Kenoticism

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A Christian theological doctrine holding that Christ voluntarily emptied himself of divine attributes when taking on human nature in the incarnation
2. The belief that the Son of God set aside his full divine glory and power in order to live as a human being
3. Teaching centred on the idea that Jesus relinquished his divine prerogatives through a humble self-emptying in becoming human

Etymology: In the Greek New Testament, Philippians 2:7 says Christ "emptied himself" ("heauton ekenosen"), using the verb "kenoō," meaning "to empty." Theologians took this verse to mean that in becoming human, the divine Son set aside some of his divine attributes. The noun "kenosis" (self-emptying) came from that verb, and the "-ism" ending was added later to name the doctrine. The most influential version was developed in the 1850s and 1860s by the German Lutheran theologian Gottfried Thomasius, who argued that Christ gave up qualities such as omnipresence and omniscience while keeping his essential divine nature. Critics objected that this made the incarnate Christ less than fully God, and the position was debated fiercely in nineteenth-century Protestant circles. The English term likely appeared in theological writing in the late nineteenth century, though I am not certain of the exact first use.