Logos Reading 1 : The Theological Exegesis of Joseph Ratzinger,Justin Martyr,and Irenaeus of Lyons

Abstract

Right theological exegesis requires a “Logos theology”—a framework of interpretation that sees the incarnate Logos as the unifying principle of reality and of Scripture. A metaphysically realist approach to the world, which understands that there is unified teleological order and a ratio undergirding it, is a notion traditionally associated with Greek thought. For this reason, to say that there is a logos that unifies reality, as John’s Gospel says, is to say that Christian revelation gives shelter to traditionally Greek metaphysics. The thesis is therefore that a Logos theology is necessary to fully understand reality as a whole, including a right understanding of Scripture. This way of reading Scripture is already in the New Testament itself, reaffirmed in the early Christian writings of Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, and remains today thanks to efforts of Joseph Ratzinger.