Who Do You Say That I Am?

No question is more central to Christian living, preaching, and theology than Jesus' question to his disciples: Who do you say that I am? Some would have it that pastors and theologians, biblical exegetes and historians, dogmatic and moral theologians, Catholic and Evangelical have more differences than similarities in the way Christians with such diverse vocations respond to Jesus' question. And there is little doubt that there sometimes seem to be unbridgeable gulfs between the way historians and believers, Internet gossipers and preachers, classical christological debates and present-day praying and pastoral care implicitly or explicitly address the Lord's question. But the authors here address these and other issues in ways that are remarkably convergent, as if a "Catholic and Evangelical theology" for proclaiming and following Jesus today has emerged, or is indeed emerging.

"This book circles around Jesus's perennial question: 'who do you say that I am?' It is a question we can never be done with, because it confronts us ever anew, continually calling us to account. Here is a book with an all-star lineup of Christian scholars, led by Carl Braaten, that will edify all those who know they are summoned to answer faithfully, not only with their lips but also with their lives."
--George Hunsinger, Professor of Systematic Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary

"'Who do you say that I am?' If we believe the one who spoke these words is dead, we can bury him and be done with it. If we confess him to be alive, it makes our own lives more complicated--but also interesting. Happily, the contributors to this volume are willing to reckon with such complication. They offer theologically creative, unsentimental reflections on who Jesus Christ is and what he asks of us."
--Joseph Mangina, Professor of Theology, Wycliffe College

Michael Root is Professor of Systematic Theology at The Catholic University of America and Executive Director of the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology. He was formerly the Director of the Institute for Ecumenical Research, Strasbourg, France.

James J. Buckley is Professor of Theology at Loyola University Maryland. He is a member of the North American Lutheran Catholic dialogue and an associate director of the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology. He contributed to and edited The Blackwell Companion to Catholicism (2008).