jesus and his abba: a little christology

＂It is one thing to be objectively the beloved Son of God, which he can be from the moment of his conception, and another to be subjectively aware of this event. . . . In the baptism in the Jordan River, this leap to full and clear consciousness took place precisely on the occasion of this experiential visitation of God-Abba.＂

Leonardo Boff, one of the original pioneers of Liberation Theology, has written many books on Jesus and Christology in a career of over fifty years. In this new title he presents a short synthesis of that work, arguing that the essential foundation of Jesus’s identity and mission comes from his intimate identification with God, whom he calls affectionately his Abba. At what point did this mysterious and intimate feeling become fully conscious in Jesus’s own life? How did it produce in him a true inner revolution, a change of life, inaugurating a new language, and a new practice, and enabling him to act as one who takes the place of God?

In attempting to answer these questions, Boff finds a new way to explore the spirituality of Jesus, his mission, and the meaning of discipleship today.

Leonardo Boff, a Brazilian theologian and philosopher, is the author of twenty-five Orbis titles, from Jesus Christ Liberator, Ecclesiogenesis, and Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor, to his more recent Christianity in a Nutshell and Thoughts and Dreams of an Old Theologian. In 2001 he received the ＂Right Livelihood Award,＂ often dubbed the ＂alternative Nobel Prize.＂