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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.
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
God’s revelation through intellect
God’s revelation, felt within the heart.
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
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
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
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
