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. Giussani argues that if we accept the hypothesis that the mystery entered the realm of human existence and spoke in human terms, 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. The argument presented is supported with documentation from the gospels and other theological writings.