Condescendence

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Condescendence (from the Middle Latin condescendentia, "descending, condescending, self-abasement") is a word used especially in Christian theology since the Church Fathers . It is a supplementary, complementary term to transcendence and describes the descent of the eternal Son of God from the glory of heaven into the shape of a real person until death on the cross , as it is fundamentally stated in the Philippians hymn ( Phil 2: 5-11  EU ) .

According to the Christian understanding, God's condescendence is not just a past event, but the basic characteristic of his threefold nature as love that is given away , which is shown earthly in the mercy of Jesus . Participation in God's glory is then identical to: letting oneself be drawn into his condescendence.

The word is used particularly frequently to characterize the theology of Martin Luther , for whom God's condescendence continues in the poor form of the preached word and in the forms of the Lord's Supper .

literature

  • Christoph Henschen: humiliation of God and human exaltation. A systematic-theological study of Luther's doctrine of the Lord's Supper based on the text That these words of Christ “That is my body” are still fixed (1527) (= European University Writings, Series 23 Theology , Volume 900), Lang, Frankfurt am Main et al. 2010, ISBN 978 -3-631-59888-7 (Dissertation University of Göttingen 2008/2009, 423 pages).
  • Markus Piennisch: Communication and Divine Service: Basics of Divine Attention in the Bible and Annunciation , Hänssler, Neuhausen-Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-7751-2356-3 (Dissertation Katholieke Universiteit Leuven 1994, 234 pages under the title: Communication of condescendence - the development of theological creation and basic structures of salvation history with application to the service of the word ).
  • Christina Reuter: Authorship as condescendence. Johann Georg Hamann's exquisite dialogue (= Töpelmann Theological Library , Volume 132). De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, ISBN 978-3-11-018380-1 (dissertation University of Zurich 2004, 311 pages).