| dc.description.abstract | The thesis of this dissertation is that Christian theology is captured in the metaphysical models of its time, which establish for theology what counts as reasonable and plausible. This thesis is explored in light of the structures and the modes of the doctrine of revelation utilizing a phenomenological methodology. In the first chapter, I walk through Smith’s phenomenology of revelation, with an emphasis on the elements of his position that are most distinctive as well as relevant to my own project. In the second chapter, I make a broader and more detailed case for the heuristic value of the three metaphysical models for theology. In the third chapter, I turn to Levinas and the origins of the third, eschatological model, which will be a strong test of my thesis. In the fourth chapter, I will continue to support my thesis with a fuller development of the participatory eschatological model such that revelation need not be reduced to the understanding of the recipient. In the fifth chapter, I apply the participatory eschatological model to ecclesiology in order to correct a soteriological reliance on socialization while opening the church to difference. Other than the trajectory of the argument as a whole, the concept and doctrine of revelation runs throughout each chapter bringing an overall coherence to the project and justifying my choices of Smith and Levinas as lynchpins for the project. | |
