There is Hope in the Incarnation—Challenging the Bibliological Docetism of Today’s Evangelicalism

The authors argue that the future existence of evangelicalism as an ecclesial tradition depends on its ability and courage to re-imagine the dual nature, human and divine, of the Bible as written revelation and, consequently, to renew the way that this community engages with it. Such an endeavour requires a new way of understanding and engaging with the Bible that can be built around the model of the Incarnation. As mainline Protestants, who ministered for many years in evangelical ecclesial communities and who have conducted extensive doctoral and post-doctoral research in patristic and contemporary theological studies, the authors are convinced that if evangelicalism is to survive and flourish in the complexities of the contemporary world, it requires a new hermeneutic. It should move away from a dominating docetic view of the Scripture, which overemphasises its divine nature, to the detriment, and sometimes the total neglect, of its human authorship, to give a full account of its dual nature, equally divine and human.