jesus Flashcards
KEY FRAMEWORKS: jesus as teacher of wisdom, son of god, liberator - DO NOT ARGUE ALL 3; scriptural + scholarly support
high christology
understanding jesus through his divinity (relies on faith, cannot be proved, reliance on miracles)
low christology
understanding jesus through humanity (focuses on message/teachings/parable, relationship with other people)
conceptual frameworks of understanding who jesus was
teacher of wisdom, son of god, liberator
1 john 1:7
“the blood of jesus, his son, purifies us from all sin”
jesus’ knowledge of god
high christology view - intimate knowledge of god indicates he is the son
calls god “abba” (greek for father)
does not call himself son/acknowledge his divinity, attributed by others
council of chalcedon, 451
accepted jesus as both fully god and fully human
“one in same son, the same perfect in godhead and the same perfect in manhood”
homoousios
“same in being, same in essence”, nicene creed
garden of gethsemane (matthew 26:36-46)
high christology, scientia infusa
demonstrates awareness of crucifixion (shared god-consciousness), prays to god + displays self-knowledge of his divinity/divine plan + accepts it
does he have free will? basic part of humanity
scientia visionis
divine reality of god, face to face
scientia infusa
infused knowledge of god
scientia experientiae
knowledge of life in the normal human way
john 10:30
“the father and i are one”
john 14:9
“whoever has seen me as seen the father”
john 14:28 + meaning
“the father is greater than i” - jesus saw himself as limited by his own humanity?
karl rahner
human consciousness has unclear future, life conditioned by uncertainty
jesus had knowledge of his future (gethsemane) = cannot be human
consciousness is like an onion, many layers
gethsemane - jesus’ human self-consciousness is closer to surface, divine self/inner nature deeper
contrast w/ o’collins
gerard o’collins
‘interpreting jesus’
understanding normal humans is difficult enough, let alone god/jesus
consciousness requires inner reflection - we cannot know someone else’s consciousness
contrast w/ rahner
miracles (high vs low)
high - physical impact, proof of divinity
low - have moral implications, proof of humanity
matthew 14:22-33 (high vs low)
jesus calms the storm + walks on water w/ paul
paul doubts and sinks
high - proof of divinity, power over nature
low - peter’s faith allows him to do the impossible, doubt = succumbing to our fears
hume
miracles do not necessarily indicate jesus’ divinity
miracles described as “mighty works/signs/wonders” in bible - indicates something deeper about god + reality
miracles understood as parables
e.p sanders, resurrection
resurrection distinguishes jesus from other prophets/stories/faiths, story of hope + renewal distinguishes christianity from other religions
links w/ st paul
st paul
“but he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised” - faith without resurrection is meaningless
e.p sanders, claims
faith claim - can’t be verified rationally
reason claim - understood within limits of science + history
historical jesus = reason claim
christians make a category mistake when talking about jesus as verifiable, confusing facts and values
question of jesus as son of god can only be solved through faith not reason
rudolf bultmann
links w/ sanders
historical christ is less important than faith christ
only belief in kerygma is important not specifics of jesus
we should demythologise bible - prescientific explanation of human spirituality/psychology/philosophy through metaphor/stories often taken as fact
