Person of Jesus Flashcards
What did Zeffirelli say about Jesus and divinity?
“Christians have no problem accepting Christ as holy, as God. But they always have problems accepting him also as a human being at the same time”
What does Jesus call God? What does that suggest?
“Abba” (Greek for father)
Suggests that Jesus really was the son of God
What did the Council of Chalcedon say about Jesus’ two natures?
- Christ has two natures which came together in one person - he’s “truly God, truly man”
- Believe these two natures were a ‘perfect conjunction’
What questions can be asked about Jesus’ two natures?
- Did Jesus have a sinful nature of the kind St Paul/Augustine writes about? How could you be holy AND corrupted?
- If he was God, did he suffer on the cross? How did they kill something divine? Was his resurrection just a dramatic ploy?
- Did he actually have emotions or was he just pretending to have them?
What did Gerald O’Collins say about Jesus’ two natures?
- Jesus left no writings! His inner experiences are hard to fathom
- Collins believed he knew about his mission of salvation and his unique relationship with the Father, intuitively aware of his divine nature
What did Karl Rahner say about Jesus’ two natures?
- A genuinely human conscious must have an unknown future
- God’s awareness could hardly mean he’s human
- Instead, Jesus must be like an onion with many layers
- Human on the surface, divinity buried deep underneath
What did John Hick say about Jesus’ two natures?
- If Jesus was only aware of God’s will and willingness to act, he wasn’t very different to many like Moses or Muhammed
- After all, Moses could part the seas and there have been many other holy people
- The label ‘Son of God’ was a popular title in Judaism to describe a special person chosen by God. Jesus may not have been truly, divinely unique
- Concludes that Christianity would become one of many religions that just perceives God in a different way. It’s uniqueness is in God’s incarnation through Christ
What did CS Lewis say about Jesus being a teacher of wisdom?
- Rejects anyone who accepted Jesus as a teacher but not the son of God
- “He would be a lunatic”
- You can’t just pick and choose bits of Jesus you wish to follow
What did Dawkins say about Jesus being a teacher of wisdom?
Said that ‘Jesus was a great moral teacher’
What is the Bleeding Woman story? In which Gospel is it in?
- Mark 5
- Jesus heals a bleeding woman through touch - something that was scandalous at that time
- Shows he was breaking down social norms - women would’ve been stoned to death if Jesus had shouted that she was touching him
What does Hume say about miracles?
- We have no present day, direct experiences of miracles. It’s impossible to say that Jesus walked on water currently
- Despite this, are we just cynical/skeptical now which means we don’t see miracles right now?
What do miracles show about Jesus’ nature?
They’re things only God can do, suggesting that Jesus is mainly divine in nature
What may question the validity of miracles in showing Jesus is divine?
- Miracles may be metaphorical/spiritual, not literal
- Did the Gospel writers really write accurately about Jesus? Did they not alter/embellish details to make Jesus seem more like an idol?
What educated term was Jesus sometimes seen as?
- A rabbi (a term of respect for educated teachers)
In what ways was Jesus a good moral teacher? (generally)
- Clearly could read and spent a lot of time preaching in synagogues
- Used controversial/surprising stories to break preconceived notions
- Practiced what he preached. His teachings remain striking today
What Gospel does the Sermon on the Mount feature in?
Matthew’s Gospel - Chapter 5-7
What did the Sermon on the Mount start with?
The Beatitudes
What do the Beatitudes say?
Blessed are the:
- Poor in spirit
- Meek
- Merciful
- Those who mourn
- Pure in heart
- Peacemakers
- Those who hunger and thirst
- Those who are persecuted for righteousness
What ethical type of philosophy does the sermon on the mount on the mount teach?
Deontological - only puts importance in intentions
What are Jesus’ 5 main moral teachings?
- Agape (love thy neighbour)
- Justice, mercy, forgiveness (woman and throwing the first stone)
- Service and humility (teaching of Jesus washing feet and you having to wash your feet in return)
- Honesty and integrity (practice what you preach)
- Spirituality, not materialism (easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle)
How was Jesus a political liberator in the eyes of the Pharisees?
- Argued with Pharisees over religious laws, challenged established institutions, authorities and rules
- Arrested by the supreme court of justice in Jerusalem (by the Sanhedrin) and handed over to Pontius Pilate for execution for CIVIC crimes, not religious
- The temple story
- The early church certainly had enough motive to simply hide Jesus’ revolutionary tendencies to avoid persecution
What did Jesus want out of political/social revolution?
Wanted the people of Israel to be liberated from Roman Occupation (in a time of poverty, assassination, murders, military rebellion). Wanted societal change
How did Jesus’ friends suggest he was a political revolutionary?
- Friends with Zealots - a group that was leading the open conflict
- Eg. Simon the Zealot or Judas Iscariot (with iscarri meaning ‘dagger man’, another name for Zealot)
What is an example of Jesus doing an obviously politically driven thing?
- On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey as passover was at its height (meaning there’d be an abundance of military personnel) while the crowd laid cloaks and palm branches to symbolise the Maccabees (who’d liberated Israel from Roman control 2 centuries before)
- Clearly an event orchestrated to show the long awaited Messiah coming to set Israel free
