In Defense of Extended Conciliar Christology A Philosophical Essay Oxford Studies in Analytic Theology Series

In Defense of Extended Conciliar Christology: A Philosophical Essay examines the logical consistency and coherence of Extended Conciliar Christology-the Christological doctrine that results from conjoining Conciliar Christology, the Christology of the first seven ecumenical councils of the Christian Church, with five additional theses. These theses are the claims that multiple incarnations are possible; Christ descended into Hell during his three days of death; Christ's human will was free; Christ was impeccable; and that Christ, via his human intellect, knew all things past, present, and future. These five theses, while not found in the first seven ecumenical councils, are common in the Christian theological tradition. The main question Timothy Pawl asks in this book is whether these five theses, when conjoined with Conciliar Christology, imply a contradiction. This study does not undertake to defend the truth of Extended Conciliar Christology. Rather, it shows that the extant philosophical objections to Extended Conciliar Christology fail.

Timothy Pawl is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of St Thomas. His research is primarily in the areas of metaphysics and philosophical theology. In metaphysics he works on truthmaker theory, modality, and free will. In philosophical theology, he has published on transubstantiation, Christology, and divine immutability. His work has appeared in The Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Faith and Philosophy, and Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion, among other places. His publications include In Defense of Conciliar Christology (2016).