The person of jesus Flashcards
3 examples of Jesus’ moral teachings
- forgiveness/repentance. E.g. in the Lord’s Prayer we are taught to say ‘ forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us’ . When asked how many times we should forgive , Jesus says ‘seventy times seven ‘ I.e. as may as it takes
2 motive/ inner purity. On the sermon on the mount he tells his listeners that they should control their thoughts as well as their actions. By checking anger they will avoid murder
- personal responsibility . E.g. keeping the sabbath holy
for those we follow the idea that Jesus was just a teacher of wisdom why should the supernatural elements of Jesus be dismissed ?
- they are unscientific inventions by the early church to prove Christ’s divinity
- if we take away the supernatural elements then we are left with the real Jesus
for those who see Jesus as a teacher of wisdom why is Christianity not in competition with other religions ? Hicks ideas and counter argument
- because Jesus was one of many teachers of wisdom
- Buddha, Moses etc
- Hick argues that once we start to interpret the supernatural references as symbolic of his close relationship with God, then we will be able to fully enter into a dialogue with other faiths
- counter = if this is the case then there is no reason for adopting Christianity over other faiths
who were the zealots ?
- freedom fighters
- used violence in an attempt to rid Palestine of Romans
- Simon ( Jesus’ disciple ) was a zealot
what is Brandon’s book ‘Jesus and the zealots ‘ about ?
- argued that Jesus was a politically driven freedom fighter
- but the gospel writers toned this down and made him more of a pacifist
why time period / culture found inspiration in the idea of Jesus as a zealot ?
- during the time of the civil war and massive exploitation of the poor in Latin America during the 1960s many catholic priest found inspiration in the idea of Jesus as a zealot
what is liberation theology ?
- started by catholic priests during time of civil war
- argued that the church had for too long portrayed Jesus as a politically neutral character, who spoke a lot about spiritual values but didn’t challenge the unjust social structures
- they preferred to interpret the gospels as Jesus showing a bias towards the poor and exploited in society
Bustard Gutierrex
- father of liberation theology
- argued that we should recognise that Christ faces the same sort of problems that the world faces today
- Jesus was not limited to a ‘purely spiritual plane’
Camilo Torres
- left the catholic priesthood
- joined the communist people’s army and was killed in action
- he said ‘if Jesus was alive today he would be a guerrillero’ ( freedom fighter / terrorist )
evidence in the bible as Jesus as a liberator
- he chose to mix with tax collectors and sinners I.e. those marginalised by society. Sinners were insure and if a Jew came across a sinner he was required to take a spiritual bath to remove contamination
- Jesus also surrounded himself with people of the land. Uneducated farmers, servants etc
- jesus’s teaching was revolutionary as it was aimed at ordinary people rather than those who had studies the Torah
three problems with the belief of Jesus as a liberator
- at his trail he said ‘my kingdom is not from this world ‘ suggests spiritual rather than political
- when he was arrested he said ‘live by the sword, die by the sword ‘ Seems more pacifist . Saying if you carry a sword you will die. Not what terrorist would say
- if Jesus was a revolutionary leader, than sure,y his disciples would have been arrested alongside him, for being part of the revolution . They were clearly not seen as a threat to the authorities
two ideas on Jesus as son of God
- he was a man who carried out gods will
- he was God in human form
context of the time Jesus lived
- for Jews, ‘son of God’ meant the messiah. A human chosen by God to carry out his work
- in the Greek world, son of God meant a human being who has been fully elevated to divine status
over time these ideas emerged so that Jesus was seen as both fully human and divine at the same time
what is christology and the two types of it
- trying to understand the nature of jesus’s relationship with God
- christology from above = focuses on Jesus’ divinity (being God)
- christology from below = focuses on Jesus’ example as a human and his teachings
if we assume a christology from above, what must we ask ourself ?
did Jesus know that he was God ? because if he knew that he was God then how could he be fully human ?
