Christology

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Paolo Veronese, The Resurrection of Jesus Christ (c. 1560)
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    In

    Jewish people from foreign rulers or in the prophesied Kingdom of God, and in the salvation from what would otherwise be the consequences of sin.[1][2][3][4][5]

    The earliest Christian writings gave several titles to Jesus, such as

    Son of Man, Son of God, Messiah, and Kyrios, which were all derived from Hebrew scripture. These terms centered around two opposing themes, namely "Jesus as a preexistent figure who becomes human and then returns to God", versus adoptionism – that Jesus was human who was "adopted" by God at his baptism, crucifixion, or resurrection.[web 1] Prior to 2007 the scholarly consensus was that the divinity of Christ was a later development,[6] though most scholars now argue that a high Christology existed prior to Paul.[7][8]

    From the second to the fifth centuries, the relation of the human and divine nature of Christ was a major focus of debates in the

    early church and at the first seven ecumenical councils. The Council of Chalcedon in 451 issued a formulation of the hypostatic union of the two natures of Christ, one human and one divine, "united with neither confusion nor division".[9] Most of the major branches of Western Christianity and Eastern Orthodoxy subscribe to this formulation,[9][10] while many branches of Oriental Orthodox Churches reject it,[11][12][13] subscribing to miaphysitism
    .

    Definition and approaches

    Christology (from the Greek χριστός, khristós, 'annointed one' and -λογία, -logia), literally 'the understanding of Christ',[14] is the study of the nature (person) and work (role in salvation)[b] of Jesus Christ.[1][4][3][web 1][web 4][c] It studies Jesus Christ's humanity and divinity, and the relation between these two aspects;[5] and the role he plays in salvation.

    being[web 5]
    of Jesus Christ. Functional Christology analyzes the works of Jesus Christ, while
    salvific" standpoints of Christology.[17]

    Theologians may take several different approaches to Christology.[d] For example:

    • Christology from above[18] or high Christology[19] emphasizes approaches that include aspects of divinity (such as titles like "Lord" and "Son of God") and the idea of the pre-existence of Christ as the Logos ('the Word'),[20][19][21] (as expressed in the prologue to the Gospel of John.[e]) These approaches interpret the works of Christ in terms of his divinity. According to Pannenberg, Christology from above "was far more common in the ancient Church, beginning with Ignatius of Antioch and the second century Apologists".[21][22]
    • Christology from below[23] or low Christology[19] takes as its starting point the human aspects and the ministry of Jesus (including the miracles, parables, etc.) and moves towards his divinity and the mystery of incarnation.[20][19]

    Person of Christ

    See also: Prosopon, Hypostatic union, and Trinity
    Christ Pantocrator, Holy Trinity's monastery, Meteora, Greece

    A basic Christological teaching portrays the person of Jesus Christ as both human and divine. The human and divine natures of Jesus Christ apparently (prosopic) form a duality, as they coexist within one person (hypostasis).[24] There are no direct discussions in the New Testament regarding the dual nature of the Person of Christ as both divine and human,[24] and since the early days of Christianity, theologians have debated various approaches to the understanding of these natures, at times resulting in ecumenical councils, and in schisms.[24]

    Some historical christological doctrines gained broad support:

    • Monophysitism (Monophysite controversy, 3rd–8th centuries): After the union of the divine and the human in the historical incarnation, Jesus Christ had only a single nature. The Council of Chalcedon condemned Monophysitism as heretical in 451 CE.
    • Oriental Orthodox
      churches): In the person of Jesus Christ, divine nature and human nature are united in a compound nature ('physis').
    • Reformed Churches): Christ maintained two natures, one divine and one human, after the Incarnation; articulated by the Chalcedonian Definition
      .
    • Nontrinitarians
      .

    Influential Christologies broadly condemned as heretical[f] include:

    • Docetism (3rd–4th centuries) claimed the human form of Jesus was mere semblance without any true reality.
    • Arianism (4th century) viewed the divine nature of Jesus, the Son of God, as distinct and inferior to God the Father, e.g., by having a beginning in time.
    • Nestorianism (5th century) considered the two natures (human and divine) of Jesus Christ as almost entirely distinct.
    • Monothelitism (7th century), considered Christ to have only one will.

    Various church councils, mainly in the 4th and 5th centuries, resolved most of these controversies, resulting in the doctrine of the Trinity becoming orthodox in nearly all branches of Christianity. Among the various Christologies, only the Dyophysite doctrine was recognized as true and not heretical, becoming enshrined as Christian orthodoxy and preserved in the deposit of faith.

    Salvation

    Main articles:
    Atonement in Christianity

    In

    sin in general and original sin in particular through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus,[web 6]
    enabling the
    Gustaf Aulén (1879–1978), whose book Christus Victor came out in English translation in 1931, the various theories or paradigmata of atonement are often grouped under the headings of the "classical paradigm", the "objective paradigm", and the "subjective paradigm":[28][29][30][31]

    • Classical paradigm:[g]
    • Objective paradigm:
      • Jesus Christ suffered crucifixion as a substitute for human sin, satisfying God's just wrath against humankind's transgression due to Christ's infinite merit.[37]
      • Penal substitution, also called "forensic theory" and "vicarious punishment", which was a development by the Reformers of Anselm's satisfaction theory.[38][39][j][k] Instead of considering sin as an affront to God's honour, it sees sin as the breaking of God's moral law. Penal substitution sees sinful man as being subject to God's wrath, with the essence of Jesus' saving work being his substitution in the sinner's place, bearing the curse in the place of man.
      • Governmental theory of atonement, "which views God as both the loving creator and moral Governor of the universe."[41]
    • Subjective paradigm:
      • Abelard (1079–1142),[42][43] who argued that "Jesus died as the demonstration of God's love", a demonstration which can change the hearts and minds of the sinners, turning back to God.[42][44]
      • Faustus Socinus (1539–1604) in his work De Jesu Christo servatore (1578), who rejected the idea of "vicarious satisfaction".[m] According to Socinus, Jesus' death offers humanity a perfect example of self-sacrificial dedication to God.[44]

    Other theories are the "embracement theory" and the "shared atonement" theory.[45][46]

    Early Christologies (1st century)

    See also: Christ (title), Resurrection, Exaltation of Christ, Pre-existence of Christ, and Incarnation of Christ

    Early notions of Christ

    The earliest christological reflections were shaped by both the Jewish background of the earliest Christians, and by the Greek world of the eastern Mediterranean in which they operated.

    Son of Man, Son of God, Messiah, and Kyrios, which were all derived from Hebrew scripture.[web 1][19]
    According to Matt Stefon and Hans J. Hillerbrand:

    Until the middle of the 2nd century, such terms emphasized two themes: that of Jesus as a preexistent figure who becomes human and then returns to God and that of Jesus as a creature elected and "adopted" by God. The first theme makes use of concepts drawn from Classical antiquity, whereas the second relies on concepts characteristic of ancient Jewish thought. The second theme subsequently became the basis of "adoptionist Christology" (see adoptionism), which viewed Jesus' baptism as a crucial event in his adoption by God.[web 1]

    Historically in the

    Antiochian school viewed Christ as a single, unified human person apart from his relationship to the divine.[52][o]

    Pre-existence

    The notion of pre-existence is deeply rooted in Jewish thought, and can be found in apocalyptic thought and among the rabbis of Paul's time,[54] but Paul was most influenced by Jewish-Hellenistic wisdom literature, where "'Wisdom' is extolled as something existing before the world and already working in creation.[54] According to Witherington, Paul "subscribed to the christological notion that Christ existed prior to taking on human flesh[,] founding the story of Christ [...] on the story of divine Wisdom".[55][p]

    Kyrios

    The title Kyrios for Jesus is central to the development of New Testament Christology.[56] In the Septuagint it translates the Tetragrammaton, the holy Name of God. As such, it closely links Jesus with God – in the same way a verse such as Matthew 28:19, "The Name (singular) of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit".[57]

    Kyrios is also conjectured to be the Greek translation of Aramaic Mari, which in everyday Aramaic usage was a very respectful form of polite address, which means more than just 'teacher' and was somewhat similar to 'rabbi'. While the term Mari expressed the relationship between Jesus and his disciples during his life, the Greek Kyrios came to represent his lordship over the world.[58]

    The early Christians placed Kyrios at the center of their understanding, and from that center attempted to understand the other issues related to the Christian mysteries.[56] The question of the deity of Christ in the New Testament is inherently related to the Kyrios title of Jesus used in the early Christian writings and its implications for the absolute lordship of Jesus. In early Christian belief, the concept of Kyrios included the pre-existence of Christ, for they believed if Christ is one with God, he must have been united with God from the very beginning.[56][59]

    Development of "low Christology" and "high Christology"

    Main article:
    Exaltation of Jesus

    Two fundamentally different Christologies developed in the early Church, namely a "low" or adoptionist Christology, and a "high" or "incarnation" Christology.[7] The chronology of the development of these early Christologies is a matter of debate within contemporary scholarship.[60][61][62][web 7] There is no cosensus on the continuity or discontinuity of earthly Jesus and post-Easter christology.[63]

    The "low Christology" or "adoptionist Christology" is the belief "that God exalted Jesus to be his Son by raising him from the dead",[64] thereby raising him to "divine status".[web 8] According to the "evolutionary model"[65] or evolutionary theories,[66] the Christological understanding of Jesus developed over time,[67][68][69] as witnessed in the Gospels,[61] with the earliest Christians believing that Jesus was a human who was exalted, or else adopted as God's Son,[70][71] when he was resurrected.[69][72] Later beliefs shifted the exaltation to his baptism, birth, and subsequently to the idea of his pre-existence, as witnessed in the Gospel of John.[69] This "evolutionary model" was proposed by proponents of the Religionsgeschichtliche Schule, especially Wilhelm Bousset's influential Kyrios Christos (1913).[70] This evolutionary model was very influential, and the "low Christology" has long been regarded as the oldest Christology.[73][74][web 8][q]

    The other early Christology is "high Christology", which is "the view that Jesus was a pre-existent divine being who became a human, did the Father's will on earth, and then was taken back up into heaven whence he had originally come",[web 8][75] and from where he appeared on earth.[r] According to Bousset, this "high Christology" developed at the time of Paul's writing, under the influence of Gentile Christians, who brought their pagan Hellenistic traditions to the early Christian communities, introducing divine honours to Jesus.[76] According to Casey and Dunn, this "high Christology" developed after the time of Paul, at the end of the first century CE when the Gospel of John was written.[77]

    Since the 1970s, these late datings for the development of a "high Christology" have been contested,[78] and a majority of scholars argue that this "high Christology" existed already before the writings of Paul.[7][s] According to the "New Religionsgeschichtliche Schule",[78][web 10] or the Early High Christology Club,[web 11] which includes Martin Hengel, Larry Hurtado, N. T. Wright, and Richard Bauckham,[78][web 11] this "incarnation Christology" or "high Christology" did not evolve over a longer time, but was a "big bang" of ideas which were already present at the start of Christianity, and took further shape in the first few decades of the church, as witnessed in the writings of Paul.[78][web 11][web 8][t][u]

    There is a controversy regarding whether Jesus himself claimed to be divine. In

    John A. T. Robinson, questioned the idea.[83] John Hick, writing in 1993, mentioned changes in New Testament studies, citing "broad agreement" that scholars do not today support the view that Jesus claimed to be God, quoting as examples Michael Ramsey (1980), C. F. D. Moule (1977), James Dunn (1980), Brian Hebblethwaite (1985) and David Brown (1985).[84] Larry Hurtado, who argues that the followers of Jesus within a very short period developed an exceedingly high level of devotional reverence to Jesus.[85] According to Gerd Lüdemann, the broad consensus among modern New Testament scholars is that the proclamation of the divinity of Jesus was a development within the earliest Christian communities.[6] N. T. Wright points out that arguments over the claims of Jesus regarding divinity have been passed over by more recent scholarship, which sees a more complex understanding of the idea of God in first century Judaism.[86][u]

    New Testament writings

    The study of the various Christologies of the

    Apostolic Age is based on early Christian documents.[2]

    Paul

    Saint Paul delivering the Areopagus sermon in Athens, by Raphael
    , 1515

    The oldest Christian sources are the writings of

    Kyrios.[90] Both notions already existed before him in the early Christian communities, and Paul deepened them and used them for preaching in the Hellenistic communities.[54]

    What exactly Paul believed about the nature of Jesus cannot be determined decisively. In

    Philippians 2, Paul states that Jesus was preexistent and came to Earth "by taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness". This sounds like an incarnation Christology. In Romans 1:4, however, Paul states that Jesus "was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead", which sounds like an adoptionistic Christology, where Jesus was a human being who was "adopted" after his death. Different views would be debated for centuries by Christians and finally settled on the idea that he was both fully human and fully divine by the middle of the 5th century in the Council of Ephesus. Paul's thoughts on Jesus' teachings, versus his nature and being, are more defined, in that Paul believed Jesus was sent as an atonement for the sins of everyone.[91][92][93]

    The Pauline epistles use Kyrios to identify Jesus almost 230 times, and express the theme that the true mark of a Christian is the confession of Jesus as the true Lord.[94] Paul viewed the superiority of the Christian revelation over all other divine manifestations as a consequence of the fact that Christ is the Son of God.[web 4]

    The Pauline epistles also advanced the "cosmic Christology"[v] later developed in the Gospel of John,[96] elaborating the cosmic implications of Jesus' existence as the Son of God: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."[97] In the Epistle to the Colossians, which purports to be written by Paul (though this is disputed), relevant clams are made: "Through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven";[98][99] "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation".[100][90][95]

    The Gospels

    The Four Evangelists, by Pieter Soutman, 17th century

    The synoptic Gospels date from after the writings of Paul. They provide episodes from the life of Jesus and some of his works, but the authors of the New Testament show little interest in an absolute chronology of Jesus or in synchronizing the episodes of his life,[101] and as in John 21:25, the Gospels do not claim to be an exhaustive list of his works.[2]

    Christologies that can be gleaned from the three synoptic Gospels generally emphasize the humanity of Jesus, his sayings, his parables, and his miracles. The Gospel of John provides a different perspective that focuses on his divinity.[web 4] The first 14 verses of the Gospel of John are devoted to the divinity of Jesus as the Logos, usually translated as "Word", along with his pre-existence, and they emphasize the cosmic significance of Christ, e.g.: "All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made."[102] In the context of these verses, the Word made flesh is identical with the Word who was in the beginning with God, being exegetically equated with Jesus.[web 4]

    Controversies and ecumenical councils (2nd–8th century)

    Main article: First seven ecumenical councils

    Post-Apostolic controversies

    Following the

    ecumenical councils were convened in the fourth and fifth centuries to deal with the issues.[citation needed
    ]

    Although some of the debates may seem to various modern students to be over a theological iota, they took place in controversial political circumstances, reflecting the relations of temporal powers and divine authority, and certainly resulted in schisms, among others that separated the Church of the East from the Church of the Roman Empire.[105][106]

    First Council of Nicaea (325) and First Council of Constantinople (381)

    In 325, the

    Trinity were being used interchangeably.[110]

    First Council of Ephesus (431)

    In 431, the

    Celestine I (who was already upset with Nestorius due to other matters) wrote about this to Cyril of Alexandria, who orchestrated the council. During the council, Nestorius defended his position by arguing there must be two persons of Christ, one human, the other divine, and Mary had given birth only to a human, hence could not be called the Theotokos, i.e. "the one who gives birth to God". The debate about the single or dual nature of Christ ensued in Ephesus.[111][112][113][114]

    The First Council of Ephesus debated

    Oriental Orthodox rejected this and subsequent councils and continued to consider themselves as miaphysite according to the faith put forth at the Councils of Nicaea and Ephesus.[115][116] The council also confirmed the Theotokos title and excommunicated Nestorius.[117][118]

    Council of Chalcedon (451)

    Miaphysite Churches
    (pink)

    The 451

    Protestants consider ecumenical.[10][11]

    The Council of Chalcedon fully promulgated the Western

    Ethiopian Orthodoxy, and Armenian Apostolicism) reject it.[11][12][13]

    Although the

    Eastern Roman Empire in the fifth century,[119] and unquestionably established the primacy of Rome in the East over those who accepted the Council of Chalcedon. This was reaffirmed in 519, when the Eastern Chalcedonians accepted the Formula of Hormisdas
    , anathematizing all of their own Eastern Chalcedonian hierarchy, who died out of communion with Rome from 482 to 519.

    Fifth–Seventh Ecumenical Council (553, 681, 787)

    The Second Council of Constantinople in 553 interpreted the decrees of Chalcedon, and further explained the relationship of the two natures of Jesus. It also condemned the alleged teachings of Origen on the pre-existence of the soul, and other topics.[web 13]

    The

    Monothelites,[web 14] with the divine will having precedence, leading and guiding the human will.[121]

    The Second Council of Nicaea was called under the Empress Regent Irene of Athens in 787. It affirmed the veneration of icons while forbidding their worship. It is often referred to as "The Triumph of Orthodoxy".[web 15]

    9th–11th century

    Eastern Christianity

    Main articles: East–West Schism and Eastern Orthodox Church

    Western medieval Christology

    The

    Franciscan piety of the 12th and 13th centuries led to "popular Christology". Systematic approaches by theologians, such as Thomas Aquinas, are called "scholastic Christology".[122]

    In the 13th century, Thomas Aquinas provided the first systematic Christology that consistently resolved a number of the existing issues.[123] In his Christology from above, Aquinas also championed the principle of perfection of Christ's human attributes.[124][125][126]

    The Middle Ages also witnessed the emergence of the "tender image of Jesus" as a friend and a living source of love and comfort, rather than just the Kyrios image.[127]

    Reformation

    Reformed faith, subscribes to Nicene orthodoxy regarding the deity of Christ. The article places emphasis on the eternal generation of the Son and the eternal divine nature of Christ as Creator.

    We believe that Jesus Christ, according to his divine nature, is the only begotten Son of God, begotten from eternity, not made nor created (for then He should be a creature), but co-essential and co-eternal with the Father, "the express image of His person, and the brightness of His glory" (Hebrews 1:3), equal unto him in all things. He is the Son of God, not only from the time that He assumed our nature, but from all eternity, as these testimonies, when compared together, teach us. Moses says that God created the world; and John saith that "all things were made by that Word" (John 1:3), which he calls God. And the apostle says that God made the worlds by His Son (Hebrews 1:2); likewise, that "God created all things by Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 3:9). Therefore, it must needs follow, that he who is called God, the Word, the Son, and Jesus Christ did exist at that time, when all things were created by him. Therefore, the prophet Micah says, "His goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2). And the apostle: "He has neither beginning of days, nor end of life" (Hebrews 7:3). He therefore is that true, eternal, and almighty God, whom we invoke, worship and serve.[128]

    John Calvin maintained there was no human element in the Person of Christ which could be separated from the Person of the Word.[129] Calvin also emphasized the importance of the "Work of Christ" in any attempt at understanding the Person of Christ and cautioned against ignoring the works of Jesus during his ministry.[130]

    Modern developments

    See also:
    Quest for the Historical Jesus

    Liberal Protestant theology

    The 19th century saw the rise of

    Liberal Protestant theology, which questioned the dogmatic foundations of Christianity, and approached the Bible with critical-historical tools.[web 16] The divinity of Jesus became of less emphasis or importance, and was replaced with an focus on the ethical aspects of his teachings.[131][w]

    Roman Catholicism

    Catholic theologian Karl Rahner sees the purpose of modern Christology as to formulate the Christian belief that "God became man and that God-made-man is the individual Jesus Christ" in a manner that this statement can be understood consistently, without the confusions of past debates and mythologies.[133][x] Rahner pointed out the coincidence between the Person of Christ and the Word of God, referring to Mark 8:38 and Luke 9:26 which state whoever is ashamed of the words of Jesus is ashamed of the Lord himself.[135]

    Hans von Balthasar argued the union of the human and divine natures of Christ was achieved not by the "absorption" of human attributes, but by their "assumption". Thus, in his view, the divine nature of Christ was not affected by the human attributes and remained forever divine.[136] The same distinction is recorded in the Second Vatican Council's pastoral constitution, Gaudium et spes: "in Him, human nature was assumed, not absorbed".[137]

    encyclical letter Dilexit nos, refers to the "divinity and plenary humanity" of Jesus.[138]

    Topics

    Nativity and the Holy Name

    See also: Nativity of Jesus and Holy Name of Jesus

    The

    salvific emphasis of Matthew 1:21 later impacted the theological issues and the devotions to Holy Name of Jesus.[141][142][143]

    Matthew 1:23 provides a key to the "Emmanuel Christology" of Matthew. Beginning with 1:23, the Gospel of Matthew shows a clear interest in identifying Jesus as "God with us" and in later developing the Emmanuel characterization of Jesus at key points throughout the rest of the Gospel.[144] The name 'Emmanuel' does not appear elsewhere in the New Testament, but Matthew builds on it in Matthew 28:20 ("I am with you always, even unto the end of the world") to indicate Jesus will be with the faithful to the end of the age.[144][145] According to Ulrich Luz, the Emmanuel motif brackets the entire Gospel of Matthew between 1:23 and 28:20, appearing explicitly and implicitly in several other passages.[146]

    Crucifixion and resurrection

    Main articles: Crucifixion of Jesus and Resurrection of Jesus

    The accounts of the crucifixion and subsequent

    Pauline Epistles.[147]

    A central element in the christology presented in the Acts of the Apostles is the affirmation of the belief that the death of Jesus by crucifixion happened "with the foreknowledge of God, according to a definite plan".[148] In this view, as in Acts 2:23, the cross is not viewed as a scandal, for the crucifixion of Jesus "at the hands of the lawless" is viewed as the fulfilment of the plan of God.[148][149]

    Paul's Christology has a specific focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus. For Paul, the crucifixion of Jesus is directly related to his resurrection and the term "the cross of Christ" used in Galatians 6:12 may be viewed as his abbreviation of the message of the Gospels.

    eschatological consequences, as in 1 Corinthians 2:8.[150] In the Pauline view, Jesus, obedient to the point of death (Philippians 2:8), died "at the right time" (Romans 5:6) based on the plan of God.[150] For Paul, the "power of the cross" is not separable from the resurrection of Jesus.[150]

    Threefold office

    Main article: Threefold office

    The

    Book of Hebrews
    .

    Mariology

    Main articles:
    Roman Catholic Mariology

    Some Christians, notably

    Roman Catholics, view Mariology as a key component of Christology.[web 17] In this view, not only is Mariology a logical and necessary consequence of Christology, but without it, Christology is incomplete, since the figure of Mary contributes to a fuller understanding of who Christ is and what he did.[151]

    Protestants have criticized Mariology because many of its assertions lack any Biblical foundation.[152] Strong Protestant reaction against Roman Catholic Marian devotion and teaching has been a significant issue for ecumenical dialogue.[153]

    Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) expressed this sentiment about Roman Catholic Mariology when in two separate occasions he stated, "The appearance of a truly Marian awareness serves as the touchstone indicating whether or not the christological substance is fully present"[154] and "It is necessary to go back to Mary, if we want to return to the truth about Jesus Christ."[155]

    See also

    Notes

    1. ^ (from the Greek Χριστός, Khristós and -λογία, -logia), translated from Greek as 'the study of Christ'
    2. ^ The work of Jesus Christ:
      • Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen: "soteriology, the doctrine of salvation"[15]
      • biblicaltraining.org: "The Past Work of Christ, The Atoning Savior";[web 2]
      "Present work of Christ: work as mediator and Lord";[web 3] "Future work of Christ: work as coming judge and reigning king"[web 3]
    3. ^ Definitions:
      • Bart Ehrman: "the understanding of Christ";[14] "the nature of Christ – the question of Christology"[1]
      • Bird, Evans & Gathercole (2014): "New Testament scholars often speak about "Christology", which is the study of the career, person, nature, and identity of Jesus Christ."[4]
      • Raymond Brown (1994): "[C]hristology discusses any evaluation of Jesus in respect to who he was and the role he played in the divine plan."[16]
      • Bernard L. Ramm (1993): "Christology is the reflective and systematic study of the person and work of Jesus Christ."[3]
      • Matt Stefon, Hans J. Hillerbrand (Encyclopedia Britannica): "Christology, Christian reflection, teaching, and doctrine concerning Jesus of Nazareth. Christology is the part of theology that is concerned with the nature and work of Jesus, including such matters as the Incarnation, the Resurrection, and his human and divine natures and their relationship."[web 1]
      • Catholic Encyclopedia: "Christology is that part of theology which deals with Our Lord Jesus Christ. In its full extent it comprises the doctrines concerning both the person of Christ and His works."[web 4]
    4. ^ Bird, Evans & Gathercole (2014): "There are, of course, many different ways of doing Christology. Some scholars study Christology by focusing on the major titles applied to Jesus in the New Testament, such as "Son of Man", "Son of God", "Messiah", "Lord", "Prince", "Word", and the like. Others take a more functional approach and look at how Jesus acts or is said to act in the New Testament as the basis for configuring beliefs about him. It is possible to explore Jesus as a historical figure (i.e., Christology from below), or to examine theological claims made about Jesus (i.e., Christology from above). Many scholars prefer a socio-religious method, comparing beliefs about Jesus with beliefs in other religions to identify shared sources and similar ideas. Theologians often take a more philosophical approach and look at Jesus' "ontology" or "being" and debate how best to describe his divine and human natures."[4]
    5. ^ John 1:1–14
    6. ^ Heretical Christologies:
    7. ^ The "ransom theory" and the "Christ Victor" theory are different, but are generally considered together as Patristic or "classical" theories, to use Gustaf Aulén's nomenclature. These were the traditional understandings of the early Church Fathers.
    8. ^ According to Pugh, "Ever since [Aulén's] time, we call these patristic ideas the Christus Victor way of seeing the cross."[34]
    9. ^ Called by Aulén the "scholastic" view
    10. ^ Penal substitution:
      • Vincent Taylor (1956): "the four main types, which have persisted throughout the centuries. The oldest theory is the Ransom Theory [...] It held sway for a thousand years [...] The Forensic Theory is that of the Reformers and their successors."[38]
      • Packer (1973): "Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Melanchthon and their reforming contemporaries were the pioneers in stating it [i.e. the penal substitutionary theory] [...] What the Reformers did was to redefine satisfactio (satisfaction), the main mediaeval category for thought about the cross. Anselm's Cur Deus Homo?, which largely determined the mediaeval development, saw Christ's satisfactio for our sins as the offering of compensation or damages for dishonour done, but the Reformers saw it as the undergoing of vicarious punishment (poena) to meet the claims on us of God's holy law and wrath (i.e. his punitive justice)."[39]
    11. ^ Mark D. Baker, objecting against the penal substitution theory, states that "substitution is a broad term that one can use with reference to a variety of metaphors."[40]
    12. ^ Which Aulén called the "subjective" or "humanistic" view. Propagated, as a critique of the satisfaction view, by Peter Abelard
    13. ^ Christ suffering for, or punished for, the sinners.
    14. Apostle Paul's Areopagus sermon that appears in Acts 17:16–34,[48] where Paul is portrayed as attempting to convey the underlying concepts about Christ to a Greek audience. The sermon illustrates some key elements of future christological discourses that were first brought forward by Paul.[49][50][51]
    15. ^ The views of these schools can be summarized as follows:[53]
      • Alexandria: Logos assumes a general human nature;
      • Antioch: Logos assumes a specific human being.
    16. ^ Witherington: "[Christ's Divinity] We have already seen that Paul, in appropriating the language of the christological hymns, subscribed to the christological notion that Christ existed prior to taking on human flesh. Paul spoke of Jesus both as the wisdom of God, his agent in creation (1 Cor 1:24, 30; 8:6; Col 1:15–17; see Bruce, 195), and as the one who accompanied Israel as the 'rock' in the wilderness (1 Cor 10:4). In view of the role Christ plays in 1 Corinthians 10:4, Paul is not founding the story of Christ on the archetypal story of Israel, but rather on the story of divine Wisdom, which helped Israel in the wilderness."[55]
    17. ^ Ehrman:
      • "The earliest Christians held exaltation Christologies in which the human being Jesus was made the Son of God – for example, at his resurrection or at his baptism – as we examined in the previous chapter."[74]
      • "Here I'll say something about the oldest Christology, as I understand it. This was what I earlier called a 'low' Christology. I may end up in the book describing it as a 'Christology from below' or possibly an 'exaltation' Christology. Or maybe I'll call it all three things [...] Along with lots of other scholars, I think this was indeed the earliest Christology."[web 9]
    18. ^ Proponents of Christ's deity argue the Old Testament has many cases of Christophany: "The pre-existence of Christ is further substantiated by the many recorded Christophanies in the Bible."[156] "Christophany" is often[quantify] considered a more accurate term than the term "theophany" due to the belief that all the visible manifestations of God are in fact the preincarnate Christ. Many argue that the appearances of "the Angel of the Lord" in the Old Testament were the preincarnate Christ. "Many understand the angel of the Lord as a true theophany. From the time of Justin on, the figure has been regarded as the preincarnate Logos."[157]
    19. ^ Richard Bauckham argues that Paul was not so influential that he could have invented the central doctrine of Christianity. Before his active missionary work, there were already groups of Christians across the region. For example, a large group already existed in Rome even before Paul visited the place. The earliest centre of Christianity was the twelve apostles in Jerusalem. Paul himself consulted and sought guidance from the Christian leaders in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:1–2;[79] Acts 9:26–28,[80] 15:2).[81] "What was common to the whole Christian movement derived from Jerusalem, not from Paul, and Paul himself derived the central message he preached from the Jerusalem apostles."[82]
    20. ^ Loke (2017): "The last group of theories can be called 'Explosion Theories' (one might also call this 'the Big-Bang theory of Christology'!). This proposes that highest Christology was the view of the primitive Palestinian Christian community. The recognition of Jesus as truly divine was not a significant development from the views of the primitive Palestine community; rather, it 'exploded' right at the beginning of Christianity. The proponents of the Explosion view would say that the highest Christology of the later New Testament writings (e.g. Gospel of John) and the creedal formulations of the early church fathers, with their explicit affirmations of the pre-existence and ontological divinity of Christ, are not so much a development in essence but a development in understanding and explication of what was already there at the beginning of the Christian movement. As Bauckham (2008a, x) memorably puts it, 'The earliest Christology was already the highest Christology.' Many proponents of this group of theories have been labelled together as 'the New Religionsgeschichtliche Schule' (Hurtado 2003, 11), and they include such eminent scholars as Richard Bauckham, Larry Hurtado, N. T. Wright and the late Martin Hengel."[78]
    21. ^
      Brant Pitre also argues that the Historical Jesus claimed to be divine and was the origin of high Christology.[8]
    22. ^ The concept of "cosmic Christology", which focuses on how the arrival of Jesus as the Son of God forever changed the nature of the cosmos.[90][95]
    23. ^ Gerald O'Collins and Daniel Kendall have called this Liberal Protestant theology "neo-Arianism."[132]
    24. ^ Grillmeier: "The most urgent task of a contemporary Christology is to formulate the Church's dogma – 'God became man and that God-made-man is the individual Jesus Christ' – in such a way that the true meaning of these statements can be understood, and all trace of a mythology impossible to accept nowadays is excluded."[134]

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    Further reading

    Overview
    Early high Christology
    Atonement
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christology&oldid=1285672811"