Well, there are ways one can express the mission of the Spirit where it still draws one back to Christ while still being “abroad” as you find in the Acts. Balthasar talks about the “seed of the Word” and “seed of the Spirit.” Of course the two work and reveal together, and yet in distinct ways.

As for his Christology, I think there is room for what he says, even St Cyril of Alexandria goes about describing the work of the Logos in Jesus in similar terms (I wish I knew offhand where it was in his On the Unity of Christ). You will also find similar terms in St Athanasius… which is why I think he is very Alexandrian (which, however, not Nestorian, has dangers of the Logos-Sarx makeup and its tendency to see the humanity almost as a body suit for the Logos).

I studied Depuis’ Christianity and the Religions in a graduate seminar, and I found it to be an insightful if uneven read. I do not think Depuis ever ventured out of the doctrine of the unique mediatorship of Christ, but his Christology, it seemed to me, was problematic in two respects: 1. It seemed a bit Nestorian, for he tended to vascillate between the Logos as independent of the homo assumptus and “Jesus” as particular to time and culture; 2. He seemed to tear Christology and pneumatology apart, suggesting that the Holy Spirit’s mission in the world extends beyond that of Jesus’.

I think Depuis, who was defended by O’Collins, clearly was within the tradition, even though it is possible some things he said were not as clear as they could be (this, however, is true with many theologians, great and small alike). When I met him soon before his death, we discussed the field and agreed on many of the problems within it; we acknowledged our appreciation of many people in it while noticing they do indeed depart from the Christian tradition.

Haight might claim his view is in accord with inter-religious thought, but that really is an insult to inter-religious work. His text rightfully deserved the condemnation it got. His is more along the lines of an Arian, Semi-Adoptionist Christology, written with too many equivocations to shake a stick at. When I went through his major work, I just kept writing all kinds of nasty comments within.

Dr Phan – I like his work, and he is indeed a very nice man, but I have seen elements of what he wrote to be questionable in a way beyond Depuis. I would recommend his work to people interested in the field, but I would also suggest to read it with a critical eye; as my pieces on inter-religious dialogue point out, it should be done with the aim of preserving the Christian faith in and through that dialogue. I think Dr Phan is trying, and I think he would (in the end) accept the Church’s decision, but I think he wants to work out how (and sometimes that is understandable, as well).