THEO1 NTC Midterms

Low Christology

Study of Jesus focusing on his humanity and the human aspects of his life, without including his divinity.

High Christology

Study of Jesus that includes an understanding of his divine nature and attributes.

Christology from above

studying Jesus christ from the perspective of him being god then becoming man to save us

Christology from below

studying Christ from his humanity then tracing upward, or how he became god

What does Christology teach us?

Christology teaches that Jesus had to be man so he could die, and had to be God so his death would pay for our sins.

Christology

The study of the nature and work of Jesus Christ, particularly his relation to God and humanity.

Jesus Christ is…

true god and true man

What do humans have an innate desire for?

Humans have a natural tendency and innate desire to relate with a supreme being.

Why is direct communication impossible?

Due to the disparity between humans and God (humans being pure spirits, God being an embodied spirit), the medium used must pass through our senses, using these tangible elements (sacramental principle)

Revelation within a person

Logos, Shekinah

Revelation outside a person

other people, events, created universe

Logos

God’s revelation through intellect

Shekinah

God’s revelation, felt within the heart.

Sacramental principle

The belief that spiritual truths are communicated through tangible elements in the world.

Qahal Yahweh

considered a sacrament of God; the word itself means assembly or church of God

Natural Sacraments

Water rituals

Rituals of initiation

Ritual meals

Atonement rituals

Healing Rituals

Funeral rituals

Marriage rituals

Ordination rituals

Biblical inerrancy

The belief that the Bible is free from error in its teachings and messages.

False Loci of Authority

not in the community that collected the tradition or that formed the canon; not in the reconstructed tradition that underlie the books of the Bible; not in the reconstructed "real jesus" of the Jesus Seminar; not in the personal experience/ reading of Sacred Scripture

This Locus of authority of Sacred Scripture is contained / embedded in the

content itself of the bible

Because God is the authority

behind Sacred Scripture is God of all time; then authority of Sacred Scripture extends to us.

Locus of authority lies beyond the documents

demands obedience as it is God himself who speaks

The Gospels

Authority of the Lord and a Collection of Gospels

The authority of Sacred Scripture functions not to validate human experience, rather…

to correct it

Why do Sacred Scriptures have authority?

because God uses the text to carry out salvific plans

Historical Development of the Canon of Scripture

The process through which the authoritative texts of Christianity were compiled and recognized.

Five major churches in early Christianity

Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch.

Gospels

The first four books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) that narrate the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

Apostolic tradition

The teachings and practices that have been passed down from the apostles to subsequent generations of Christians.

Dialectical Christology

An approach combining critical historical analysis with theological reflection on faith regarding Christ.

Canon of Scripture

The official list of books accepted as sacred scripture in Christianity, including 46 books for the Old Testament and 27 for the New Testament.

Historical Development of the Canon of Scripture

Letters of Polycarp in 135 AD, Justin in 165 AD who was the first to use Gospel in plural, Marcion who estimated the first known canon

Irenaeus

180 AD, 4 gospels, no more, no less

Tatian

combines the 4 gospels, using John’s as framework, into 1 narrative, which was called the Diatessaron and used for at least 2 centuries by the church in Syria

Criteria for Canonicity

• Early date

• Liturgical use

• Apostolic authorship

ultimate criteria: rule of faith

Gospels written not included in the canon

gospel of Thomas, Gnostics, Infancy Gospel of James about childhood of Mary

Apologetics were against heretics, such as….

Gnostics

The authority of the Lord resided in ___ ____ for several years

Oral Tradition

Christians preferred this even after decades of written gospels being available

Gospels

make the universal message particular to the local church

Epistles

make the particular universal

Adoptionism

The belief that Jesus became the Son of God at his baptism rather than being inherently divine from birth.

Why does the gospel of Mark portray the suffering Jesus?

The gospel of Mark portrays the suffering Jesus because it was written during the time that Christians were being persecuted, and needed that portrayal of Jesus suffering so as to know that he empathizes with their suffering.

What is the first theological experience about Jesus?

Redemption (soteriology)—people first recognized Jesus as the source of salvation.

Which Gospel was written first, and what did it emphasize?

Mark (60-70 AD)—Starts with Jesus’ baptism, identifying him as the Son of God.

Which Gospels introduce Jesus’ infancy narratives?

Matthew (70-90 AD) and Luke (70-90 AD)—Jesus was chosen from birth.

What question arose after the infancy narratives?

Who is Jesus Christ in relation to:

Us? → Our Savior

God? → Son of God

What does John (90-100 AD) declare about Jesus?

Jesus was God from all eternity, not just from his birth or baptism.

Content of the Catholic Canon

39 protocanonical books, 7 apocryphal books which took longer to determine canonicity of

Formation of the Canon

180 AD—Irenaeus, in Against the Heresies, has closed canon of 4 gospels

200 AD—Most churches had 20 books

400 AD—only then is the canon of 27 books fixed

The word “Canon”

a transliteration of the Greek word "kanon" which was derived from the Semitic word for reed. Literally, it meant a straight measuring tool; Metaphorically, it meant a norm or standard. Presently, it is a book that the church acknowledges as belonging to a list of sacred books, as inspired by God, and as having a regulating (rule) vale for faith and morals

Factors that led to writing of the New Testament

Geographical distance

Chronological distance

Theories of inspiration

Various explanations of how God influenced the human authors of the Bible in their writing.

Biblical Inspiration

the Christian belief that God guided the human authors of the Bible, making their writings the word of God

Maximizing direction theories of inspiration

from God to man

• Hypnotic theory

• Condescension

• Aquinas instrument causality

• Verbal Dictation

Hypnotic theory

This theory states that biblical writers were possessed by God. Weaknesses of this theory are that the writer lost their literary sense and were used as mere agents, and that it has no historically original meaning

Condescension

God going down to the level of humans and adopting his language to a level humans can comprehend

Aquinas Instrument Causality

god making use of an instrument, and humans are the instrument he used

Verbal Dictation

God communicates the language of scriptures to human authors supernaturally while respecting the writer's individuality. Strengths this theory possesses are the retrieval of literary sense and the historically original meaning. Weaknesses are that the literary sense is only in a technical meaning, and that it would have to subscribe to the theory of verbal inerrancy

Minimizing direction theories of inspiration

from man to God

• Subsequent approbation theory

• Negative assistance theory

• Levesque’s Theory of Directionalism

• Lagrange’s Theory of Illumination

• Rahner’s Social Inspiration

Subsequent Approbation Theory

inspiration is retroactive: canonization by the church imbues the biblical book with inspiration. teaches that the church only recognizes books that are already inspired

Negative Assistance Theory

God will intervene in the human author's writing process only when the author is about to commit a mistake

Levesque theory of directionalism

God gives an inspiration but it is up to the writer themself to write the content

Lagrange’s Theory of Illumination

enables writers to judge worldly experience according to God's will

Rahner’s Social Inspiration

The Bible was inspired not through individual authors but through the entire faith community.

Starting points of Christology

• New Testament

• Creed and Dogma of the Church

• Faith of the Christian people

• Historical-Critical people

• Dialectical Christology

Divino Afflante Spiritu

often called the Magna Carta of Catholic biblical scholarship. the Church was now telling its biblical scholars and theologians that they were free to use a “scientific” approach to biblical scholarship, even though many more conservative scholars feared that this would lead to a rationalism harmful to the faith

Dei Verbum

affirms that scriptures are inspired, but emphasizes that the biblical writers are the "true authors"

Four major themes in Jesus’ miracles

Deliverance, Forgiveness of Sins, Light, Life