person of jesus Flashcards
which church came up with hypostatic union
church of Chalceon AD451
hypostatic union
the idea that jesus is both fully human and fully god
- “truly god and truly man”
- two natures that join together
god is one substance (—) yet three persons (——-)
ousia
hypostasis
Channing on hypostatic union
‘infinite confusion’
how can god be divine but human, almighty yet weak, ignorant and omniscient
hick on hypostatic union - metaphor
to say jesus is god is like saying a circle is also a square
what two theologians argue that reason cannot be used to understand the trinity
Augustine and Barth
biblical evidence for the trinity
- the father and i are one
- the word became flesh
- through him all things were made (suggests word was there for creation)
biblical evidence agasinst the trinity
trinity isnt even said in the bible
how does hick critique biblical evidence for the trinity
four
- son of god was common term in judaism for special person - ceaser was called son of god - common to be on coins with emperor on them
- jesus never claimed he was son of god in a unique sense
- earlier claims of divinity do not exist in earlier gospels, mainly johns which is newest and most unreliable
- human invention - applies demythologisation
who argued the bible needs to be demythologised
Bultmann
what inconsistincies are there about jesus’ birth in the gospels
marks is earliest gospels and mentions no divine birth - jesus is presented as a disciple
mathew and luke come next and they mention a divine birth
john is last and presents jesus as existing before incarnation as the word
how is jesus portrayed as divine in marks gospel, the earliest one
at baptism god speaks from heavens “you are my beloved son, with you I am well pleased”
jesus quiets a storm and walks on water
which gospel is the earliest and which is the latest
mark
john
do miracles prove jesus was divine
+evaluate this
lots of prophets did miracles - moses parted red sea etc
however, he had unique control over miracles and could choose when to perform them (moses had a staff)
Reimarus on historical jesus
three
deluded about being messiah, after death his disciples hid his body and lied about ressurcetion
- only did miracles for those who had faith in his not ‘sensible’‘learned’ ppl
- miracles written 30-60 years after his death
who claimed that if the ressurection didnt happen, faith was pointless
st paul
why does N.T Wright argue that the ressurection is valid
- mentioned in old testament about the messiah that would resurrect
- women found him first - if they were lying they wouldve had him be discovered by men since they are more believable
- these astonishing things in a very conservative religion must mean they are not lies
hallucination hypothesis and how does wright respond
disciples could have just been having a religious hallucination about the ressurection
response:
visions of dead common in ancient judaism so they would have known if it were that
how does keith parsons develop Wrights ideas on ressurection
how do we determine how strong a change in beliefs was to have been of human origin
jesus himself was so radical that it doesnt seem unrealistic that his disciples would be able to come up with it (said he had authoirty to forgive sins etc
Zealot
A member of the Jewish political/military movement that fought against Rome in the first century AD
- jesus’ disciples were seen as zealots like judas
what is the main teaching of Jesus from sermon on the mount
beatitudes
what are the beatitudes
said on sermon on the mount
blessed are poor, meek, hungry for justice etc
what suggests that Jesus is more than a teacher of wisdom and has higher authority
said things that went against Moses which suggests he has higher authority
criticises eye for an eye
“but I say” and then turn the other cheek etc if someone slaps u
Lewis on Jesus as a moral teacher
nonsense !! Jesus was either god, insane or evil
Although - could have just thought he was divine but was deluded like Reimarus
who thought Jesus was deluded
Reimarus
Did hick think Jesus was the son of god
explain
not in unique sense but a ‘guru’ and role model - influenced by bultmanns demythologisation
- resurrection symbolises gods gift
- true myths that weren’t literally true but inspired us
who argued we should demythologise the bible
bultmann
what does bultmann argue
demythologise the bible - translate into ideas fitting modern culture since it is hard for modern audiences to accept
eg - resurrection is about raising of church due to faith of disciples to preach
literalist and liberalist approach to bible
and bultmanns response to both
- literalist approach was to believe the myths literally by denying the modern advances in knowledge that contradict them. Bultmann rejected this sort of blind faith as spiritually empty.
- The liberal approach ignores the myths and focusing only on the moral teachings found in the Bible. Bultmann rejected this approach because it reduces Christianity to a mere moral philosophy, a set of teachings, rather than an encounter with a way of life.
how should the ressurrection story be taken according to bultmann
how can this be evaluated
should be demythologized and viewed as symbolising ‘God’s gift of renewal’ and ‘life transcending death’
- Jesus did not rise from the dead and was not the son of God in a unique sense.
only a divine being could save us from our sins (atonement)
what is the moral exemplar theory
HICK
Jesus was just a human and so certainly died, but that the power of his sacrifice was merely as an example of moral life so inspiring that it influences us to be better and thereby saves us from our sins in that sense. So, Jesus didn’t have to be a divine being to save us from our sins.
how does NT Wright criticise Bultmann
three
gospels are not symbols they are historical docments that tell us something
- bultmann goes too far by reducing it to a symbol
that yes, they need to be read criticially but there is still some truth there
- critical realism (ppl have their own worldview that has biases)
how does the parable of samaritan show jesus as the liberator
teaches us to not have prejudice - going agaisnt norms of the times
explain what Friere meant by ‘conscientisation’ (liberation theology)
describes the awareness someone can come to of the power structures in a society.
Freire thought that education should be used to transform society to fix unjust power imbalances.
The preferential option for the poor is a term first used by Father Pedro Arrupe which refers to the way the Bible and Jesus …
showed a preference for poor people
- Jesus also seemed to say the poor and less fortunate were blessed, ( in the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount)
what do liberation theolgians argue
christians need to fix current world and fight exploitation and oppression of the poor
(began in latin america which was undeveloped and was facing a choice between continued capitalism or socialism)
quote about camel and rich men going to heaven
“it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God’
liberation theology is based upon the teachings of
jesus
