Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to Christology
- Cambridge Companions to Religion
- The Cambridge Companion to Christology
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I The Christological Sources
- Part II The Christological Reception
- Part III The Contemporary Christological Discussions
- Bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Companions To Religion … (continued from page ii)
- References
19 - Christology and Holiness
from Part IIIb - Christology and Philosophical Theology
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 September 2025
Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to Christology
- Cambridge Companions to Religion
- The Cambridge Companion to Christology
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I The Christological Sources
- Part II The Christological Reception
- Part III The Contemporary Christological Discussions
- Bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Companions To Religion … (continued from page ii)
- References
Summary
That Jesus Christ is sinless is utterly uncontroversial within orthodox Christianity. But the modality of that sinlessness (whether it is necessary that Christ was without sin) and the explanation of that sinlessness (why it is the case that Christ did not sin, and perhaps even could not have sinned) have been the objects of intense christological controversy. This chapter considers and evaluates multiple explanatory models for Christ’s sinlessness, which lead to different accounts of whether and why Christ is impeccable.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Companion to Christology , pp. 323 - 339Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
References
Further Suggested Readings
Adams, Marilyn McCord. What Sort of Human Nature? Medieval Philosophy and the Systematics of Christology. Milwaukee, WI, 1999.Google Scholar
Couenhoven, Jesse. “The Necessities of Perfected Freedom.” International Journal of Systematic Theology, 14, no. 4 (2012): 396–419.10.1111/j.1468-2400.2011.00622.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crisp, Oliver. “Was Christ Sinless or Impeccable?” In God Incarnate: Explorations in Christology, 122–136. London, 2009.Google Scholar
Davidson, Ivor J. “Pondering the Sinlessness of Jesus Christ: Moral Christologies and the Witness of Scripture.” International Journal of Systematic Theology, 10, no. 4 (2008): 372–398.10.1111/j.1468-2400.2007.00331.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fisk, Philip J. “Jonathan Edwards’s Freedom of the Will and His Defence of the Impeccability of Jesus Christ.” Scottish Journal of Theology, 60, no. 3 (2007): 309–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flint, Thomas. “A Death He Freely Accepted: Molinist Reflections on the Incarnation.” Faith and Philosophy, 18, no. 1 (2001): 3–20.10.5840/faithphil20011819CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macleod, Donald. “The Sinlessness of Christ.” In The Person of Christ, 221–230. Downers Grove, IL, 1998.Google Scholar
McFarland, Ian. “Willing Is Not Choosing: Some Anthropological Implications of Dyothelite Christology.” International Journal of Systematic Theology, 9, no. 1 (2007): 3–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murphy, Mark C. “Divine Holiness and the Explanation of Christ’s Impeccability.” Religious Studies, 57, no. 4 (2021): 683–702.10.1017/S0034412519000817CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pawl, Timothy and Timpe, Kevin. “Freedom and the Incarnation.” Philosophy Compass, 11 (2016): 743–756.10.1111/phc3.12362CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sonderegger, Katherine. “The Sinlessness of Christ.” In Theological Theology: Essays in Honour of John Webster, edited by Nelson, R. David, Sarisky, Darren, and Stratis, Justin, 267–275. London, 2015.Google Scholar
Tanner, Kathryn. “Jesus.” In Jesus, Humanity, and the Trinity: A Brief Systematic Theology, 1–34. Edinburgh, 2001.Google Scholar
Weinandy, Thomas G. In the Likeness of Sinful Flesh: An Essay on the Humanity of Christ. Edinburgh, 1993.Google Scholar
White, Thomas Joseph. “The Necessity of the Beatific Vision in the Earthly Christ.” In The Incarnate Lord: A Thomistic Study in Christology, 236–274. Washington, D.C., 2017.Google Scholar
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