User Contributed Dictionary
Pronunciation
/kɪˈnəʊsɪs/Noun
- Christ's voluntary divestment of his divine powers.
Related terms
Extensive Definition
Kenosis is a Greek word
for emptiness, which
is used as a theological term. The ancient
Greek word
κένωσις kénōsis means an "emptying", from κενός kenós "empty". The
word is mainly used, however, in a Christian
theological context, for example
Philippians 2:7, "Jesus made himself
nothing (ἐκένωσε ekénōse) ..." (NIV)
or "...he emptied himself..." (NRSV),
using the verb form κενόω kenóō "to empty". See also Strong's
G2758.
Kenosis in Christology
In Christian theology, Kenosis is the concept of the 'self-emptying' of one's own will and becoming entirely receptive to God and his perfect will. It is used both as an explanation of the Incarnation, and an indication of the nature of God's activity and condescension. Mystical theologian John of the Cross' work "Dark Night of the Soul" is a particularly lucid explanation of God's process of transforming the believer into the icon or "likeness of Christ".An apparent dilemma arises when Christian
theology posits a God outside of time and space, who enters into time and
space to become human (Incarnate). The doctrine of
Kenosis attempts to explain what the Son of God
chose to give up in terms of his divine attributes, or divinity, in
order to assume human nature. Since the incarnate Jesus is simultaneously
fully human and fully divine, Kenosis holds that these changes
were temporarily assumed by God in his incarnation, and that when
Jesus ascended back into heaven following the resurrection, he
fully reassumed all of his original attributes and divinity.
Specifically it refers to attributes of God that
are thought to be incompatible with becoming fully human. For
example, God's omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience as well as his
aseity, eternity, infinity, impassibility and immutability. Theologians
who support this doctrine often appeal to a reading of Philippians
2:5-8. Critics of Kenosis theology argue that the context of
Philippians 2:5-8 is referring to Jesus voluntarily taking the form
of a servant to conceal his divine glory (revealed temporarily in
the Transfiguration),
or to forsaking his place and position in heaven to dwell among
men, as opposed to forsaking his divine attributes or nature (see
syncatabasis).
Kenotic Christology
focuses on certain passages in the Gospels where Jesus
questions his being called good (Bible verse |Mark|10:18, Bible
verse |Luke|18:19, Bible verse |Matthew|19:17), and evidence that
he was not omniscient concerning the date of the Second Advent
(Bible verse |Mark|13:32, Matthew 24:36). It became a central issue
in the Protestant
debates of the sixteenth century, and was revived in the nineteenth
century to reinterpret classical doctrines of the
incarnation.
Eastern Orthodox Mysticism
The Orthodox Mystical Theology of the East emphasises following the example of Christ. Kenosis is only possible through humility and presupposes that one seeks union with God. The Poustinia tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church is one major expression of this search.Kenosis is not only a Christological issue in
Orthodox theology, it has moreover to do with Pneumatology,
namely to do with the Holy Spirit. Kenosis, relative to the human
nature, denotes the continual epiklesis and self-denial of
one's own human will and desire. With regards to Christ, there is a
kenosis of the Son of God, a condescension and self sacrifice for
the redemption and salvation of all humanity. Humanity can also
participate in God's saving work through theosis; becoming holy by
grace.
Therefore, in Eastern Orthodoxy, theosis never
concerns becoming like God in nature or essence, which is pantheism; instead, it
concerns becoming united to God by grace, through his Energies.
Orthodox theology distinguishes between divine Essence and
Energies. Kenosis therefore is a paradox and a mystery since
"emptying oneself" in fact fills the person with divine grace and
results in union with God. Kenosis in Orthodox theology is the
transcending or detaching of oneself from the world or the
passions, it is a component of dispassionation. Much of the
earliest debates between the Arian and Orthodox Christians were
over kenosis. The need for clarification about the human and divine
nature of the Christ (see the hypostatic
union) where fought over the meaning and example that Christ
gave of kenosis or ekkenosis.
Protestantism
Another perspective is the idea that God is self-emptying. He poured out himself to create the cosmos and the universe, and everything within it. Therefore, it is our duty to pour out ourselves. (This is similar to C.S. Lewis's statement in Mere Christianity that a painter pours his ideas out in his work, and yet remains quite a distinct being from his painting.) In so doing, we become deified like God. Another term for this process is theosis.The kenotic ethic
The kenotic ethic is the ethic of Jesus, considered as the ethic of sacrifice. The Phillipians passage urges believers to imitate Christ's self-emptying. In this interpretation, Paul was not primarily putting forth a theory about God in this passage, rather he was using God's humility exhibited in the incarnation event as a call for Christians to be similarly subservient to others.Kenosis in literary aesthetics or poetics
Kenosis is the affect (feeling) experienced by
the reader of lyric or poetry forms. It is the experience of the
emptying of the ego-personality of the reader into the immediate
sensory manipulation of poetics. In this sense, kenosis inflicts an
experience of timelessness upon the reader. Compare with catharsis
which is the affect created by drama and kairosis which is the
affect created by novels.
Notes
See also
External links
kenosis in German: Kenosis
kenosis in French: Kénose
kenosis in Interlingua (International Auxiliary
Language Association): Kenosis
kenosis in Portuguese: Kenosis
kenosis in Russian: Кенозис
kenosis in Slovak: Kenosis
kenosis in Finnish: Kenotismi