
Self-Embodiment of God (1977), History as Apocalypse (1985), and Genesis
and Apocalypse (1991). The Genesis of God is Altizer’s latest subversive
act.
From the beginning Altizer’s thought has arisen from his reading of
Hegel. And in the eight dense chapters that make up Genesis^ Hegel’s
theology looms in the background (and, at times, in the foreground), set-
ting the tone and dictating the dialectical method of Altizer’s argumenta-
tion. (Readers unfamiliar with the debate concerning Hegel’s Christianity
might consider first reading chapter 2, “Hegel and the Christian God”.)
For Hegel and Altizer, the self-emptying of God in the incarnation signifies
the divestment of a transcendence that means detachment, aloofness, and
passivity—it means the death of that “God” understood by Nietzsche as
“the deification of nothingness” . The crucifixion is the death of that God
but, simultaneously, the resurrection of God, now understood as fully iden-
tified with human beings and their fate. The essence of secularity, viz., the
refusal to acknowledge a reality beyond concrete historical existence that
renders life meaningful, is (so the argument goes) a product of this Christian
insight. For Hegel, immanence emerges as the only true transcendence.
But immanence involves finitude and temporality. These, in turn, imply
beginning and ending. Herein lies the rationale for tracing back the genesis
of God, a project that orthodox Ghristian theology could never undertake.
Holding firmly to the principle that the kenosis of God in Christ reveals the
true (eternal?) identity of God, Altizer argues that the act of creation itself
is a type of Ghrist’s self-emptying and death. The crucified Creator reverses
the absolutely sovereign and transcendent Creator of orthodoxy “who is and
only is infinite and eternal” (p. 112) by willing to dirty His [sic] hands in
a historical creation. In this sense, “the crucifixion is a repetition of the
creation. . . a repetition which is a total enactment of the self-emptying or
self-sacrifice of the original creation” (ibid.).
Readers of the Trinitarian theology of Julian of Norwich will be familiar
with such parallelisms. But in Altizer’s hands, they assume a strongly anti-
trinitarian tone. The orthodox doctrine of the Trinity, he claims, represents
a compromise with a conception of God which, taking apocalyptic Chris-
tianity as the norm, is fundamentally anti-Christian. If God is fully revealed
in Christ, Christ exclusively defines God; there is no transcendence holding
immanence in tension. For Altizer, the logic leading to this conclusion is
inescapable, as is confirmed by the history of the West which has slowly but
consistently abandoned orthodox Trinitarianism and accepted, implicitly,
Hegel’s Sabellianism. This development, suggests Altizer, is refiected in the
anti-trinitarian tendencies in the great epic poets of the West—in particu-
lar, Milton, Blake, and Joyce. And Altizer uses these artists effectively in
making his argument.
Altizer’s prose is often unnecessarily difficult, but he is a serious thinker
who periodically rewards the diligent reader with the exhilaration that
comes from beholding an exquisitely designed conceptual edifice.
126 Consensus
The question remains: Would we want to live in this building? But
perhaps the question misses the point. Altizer implies that we already
do. Indeed, a case could be made that were modernity forced to explain
its faith in Christian terms, Altizer’s thought would be a sure guide. But
for Trinitarians who have not yet made modernity their eternal home, the
value of Genesis lies in unveiling the tacit unorthodox presuppositions of
the contemporary West and in making possible a more discerning orthodox
response—and, perhaps, in forcing a more thorough understanding of the
Trinitarianism they so piously espouse.
Highly recommended for readers of apologetic, systematic, and philo-
sophical theology.
H. Victor Froese
Phillips Theological Seminary,
Enid, Oklahoma
Professing the Faith: Christian Theology in a North
American Context
Douglas John Hall
Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 1993
566 pp.
Having moved to Lunenburg from rural New Denmark, it was a shock
to me that the church is no longer the centre of the community in most
of Canada. In thinking about the reason for this, it has been interesting
to read Professing the Faith. Hall’s book addresses the question, “What
does it mean to profess the faith as North American Christians living at
the close of the second millennium C.E.?” (p. ix)
I have appreciated Hall’s book because it addresses an urgent question
for all of us—a question which will certainly affect our weekly preaching.
Hall writes in a style I can understand, which means he is clear and straight
forward. Many of the theologians that I have read in the past I could not
really understand. I also appreciate that Hall tries to base his answer to
the main question on Biblical themes and the historical interpretations of
those Biblical themes. In doing so, he shows respect for both conservative
and liberal traditions.
Hall begins his book with an introduction to the situation in North
America today. Being a Canadian he addresses both the Canadian and
the U.S. situation. Canada is not always lumped in with the U.S. However
Mexico is left out of North America.
The book has three main parts: Part I Theology: The Christian Doc-
trine of God; Part II Creaturely Being; Part HI Jesus the Christ, Savior.
Each part includes three chapters. The first chapter in each part deals with


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