Person in Christ: Incarnate Personhood in Historical, Metaphysical, and Systematic Studies of Jesus of Nazareth

Person in Christ is the third in a series revealing a new understanding of 'Person'. Previously published were the first two Person in Cosmos (1996) and Person in Analysis (1996) but he left this manuscript, Person in Christ, unpublished and is now posthumously being published. The first two books were the result of thirty years of teaching in North America, and complementary studies in psychoanalytic philosophy and in theoretical physics. Kevin had an increasing conviction that 'person 'was at the heart of relationship, and should be at the centre of theology', writes Patrick Corbett CSsR in the Foreword to the book. Kevin wrote of the trilogy: 'The three together form an integral study of the meaning of person, personal relationships and personal communication. They work from a creative retrieval of the metaphysics of Aquinas. Person in Cosmos begins a dialogue between this metaphysics and contemporary cosmology, especially in the discipline of physics. Person in Analysis continues this work with a dialogue between the same metaphysics and contemporary psychology especially in the discipline of psychoanalysis. Person in Christ will take the project further, with a dialogue between metaphysics, already refined by the two previous dialogues, and biblical studies of Jesus Christ, especially in the discipline of history of the early first century in Palestine. There is much to be learned about personhood here, not simply in its cultural manifestation at that time but in itself. Person in Christ is an attempt to make use of a retrieved metaphysics, in a contemporary context, as a tool for systematic Christology. It has a contribution to make to biblical and historical studies of Jesus, to systematic and speculative studies of Christ, and to an integral and philosophical study of personhood itself. Although it is the study of a particular person, it is also the study of personhood itself. The personal life of Jesus has demonstrated a new and original way of living personally. After Jesus, personhood cannot be the same.