Making Christ Real

“This is a vitally important new book which tackles some of the most life-giving questions that can arise within Christian theology on transforming and being transformed. Youngs writes with an impressive balance of critique and explanation. He tracks the history of kenoticism and addresses some of the key questions that arise concerning the relation between the sublime freedom of the risen Christ on the one hand and our own—mysterious—freedom on the other.”


—Oliver Davies, King’s College London, emeritus





“Youngs has called modernity on the carpet in its inability to face the kenotic Christ. While giving careful attention to methodology by way of a sweeping knowledge of the scholarly landscape, this book makes a contribution beyond what often comprises scholarship. By decompartmentalizing the tidy boxes that have separated the discipline of theology from the life of the church, Youngs paints a holistic, life-giving picture of the person and meaning of Jesus Christ.”


—Joshua Rice, Richmont Graduate University





“Youngs’s . . . highly creative rearticulation of kenotic Christology pushes treatments of the topic to a new level of sophistication, compellingly demonstrating the relevance of kenosis for contemporary Christology. Far from having run its course, kenotic Christology in Youngs’s expert hands is shown to have a heretofore unrealized potential for speaking to the concrete needs of the church, the academy, and the broader world.”


—Mark McInroy, University of St. Thomas





“Using modern kenotic Christology as a foil, Youngs convincingly and articulately shows how theology can become unreal when it is abstracted from the concrete realities of the church’s lived experience. If you are hungry for robust theology that is tested against the measures of real human life, look no further. This book accomplishes what it promises . . . to make Christ real.”


—Preston Hill, Richmont Graduate University