Jesus' divinity Flashcards
The divine Jesus? The son of God
In Jewish terms, often used to refer to the King, anointed by God to do His will on earth.
Hence, the hope that an anointed person would deliver Israel politically, morally and spiritually.
Hebrew for anointed - Messiah
Greek for anointed - Christos
Son of God = Christ(os)
1st century non-Jewish Greek world - son of God meant a human, elevated to divine.
“Truly this man was God’s son!” (Mark 15:39) - remarked by Roman centurion at Jesus’ death.
The divine Jesus? Jesus as merely mortal
It is unclear whether the centurion meant Jesus was the son of God or a son of God.
In time, Christian leaders accepted Jesus as both fully human and fully divine.
Council of Chalcedon 451 - “One and same Son, the same perfect in Godhead and the same perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man… one and the same Son, only-begotten, divine Word, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Chalcedonian definition of faith, defining Jesus Christ).
This makes defining Jesus as ‘son of God’ difficult and remains to be finalised.
Arianism - a heresy about Jesus’ nature
Arianism is a Christological position that Jesus, as the son of God, was created by God. Arianism is often considered a form of Unitarian theology in that it stresses God’s unity at the expense of the trinity. Arius’ basic premise was the uniqueness of God, who is alone self-existent and immutable; the son, who is not self-existent, cannot therefore be the self-existent and immutable God. Because the Godhead is unique, it cannot be shared or communicated. Because the Godhead is immutable, the Son, who is mutable, must, therefore, be deemed a creature who has been called into existence out of nothing and has had a beginning. Moreover, the Son can have no direct knowledge of the Father, since the Son is finite and of a different order of existence.
Opponents to Arianism
In 325, the council of Nicaea was convened to settle the controversy. The council condemned Arius as a heretic and issued a creed to safeguard ‘orthodox’ Christian belief. The creed states that the son is homoouion to Patri, thus declaring him to be all that the Father is: he is completely divine.
Bishop St. Athanasius - Arius’ teachings reduced the Son to a demigod, reintroduced polytheism, and undermined the Christian concept of redemption, since only he who was truly God could be deemed to have reconciled humanity to the Godhead.
Christology: from above/high Christology
Focus is on Jesus’ divinity and God’s act of bringing humanity back into relationship with him.
Relies on faith, cannot be proved.
Christology: from below/low Christology
Focus is on Jesus’ message, teaching and the examples he set.
The focus of salvation is on how people respond to Jesus and the way this helps to develop their relationship to God and the world.
Evidence for Jesus as divine - miracles
Jesus accompanies his words with many ‘mighty works and wonders and signs’ which manifest that the kingdom is present in him and attest that he was the promised Messiah. - Catechism of the Catholic Church 547
“So miracles strengthen faith in the One who does his Father’s works; they bear witness that he is the Son of God” - Catechism of the Catholic Church 548
As testified to in the awe shown in the disciples’ recognition - “Who then is this, that even the wind and sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41).
Biblical evidence of miracles
Mark 6:47-52 - Jesus calms the storm.
Corinthians 15:13-15 - The resurrection of Jesus as evidence.
John 9:1-41 - Jesus heals a man born blind. The Pharisees investigate the healing. Spiritual blindness.
Hume’s essay on miracles
Rejects Jesus as divine. Takes a scientific world view. Because we have no present day, direct experience of miracles so it is not possible to trust the account.
Miracles must either be taken on trust or rejected. If accepted then this points to Jesus’ power over nature.
Edward Schillebeeckx on Jesus calming the storm
Demythologising. Miracles have a spiritual or metaphorical meaning rather than a literal.
Jesus is the source of calm in everyday life.
N. T Wright on Jesus calming the storm.
Jesus joins them and brings calm - foretaste of his kingdom.
Symbolism of Jesus healing a man born blind
Sign of Jesus’ power.
Sin - sin caused illness - question: can any sin justify being born blind.
Jesus identifies his action as a pointer to the power of God working in him.
Jesus is considered a sinner by the Pharisees for having worked on the Sabbath.
Action of healing - linked to the wider purpose of Jesus and his identity, not just as an incredible miracle.
N. T Wright on Jesus healing the man born blind.
Suggests we need to think about ordinary people who experience turmoil in their life.
Jesus is reuniting socially excluded, ritually unclean, separated groups back into a relationship with God.
Miracles show greater authority than simply a power to alter the universe. Gathers the community of all Israel for the renewed covenant and the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus is inaugurating God’s kingdom on earth. - better than the world before.
Jesus’ resurrection as a sign of his divinity
Sins can only be forgiven through Jesus Christ.
The Messiah was promised in Isaiah 52 and 53., who would save them from sin. Accepting Jesus’ perfect sacrifice restores their relationship with God.
God is holy.
Sin and holiness are incompatible - The fall, humans are born into ‘sin nature’.
Sin separates us from God
Sin’s punishment is eternal death.
Atoning sacrifice - Jesus as the on perfect God-man.
Jesus existed to be sacrificed and atone for sins. Sometimes known as the second Adam.
Jesus’ self-awareness: problems
If Jesus was clearly aware of his divine nature all the time, then how could he have been a normal human being too.
His childhood would not have been human in any sense that we would recognise.
He would have been aware of adult aspects of life.
As an adult he would have known what was going to happen, he would have been able to see inside of people’s minds and would have had a clear sense of place and purpose in the universe.
