On The Incarnation

For such a small book, this was pretty dense! Even though I read the occasional book about Christianity and other religious topics, I don't read much serious theology, preferring to stick to the self-help, feel-good type stuff. So this was a whole new thing for me. I did enjoy this book, even though I had to focus very closely to follow it. (It's pretty old, and I'm not great at classics.)

It's easy, I think, when you have grown up within religion, to take its teachings for granted. I mean, I've struggled over the years with what my religion claims about various things, but I've rarely delved into the What Actually Happened in the Bible Historically, generally preferring the And How Does This Affect Me Personally, What Can I Do To Be a Better Person books. I found “On the Incarnation” to be an interesting, compelling discussion about Jesus, his ministry, his purpose, humanity's need for a savior, and all the ways historically that we've aimed to dismiss all of the above. It gave me new perspective on some of the New Testament Scriptures, and basically just gave me a jumping-off point for thinking deeper about the meaning behind my beliefs.

I also thought it was interesting that, to the best of my memory, Jesus was never actually called by name in the book - he was generally called “The Word of God.” Interesting because I had always taken The Word to mean the Holy Spirit; but to be honest, I've never been 100% confident in anything regarding that third incarnation of God. The Father and the Son are easier to grasp than the Holy Ghost.

(A friend started a theological book club, which is why I read this. Turns out I won't be able to go to the meeting, which is a bummer because I definitely think I would benefit from talking about this book more with people who are smarter than I am.)