At many points in Christian history. including our day, "theologies of glory" have been very popular. These theologies of glory all have numerous problems because they are not rooted in the totality of Scripture. They focus on human accomplishment. They are not realistic about the fallen human condition or about the need for divine grace. They also obscure the unity of Law and Gospel. Either they focus on some version of the Law and supposed human abilities to fulfill it. Or they have some truncated and sentimentalized view of the Gospel, not rooted in the Cross of Christ. Theologies of glory are weak theologies that cannot resolve human longings for a relationship with God. Worst of all, they obscure the unique redeeming work of Jesus Christ.
By contrast, the theology of the cross focuses on Jesus Christ and is related to many basic Christian doctrines. Indeed, the theology of the cross might be considered more of an evangelical perspective than a specific doctrine. It is a way of viewing all things in light of the cross of Christ, and it should permeate all of Christian theology. The theology of the cross underlies all of the Reformation solas.
In a sense, the theology of the cross summarizes all that Jesus Christ has done for human salvation. At His Incarnation, the Christ Child is already the one who will suffer (Luke 2; 34-35). His earthly ministry is filled with foreshadowings of His suffering and death. Besides the Passion accounts, even the Resurrection accounts remind us that He is the crucified One. Indeed, even the ascended Christ who intercedes at the right hand of the Father is still the crucified one. It is often said that every good Christian theology is Christocentric, and so it must be. Even further, any theology that is truly Christocentric must also be “crucicentric." To paraphrase St. Paul
