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John Betz here proposes "analogical" metaphysics as the shared metaphysics both of Catholic and Protestant traditions, as well as of the Christian West as a whole and its separated brethren in the Christian East. Analogical metaphysics is the "common" metaphysical basis of Christian faith. It is the only metaphysics implied by Christian revelation in Scripture and the only one suited to the task of theology. It also implies a basic Christian ontology of personhood: we must become (existentially realize) what we are (essentially). Professor Betz first presents the metaphysics of the analogia entis in Western theology, as represented by Erich Przywara. He emphasizes that the analogia entis is a working-out of the God-creation relationship implied by Christian revelation, and that historically it has been articulated on the basis of scripture and dogma, and not independently of them. After developing further the ontology of personhood, Professor Betz takes up Russian sophiology in order to demonstrate the formal compatibility between the analogical metaphysics of the West and the sophiological metaphysics of the Christian East. Betz's tentative conclusion is that there is such a thing as a common Christian metaphysics, notwithstanding its various manifestations and accentuations. His proposal, then, aims to contribute to ecumenical dialogue by showing that the metaphysical visions of the churches are similar and that their material metaphysical differences are ultimately complementary within a single, universal Christian metaphysics of creation and deification.

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-22632-9_10

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