Overview

In At the Origin of the Christian Claim Luigi Giussani examines Christ’s claim to identify himself with the mystery that is the ultimate answer to our search for the meaning of existence. If we accept the hypothesis that the mystery entered the realm of human existence and spoke in human terms, Giussani argues, the relationship between the individual and God is no longer based on a moral, imaginative, or aesthetic human effort but instead on coming upon an event in one’s life. Thus the religious method is overturned by Christ: in Christianity it is no longer the person who seeks to know the mystery but the mystery that makes himself known by entering history. At the Origin of the Christian Claim, newly revised by John Zucchi, presents an intriguing argument supported with ample documentation from the gospels and other theological writings.

Full Product Details

Author:   Luigi Giussani
Publisher:   McGill-Queen's University Press
Imprint:   McGill-Queen's University Press
ISBN:  

9780228027430

ISBN 10:   0228027438
Pages:   132
Publication Date:   20 January 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Foreword by David L. Schindler / vii Preface / xi Introduction / 3 The Religious Factor and Life / 3 The Dizzying Human Condition / 5 Reason in Search of a Solution / 8 1 Man’s Religious Creativity / 9 Some Attitudes of Religious Constructiveness / 10 A Range of Hypotheses / 12 2 The Need for Revelation / 15 Some Examples / 16 Facing an Unimaginable Claim / 19 3 The Enigma as a Fact Within the Human Trajectory / 21 A Radical Overturning of the Religious Method / 23 No Longer Just a Hypothesis / 24 A Problem That Must Be Solved / 25 A Problem of Fact / 27 4 How the Problem Arose in History / 29 The Fact as Criterion / 29 Concerning the Method / 32 The Starting Point / 34 5 A Profound Certainty in Time / 39 The Itinerary of Conviction / 39 A Question Arises, A Certainty Breaks Forth / 44 A Case of Moral Certainty / 46 6 The Pedagogy of Christ’s Self-Revelation / 48 The Essentials of the Pedagogy of Christ’s Self-Revelation / 51 For His Sake: The Core of Freedom / 52 The Moment of Identification / 55 7 The Explicit Declaration / 59 The First Dawning of Explicitness / 61 A Challenge / 62 The Conclusive Declaration / 65 The Discretion of Freedom / 67 8 Christ’s Conception of Life / 68 A Premise: Education in the Morality Necessary for Understanding / 68 Human Stature / 71 Human Existence / 75 An Awareness Expressed as Asking / 76 The Law of Life / 80 Conclusion / 85 9 Facing the Claim / 87 The Mystery of the Incarnation / 87 An Extraordinary Historical Reality / 88 The Terms of This New Reality / 90 Instinctive Resistance / 91 Conclusion / 92 Notes / 95 Subject Index / 113 Author Index / 117

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Author Information

Monsignor Luigi Giussani (1922-2005) was the founder of the Catholic lay movement Communion and Liberation in Italy. His works are available in over twenty languages.

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