Book Description

Christ’s Sinful Flesh explores the life and theology of Edward Irving, a nineteenth-century Scottish preacher and theologian, focusing on his theological framework in the perspective of his understanding of Christ’s humanity. Irving is especially known for his teachings regarding the return of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, pre-millennialism, and his distinct Christology. Most scholarly interpretations of Irving have focused on particular aspects of his thought, such as his teachings on the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, his millenarianism, or his understanding of Christology. This book provides a new interpretation of Irving’s contributions to developments in nineteenth-century theology within the English-speaking world, examining the interrelationship of his theological ideas and exploring the development of them within the context of his life. The book offers a fascinating historical account of Irving’s ministry and theology, bringing in the backdrop of his theological dissident companions and contemporary Romanticism, coupled with the tension between his Presbyterianism and his desire of pursuing the truth. Christ’s Sinful Flesh shows that Irving’s theological views, including his views on the gifts of the Spirit and his millennialism, formed a coherent system, which focused on his doctrine of Christ, and more particularly on his belief that Christ had taken on a fully human nature, including the propensity to sin. Only by sharing fully in the human condition with its “sinful flesh” concerning all temptations, Irving believed, could Christ become the true reconciler of God and humanity and a true exemplar of godly living for humankind. This interesting study is a rare exception in the research of Irving, in that it shows the origin of Irving’s Christology and his methodology. Its description of Irving’s theological development in accordance with the critical moments in his life provides the reader with not only a more vivid interpretation of Irving’s life and theology, but also shows the coherence of the preacher’s theological framework.