THE CRUCIFIXION AS REALISATION OF IDENTITY: THE GIFT OF RECOGNITION AND REPRESENTATION

This essay approaches the complex structure of the Christian's identity from the perspective of the crucifixion of Christ. Central to this approach are the concepts of recognition and representation, which are employed to clarify presuppositions of Christian identity that can be seen as theologically and philosophically prior to the doctrinal conceptions of reconciliation and atonement. The cross can be seen as a gift only if it is simultaneously conceived of as a possibility for receiving a new identity through the recognition of God both as the other represented and representing the human on the cross. On the basis of recognition and representation, implications concerning the more doctrinal formulation of Christology, anthropology and soteriology are spelled out.