The person of Jesus christ

Question 1

Jesus a teacher of wisdom?

Answer 1

• do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets but to fulfill. This is ambiguous- some argue that he is saying he is the son of god. Others suggest he is saying as a reformer, there fir his authority comes from wisdom and understanding demonstrated through moral teachings

Question 2

Jesus a teacher of wisdom

Moral teachings 1

Answer 2

• forgiveness and repentance - demonstrated in the story of the prodigal son or lost son who returned to his father humbled

Question 3

Jesus teacher of wisdom?

Moral teaching 2

Answer 3

Motive and inner purity - in the sermon on the mount he tells his listeners that they should control their thought as well as their actions, by checking
Anger they will avoid murder - au, to be morally perfect

Question 4

Jesus teacher of wisdom?

Moral teaching 3

Answer 4

Personal responsibility - morality requires personal responsibility not blind obedience to the rules. E.g Jesus curing the sick on the sabbath even tho this was a risk which could have resulted in the death penalty

Question 5

Jesus teacher of wisdom?

Supernatural elements?

Answer 5

For many who regard Jesus as a teacher of wisdom the super natural elements of the Jesus story are to be dismissed e.g the virgin birth, or resurrection. They were simple early inventions by the church to prove divinity. If super natural claims are stripped left with the real jesus

Question 6

Jesus teacher of wisdom?

Only Christianity?

Answer 6

• Jesus is not in competition with other religious figures as he was one of many wisdom teachers
• however if this is the case then there is no reason to adopt Christianity as a faith over any other

Question 7

Jesus as a liberator?

Background?

Answer 7

The zealots were freedom fighters who used violence in a attempt to rid Palestine of the romans, one of his disciples was a zealot (Simon)

Question 8

Jesus a liberator?

Brandon?

Answer 8

Brandon (1967) wrote a book called Jesus and the zealots in which he argued Jesus to be a political freedom fighter but the bible toned this down to make him a pacifist.
The book was widely condemned but it was popular in areas of obsessive regime

Question 9

Jesus as a liberator?

Liberation theology?

Answer 9

The civil war and massive exploitation of the poor in Latin America (1960-90) many catholic priests found inspiration in the idea of Jesus as a zealot.
Movement liberation theology, argued that the church for to long portrayed Jesus as politically neutral. They preferred to see Jesus as someone who supported the poor and exploited

Question 10

Jesus as a liberator?

The father of liberation theology?

Answer 10

Gustavo Gutierrez argued that we should recognise that Christ faced the same sorts of problems that the world faces today.

Question 11

Jesus as a liberator?

Evidence?

Answer 11

• Jesus chose to mix with tax collectors and sinners. Sinners were impure and included sexually impure bastards and prostitutes and heretics e.g Samaritans.
• also surrounded himself with people of the land e.g uneducated farmers and fisherman or servants.
• teachings aimed at ordinary people not people studying religious texts

Question 12

Jesus as a liberator?

Evaluation?

Answer 12

• many argue Jesus authority to be spiritually based, at his trial when asked if he was king of the Jews his response was “ my kingdom is not of this world”
• garden of Goethsemane scolded disciple, ‘those who live by the sword die by the sword’ more pacifist statement

Question 13

Jesus as son of god?

Answer 13

For many christians Jesus’ authority comes from acting on gods behalf.
Others rogue he was god in human forms

Question 14

Jesus as song of god?

Context?

Answer 14

• for Jews the son of gods was the messiah, a spiritual and political leader that would become a new king David
• Roman beliefs, son of god meant a human being who has been elevated to divine status
• ideas mixed Jesus viewed as both fully human and spiritual

Question 15

Jesus as son of god?

Early church teachings?

Answer 15

Church teachings divided over Jesus

• nestorius argued that the divine and the human are completely separate but only become one when human Jesus will become one with gods will
• docetism argues that Jesus only appeared to be human it would be impossible for a perfect god to become a imperfect human

Question 16

Jesus as son of god?

Christology?

Answer 16

Trying to fathom the relationship between Jesus and God called christology
Kind 1 -christology from above: focuses on Jesus divinity and his coming to earth to re establish a relationship with god
Kind 2 - christology from below: focuses on Jesus example as a human and his teachings

Question 17

Jesus as son of god?

Christology example?

Answer 17

Jesus could perform miracles such as calming a storm his disciples said who is this that even the wind and waves obey him.
High christology would argue this as evidence of divinity
Low christology would argue would are that other people within the bible could perform miracles

Question 18

Jesus as son of god?

Was jesus unique?

Answer 18

High christology would argue that only jesus was unique in the fact that he was a divine human
Low christology would suggest that every human is unique but jesus teachings and personal insight to gods will makes him unique