The liberal theologian Ernst Troeltsch argued that the traditional belief in Jesus as the incarnation of God could no longer be held in the modern world. This study provides a close analysis of his argument.

`a connoisseur's piece that will benefit any biblical interpreter who takes seriously the problems Troeltsch exposed ... It is an invitation, in the spirit of Troeltsch, for expansion into the newer social sciences for investigation into feeling and imagination in the religious life.' Eshter Reed, Brill (Bibilical Interpretation 7,2) `a scrupulously fair, well-informed and balanced study of a major German thinker' David L. Edwards, Church Times `a lucid, well argued and meticulously researched mapping of a fairly swampy area ... the book is a pleasure to read and the announcement of a significant new theological voice' J. Gorringe, Expository Times `a major contribution to international Troeltsch studies ... It is meticulously researched and written in lean clear prose.' Gavin D'Costa, West London Institute of Higher Education, Religion `This is no doubt the best and most thorough rehabilitation Troeltsch is likely to get. His question is the one left over from the Enlightenment: how can the Absolute be expressed in contingent language?' The Heythrop Journal