Customer Reviews

Christophany: The Fullness Of Man (Faith Meets Faith Series)

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Christology is the effort of the Christian churches to define the nature and mission of Jesus. In this difficult new book, Raimon Pannikar proposes not so much a new Christology as a renewed effort to penetrate into a lived experience of the mystery of Christ, what Pannikar calls a "Chistophany," the mystery of God-in-man and man-in God. What Christianity needs is not new or modernized dogmas, but rather a lived experience of the mystical reality that lurks behind or beneath the dogmas that have already been proclaimed. Pannikar boldly suggests that we must strive for - somehow, someway - an experience of God's presence within us, and us in God, that approximates the experience of Jesus himself.

Christian mysticism has always been hidden, so to speak, in plain sight: the letters of Paul and the Gospel of John are nothing if not mystical, but for most of Christian history this mysticism was downplayed or even suppressed in favor of a mere verbal adherence to a set of dogmas or beliefs ABOUT Jesus. It is time, says Pannikar, for Christian renewal to take place at the level of mystical awareness.

Pannikar brings enormous erudition and scholarship to this effort, even to a fault: the flow of his argument is often slowed down by the plethora of quotes from sources ancient and modern, from the East and from the West. Virtually every page is replete with quotes in Greek, Sanskrit, Latin, Spanish, German, Aramaic, Hebrew, and French (fortunately, translations are provided in most, if not all, cases). The scholarship is impressive, but I wondered sometimes if it was overdone, obscuring rather than clarifying.

And much in this book is indeed obscure, as befits its subject matter. Mystical experience is notoriously difficult to put into words, and Pannikar struggles mightily to do so, as in the following passage: "Thou discoverest the I by being thyself, by being thy self, by being the thou of the I. It is the I and the I alone that can say ahambrahmasmi (I am brahman), Yahwe ("I am who I am") . . . " There are entire paragraphs full of this sort of thing, so be warned; if this seems like verbal sleight-of-hand, you will not enjoy this book. Indeed, you will probably not finish it.

In closing, two more things need to be said. Although Pannikar insists that Christians explore the depths of mystical awareness, this cannot be done at the expense of the social Gospel, cannot be an excuse to turn away from the problems of the world. Pannikar is quite clear that any such mysticism would be a false mysticism and a betrayal of the Trinitarian communalism that lies at the basis of all Christian experience.

Nor is mysticism to be used merely as a tool of evangelism or missionary efforts, as a way to "sell" Jesus to people in non-Christian traditions. Pannikar opposes a universalizing impulse which would attempt to create a universal Christian theology or culture applicable to all times, places, and peoples. Mysticism will enable Christians to experience the depths of their own identity in God, not to convert the whole world to Christianity.

One does indeed get the impression that Pannikar put everything into this, a work which will perhaps be his last major work, his magnum opus, even his last will and testament. So, despite its difficulty and obscurity, I give this book four stars. It is a sincere and important effort to express the inexpressible, to point Christianity back towards its depths, and to return a sense of Being to the center of our lives.

I basically agree with the previous review already posted here.
I just want to add that the reason that words and phrases from "other" traditions appear fairly often in Panikkar's writing, is that those traditions often have words that EXACTLY say or evoke a topic Panikkar is talking about. To translate the "foreign" term sufficiently into English/Western-framework would take, sometimes, an extra page or 2 or 3 -- and would REALLY slow down Panikkar's own exposition.
I had the privilege of doing my PhD work with Panikkar, studying with him for 5 years in the early 1980's. His is the only body of thought I've ever encountered that truly, I believe, holds a (the?) key to human dialog -- and survival -- in the 21st Century. I've long been frustrated, too, that his work is widely "inaccessible" precisely because it is so deeply conversant with multiple human traditions. But that frustration does not reflect on Panikkar himself -- his own life-work is to Say it all in its deeply open-ended completeness. It remains for others of us, I think, to attempt the humble tasks of absorbing the work and reflecting facets of it as best we can for specific audiences.

One reason for the "obscurity" noted by the reviewer below is that the English text of this treatise is a translation from the original Italian. As those familiar with Dr. Panikkar know, he writes and publishes in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian (not to mention various Indian languages). With all due respect to the translater, as a long time Panikkar devotee (from 1971 at UCSB) I was not altogether pleased with the result. A "translation" of an "interpretation" of an "experience" sometimes ends up as stilted prose.

Here's hoping that "The Experience of God: Icons of Mystery" to be published in June 2006 does not suffer from this defect, minor though it may be.

This book is magnificent. Arising from the author's great scholarship and his own profound mysticism, Chistophany is probably the best work of Christian theology in at least 100 years. It is not an easy read but well worth the effort. Jim Marion, author of "Putting on the Mind of Christ, the Inner Work of Christian Spirituality."

Exposing the erroneous assumptions upon which traditional Christianity has been based and shining a bright light on what has been missed for so long about Jesus, this book represents a volte-face in spiritual direction.

First, let me warn readers that this is my first review of a Theology book. My apologies for any nonsense I may utter here.

Raimon Panikkar's book left a lasting, profound mark on my understanding of the Christian faith. His scholarship is outstanding, and one can feel that his mysticism is sincere. I agree with other reviewers who complained about the excessive quotations of sacred texts; their multiple translations are sometimes superfluous, especially if the reader does not speak the languages in which those texts are provided (I found the frequent inclusion of two different translations of the Catalan Bible amusing!). In any case, those quotations did not bother me, nor did the convoluted language of some chapters.

Speaking of the difficult language, it occurs mainly when the book shifts from theology to mysticism (quite often) or when the author tries to circumvent his own difficult opinions on articles of faith in order to make them more palatable.

Brilliant as this book is, I think Panikkar mystical vision of the "Jesus Event" and his dismissal of the importance of the historic veracity of the New Testament narratives to the Christian faith solve what I call the "Jesus problem" (i.e.: the non-universality of Christ's epiphany) but creates many other problems.

The easiest to point to is his emphasis on the Trinity, an even more difficult problem (and more manufactured by several Councils) than the historical accuracy of the salvation narrative.

Likewise, Panikkar fails to prove that his Trinitarian vision is more authentic than the straight forward monotheism of Judaism or Islam.

Lastly, I find it curious that Panikkar got away with his theology, which seems to me to break completely with the teachings of the Catholic Church. The proponents of Liberation Theology were chastised for much less by the Vatican, and many of them had to leave the clergy. Maybe it was because their message had more practical consequences; maybe it was because their ideas came up outside Europe.

In any case, I highly recommend this book as a thought provoking gem. I felt the urge to go back to the Scriptures after reading it and I am sure Professor Panikkar would be happy to see me doing so.

This is one of the most refreshing books I have read in years. Panikkar cuts into the long-standing Christological debates from a new angle - the mystical experience of Christ. 'Christophany' is his term for the attempt to consider orthodox views of Christ from the point of view not of philosophical categories such as substance and nature, but from the divine self-awareness of Jesus as both fully God and human. This allows us to see the dual natures of Christ not as an intellectual paradox but as a manifestation of the eternal Triune reality in the 'fullness' of a human life. Panikkar delves deeply into the mystical passages in the gospel of John where Christ reflects on his relationship with the Father and the world, and shows the mystical experience that is presupposed by these words. As is common in mystical writings, this allows us to transcend some of the dualisms inherent in doctrinal thinking, and see the universality of Christ in the religious experience of the world. This is not cheap pluralism or relativism, but a profound meditation on the relation between the universal and the particular, and the cosmic significance of both 'Jesus' and 'the Christ'. How is the 'man from Galilee' the life and hope of the cosmos? The answer lies within.

This book is fantastic for looking into a positive future when we "shake off our ancient prejudices and build the earth" as de Chardin said so many years ago. It is a must read for Christians who want backgroud for interreligious dialogue.