The Claim of Humanity in Christ

Book excerpt: Much of the preaching and teaching today demands that people actively earn their relationship with God. This prevailing understanding runs counter to the theology of the brothers Thomas F. Torrance (1913-2007) and James B. Torrance (1923-2003), who promoted the radical notion that all of humanity has its true being in Christ. In The Claim of Humanity in Christ, Alexandra Radcliff refutes the Torrances' many critics, asserting the significance of their controversial understanding of salvation for the interface between systematic and pastoral theology. Radcliff then widens the scope of her argument, constructively applying the implications of the Torrances' work to a liberating doctrine of sanctification. The Christian life is conceived as the free and joyful gift of sharing by the Spirit in the Son's intimate communion with the Father, revealing the reality of who we are in Christ.