He Came Down from Heaven: The Preexistence of Christ and the Christian Faith [Paperback]

Douglas McCready (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2005

Who Was Jesus Christ? Accompanying all the new studies of the life of Jesus has been the question of Jesus' identity. Was he anything more than a human creature? A key issue in this debate is the claim of Jesus' preexistence as the divine, uncreated, Son of God before his incarnation on earth. Douglas McCready provides a thorough survey of the doctrine covering New Testament teaching, Jewish and Hellenistic background and historical development. He carefully weighs the evidence and engages the arguments for and against the Christian orthodox conviction of Christ's preexistence. Drawing on expert scholarship McCready makes this important subject of debate accessible to students and other non-experts who want to know the evidence and arguments for this central doctrine of Christian faith. This book will be especially useful as a supplementary text for theology courses on Christology or in biblical studies courses on the New Testament witness to Jesus Christ.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The new book by Douglas McCready, He Came Down from Heaven, is an innovative study, both exegetical and theological, of the classical doctrine of Christ's preexistence (more accurately, his pretemporal existence, I think). The author is widely read and writes with clarity, though some of his conclusions will challenge some modern thinking that regards preexistence as metaphor or myth. Rightly he sees both the intrinsic theological importance of the doctrine and its ethical implications. Here is a title worth its salt. I commend it." (Ralph P. Martin, Distinguished Scholar in Residence, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Azusa Pacific University )

"Thank heavens we now have a full-length monograph on the issue of the preexistence of Christ, which is fully cognizant not only of the scholarly literature on the subject but is equally at home with the patristic interpretation of the key NT texts, especially the Pauline and Johannine ones. Douglas McCready is to be commended for his thoroughness in dealing with objections to this idea, and yet also his pastoral concern to show the practical and personal importance of affirming this concept as a part of an orthodox Christology. Highly recommended." (Ben Witherington III, professor of New Testament, Asbury Theological Seminary )

Product Details

• Paperback: 349 pages
• Publisher: IVP Academic (October 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830827749
• ISBN-13: 978-0830827749
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #331,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, May 22, 2010

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Diglotting "Diglot" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: He Came Down from Heaven: The Preexistence of Christ and the Christian Faith (Paperback)

This book by Douglas McCready provides an examination on the preexistence of Christ, although, as the author notes, what you believe about this topic can have far reaching implications in all areas of theology (soteriology, pneumatology, the incarnation, Trinitarianism, etc). However, the scope of this book is primarily focused upon the preexistence aspect.

McCready starts off with an introductory chapter, in which he talks about what the term preexistence actually means, specifically discussing three different views on what it entails (personal, ideal, and eschatological preexistence). Also, the factor that one's worldview and the presuppositions that go along with it are discussed.

An overview on the New Testament witness to the preexistence of Christ is then provided in the next chapter. Here, McCready discusses such aspects as hermeneutical issues, myth, functional Christology, Christological titles, the sending statements in the New Testament, and a few other things. This is then followed by a chapter that specifically focuses upon the Christology found in the Pauline writings. If my memory serves me correct, I do not think the author touched upon the issue of authentic Pauline authorship of the epistles attributed to Paul, so I assume that he accepts them all as genuinely Pauline (which goes with the overall evangelical Christian contour of the book).

Following this, McCready spends the next chapter dealing with passages in other parts of the New Testament (the Gospels, Acts and the Catholic Epistles). The Johannine writings (Gospel plus epistles) are given the next chapter all to themselves.

The final chapters of this book leave the realm of discussing specific New Testament passages and turn to other matters. The first tackles the Jewish and Hellenistic backgrounds of the New Testament writing and thought, such as Gnosticism, Second-Temple Judaism, preexistence in Judaism, etc. I thought this chapter might have served better if it was placed ahead of the earlier chapters which exegete the New Testament passages.

The following chapter is on the postapostolic development of the preexistence of Christ, which is done through an examination of the writings of the early church fathers, the ecumenical councils and their impact on Christological belief, and finally a brief overview of medieval through reformation Christology.

The next chapter deals with theological issues related to preexistence, such as Trinitarianism, incarnation, the virgin birth, the resurrection, Karl Barth's view of preexistence, and some other aspects. This is followed by a chapter on the preexistence of Christ in relation to modern theology on Christology and preexistence. The final chapter in the book is an overall conclusion on the preexistence of Christ and its significance for the Christian faith. There is also a bibliography, names and subject indices, but strangely, there is no scripture index.

While this book is not one which introduces anything new into the doctrine of Christ's preexistence, it does manage to provide an accessible survey on the topic. The author shows his thorough knowledge of the issues surrounding preexistence such as differing interpretations of the various passages which are used to prove it. Although, I felt that a more in-depth discussion of the opposing views would have been helpful. I would recommend this book for Christians who want to gain a deep understanding on the subject of Christ's preexistence from a thoroughly orthodox Christian viewpoint.