The Christology of Karl Barth and Matta al-Miskin

In The Christology of Karl Barth and Matta al-Miskin, Hani Hanna brings two modern theologians from very different backgrounds into dialogue—the Protestant pastor Karl Barth from Switzerland and the Coptic Orthodox monk Matta al-Miskin from Egypt. Hanna’s book is an innovative and insightful Christological analysis, focusing on Barth’s and al-Miskin’s shared vision of a historicized ontology. But just as much, it is an eloquent and deeply hopeful call for ecumenical theologies that are “biblical, intelligible, and hospitable.” Expertly done and highly recommended. -- Stephen Davis, Yale University
This is a thoughtful and compelling book, written by one of the finest systematic and ecumenical Protestant theologians to be found in northeast Africa and the Middle East today. Hanna recognizes that the “schism” which now exists between Protestant and Copts in Egypt have their root in a shared metaphysical concept of God which is incapable of providing an adequate basis for ecclesial reconciliation. At bottom, it is a negative, “apophatic” concept of God which allows for marriage with any number of options where Christology, soteriology, ecclesiology and sacramentology are concerned - but can provide no guidance whatsoever when those options harden into party-political conflicts, as they have done through the intervening centuries. Hanna argues for a fresh start on the basis of a different God-concept, one grounded in the “historicized” Christologies of Karl Barth and Matta al-Miskin. In doing so, he brings us all back to the narrated history of Jesus of Nazareth as attested in Holy Scripture as the only legitimate basis for doing theology. This is a book to be welcomed! It is a book to be read! -- Bruce McCormack, Princeton Theological Seminary