Negative Theology and Christology

Negative Theology and Christology: Ascension and Eucharist makes a critical and constructive contribution to systematic theology by exploring the meaningful interpretation of the doctrine of the ascension of Christ. Through an insightful reading of Christ’s ascension to heaven as the concealment of the revealer, the author investigates the extent to which negative theology illumines some of the deepest doctrinal structures of Christian faith. On the basis of close attention to tradition, both catholic and reformed, Norman provides a revisionist history of the doctrine of the ascension that challenges other recent accounts, and offers a corrective to simplistic and reductive interpretations of the place of heaven in Christian worldviews, ancient, medieval, and modern. Norman outlines the significance of the concealment of Christ to Christian life and thought, recovering the ascension as one of the most important mysteries of the faith. Ultimately, the argument contributes to meaningful interpretation of the Eucharist by moving, beyond discussions of presence and absence, towards a personalist account of sacramental encounter with the ascended Christ.