"If the Son sets you free, you will be truly free" (Jn 8:36)
Knowing God and being known by Him
Article summary proposed by the Contacts review with LLM assistance
This article examines the question of theological freedom in the elaboration of discourse about God, drawing on the Johannine verse "If the Son sets you free, you will be truly free" (Jn 8:36). Belonging to the genre of conference address and theological reflection, the text explores creativity as a condition proper to patristic thought. The central idea argues that fidelity to the evangelical proclamation does not exclude originality in theological discourse, but rather constitutes its foundation. Drawing on the example of Irenaeus of Lyon, John Behr shows how this Church Father was able to construct a theology rigorously anchored in Scripture while demonstrating genuine conceptual inventiveness. The contribution of the article lies in its illumination of a patristic model of theological freedom, one capable of guiding contemporary dogmatic reflection.
This article has not been translated yet — it is available in its French version here.
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