6. OUTLINE OF CORE CHRISTIAN

BELIEFSChristianity: An Introduction

God Israel’s identity of God: while many worshipped many gods, Israel worshipped the one true God; one with whom Israel could have a relationship

“Lord God of Israel” TheTetragrammaton The God who brought the people out of

Egypt Christians believe in this same God, who

has been revealed fully in Jesus Christ. Letter to Hebrews: Christian

understanding of God is linked with the person of Christ

Apostles Creed: Christians believe in a God who is “Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth”

God as Shepherd Extensive imagery is used to portray

God: shepherd, king, rock, fatherSimile/metaphor

Does this mean God is identical to a Shepherd?

Does every aspect of the human analogy carry over?

1. Shepherds look after sheep2. Shepherds protect their sheep against danger3. Shepherds lead their sheep to food and water4. Shepherds are human beings

God as Father In the Lord’s Prayer/Our Father, Jesus begins

the prayer “Our Father…” 1. Fathers are human beings 2. Fathers bring their children into existence 3. Fathers care for their children 4. Fathers are male

First: Not meant to be transferred Second: Important: God is our originator

Gave life to use as human beings Third: Child is dependent upon father and are

close; a Father wants to give his child good things

Fourth: Male language common in Scripture Neither male nor female language should be

attributed to God.“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my Son”

~Hosea 11:1-4

God: A Personal God Prayer: expresses a gracious relationship which

“is simply trust in a person whose whole dealing with us proves him worthy of trust” ~John Oman

Implies a person’s sinfulness can be reconciled like two people, such as a separated husband and wife.

“Person” – individuality of the human being; plays a role in social drama, relates to others.Personal relationships include: love, trust, faithfulness;

“Love of God”, “trustworthiness of God” “Individuality” – does not imply relationships

“Impersonal God” -

God: God as Almighty The Apostles Creed: “I believe

in God, the Father Almighty” Is God capable of anything? Christian response: if God is

almighty, God must be capable of doing anything.

Christian theology: God’s omnipotence is to be set within the context of God’s nature: a righteous and faithful God whose promises are to be trusted.

God: The Doctrine of the Trinity

Doctrine of the trinity: God exists in three forms: Father, Son, and Holy SpiritThomas Jefferson: “incomprehensible jargon

of Trinitarian arithmetic” Matthew 28:19: Baptize “in the name of

the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit 2 Corinthians: Father, Son, and Spirit in

“the grace” The trinity identifies the pattern of divine

activity in the New Testament: The Father is revealed through Jesus the Son through the Holy Spirit

God: The Doctrine of the Trinity

The visualization of the trinity is difficult, as it is complex and abstract

St. Patrick of Ireland: shamrock: a single leaf could have three different elements.

Robert Jenson: a proper name – a shorthand way of identifying exactly what God we are talking about

Creation Apostles Creed: “creator of

heaven and earth” Genesis – “Beginning” or

“origin” Old Testament perspective:

God is creator and sustainer of the world

Creation: Implications of Doctrine of Creation 1. Distinction between Creator God and created goods

Paul: Natural human tendency to serve “created things rather than the creator”

Task of Christian: distinguish God from creation while affirming that it is God’s creation

2. God’s authority over the worldHuman stewardship over the worldHuman beings are responsible for taking care of the world, in

relation to ecological and environmental concerns

Creation: Implications of Doctrine of Creation 3. Goodness of creation

Humanity is created as a social being, and is meant to exist in relation with others

No place in Christian Theology that the world is an inherently evil place

Doctrine of sin: world departing from the trajectory in which it was placed.

4. Human beings are created in the image of God.Augustine of Hippo: “You made us for

yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you”

Potential for full morality exists; must be realized

St. Augustine

Humanity and the Image of God

Though human beings are not divine, they possess a relationship with God unlike all others

The “image of God” is seen as both a privileged position, as well as responsibility and accountability

Humanity and the Image of God

1) The “image of God” can be seen as a reminder of authority of God over humanityMonarchs typically displayed

images of themselves as an assertion/reminder of power

2) “Image of God” can be taken to refer to correspondence between human reason and rationality of the creatorAugustine: Image of the creator is

in the rational soul of humanity Nebuchadnezzar

Humanity and the Image of God

3. The Image of God is a capacity to relate to GodGod created humanity

with a goal: to enter in a relationship with God

C.S. Lewis: If we do not have a relationship with God, we have an absence

4. (Not in book) Aquinas: The image of God exists in the human ability to use language and artC. S. Lewis

Humanity, the Fall, and Sin Humanity is sinful Unwilling to accept the limitations

placed upon them by virtue of being human, they choose to rebel against their situation

Humanity is “an eternal rebel, wanting more and constantly challenging boundaries”

Two Biblical stories offer a “superb commentary” on this human situation:Adam and Eve and the “Tree of

knowledge”Tower of Babel

The devil made me do it?

Jesus: Redeemer of all Humanity Biblical motifs include:

1. Terms that the New Testament uses to refer to Jesus

2. Identity of Christ is interlocked with the achievement of Christ

3. Impact Jesus made during ministry

4. ResurrectionPaul: demonstrates Jesus as Son of God

Islamic Approaches to the Identity of Jesus

Islam: Jesus was a prophet, messenger of God “Jesus” used 25 times in the Qur’an “Messiah” used in Qur’an (Old Testament

notion) Translations of Jesus on cross: someone else

replaced him as Jesus went to heaven? Jesus as “word of God” and “spirit of God” To Muslims, Jesus is not God, but rather a

messenger of God.

The concept of the Incarnation The term “incarnation” derives from

Latin term for “flesh” Generally, the term means God

becoming human Doctrine of the two natures: Jesus

is fully divine and fully human Council of Chalcedon (451): stated

definitively what the first five centuries of Christianity had established: in the face of Christ we see God himselfNot all embraced the Council’s rulingMonophysitism – Only one nature in

Christ: the divine one.

Jesus as Mediator Analogy: Jesus is a mediator

between God and people What is mediated:

Revelation: knowledge of GodSalvation: fellowship of God

Logos-Christology- Word becomes flesh

Dorothy Sayers: “If Christ was only man, then he is entirely irrelevant to any thought about God; if he is only God, then he is entirely irrelevant to any experience of human life”

Jesus as Mediator John Calvin: Christ’s work may be

summarized under three offices or ministries:

1. Prophetic office – Christ is herald and witness to God’s grace; is a teacher endowed with divine wisdom and authority

2. Priestly office – Christ is able to reinstate us within the divine favor, through offering his death as satisfaction for our sin

3. Kingly office – Christ has inaugurated a kingship which is heavenly, not earthly; spiritual, not physical. Kingship is exercised through the action of the Holy Spirit

John Calvin

Salvation Apostles Creed states:

Jesus was a real historical person who lived and died.

Jesus was a first-century Jew who lived in Palestine under the reign of Tiberius Caesar, and who was executed by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate

Christian faith holds that Jesus was a historical figure.

The interpretation of his life and death is of critical importance

“Theories of atonement” – theories surrounding the death of Christ

Christ the Victor: The Defeat of Death and Sin “Veni, Vidi, Vici” ~Julius Caesar Roman triumphant procession:

included maps, slogans w/ achievements, treasures taken

Christus Triumphator – Early Christian writers use this image to show Jesus’ triumph over sin and death

Christ’s resurrection and opening of the gates of heaven were seen as something to be proclaimed and celebrated

Christ the Harrower of Hell: Atonement as Restoration

Medieval idea of “harrowing of hell”: after dying upon the cross, Christ descended to hell, and broke down its gates in order that the imprisoned souls might go free 1 Peter 3:18-22: Christ “preaching to the

spirits in prison” William Langland: Piers Plowman:

Jesus to Satan: my tree brings life, though your tree brought them away from it

C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Aslan frees the enslaved souls from stone

Christ the Lover: Atonement as the Enkindling of Love

Theme of New Testament: death of Christ demonstrates the love of God for humanity; elicits a matching love in response.

Divine humility – God left the comforts of heaven to enter poverty and suffering of the created order, and to finally suffer on a cross.

The Christian view of salvation presupposes that something has happened, is happening, and something will happen in the future to believers.

Grace God’s choice: Israel is chosen by the Grace of

God Grace: a gift not earned by merit or

achievement Affirms sheer generosity and goodness of God Made possible to those who have neither the

merit nor intrinsic capacity to secure it for themselves

Paul: Christians saved by the grace of God, not by works.

Grace Augustine: We are

dependent on God for salvation

Humanity is frail, weak and lost

Grace is unmerited attention, from which healing can begin

Free will: weakened by sin (though not eliminated)

Augustine on Original Sin

Not “a” sin in the sense of an act being committed

Augustine: Three analogies 1) Disease: passed down from one

generation to the nextThrough Christ “wounds are healed”

2) Power that holds us captiveHuman free will is captive by the

power of sin; may only be liberated by grace

3) Guilt: Judicial or forensic conceptRoman Empire: high value on law

Pelagian Controversy, Luther

Pelagius was an opponent of Augustine on this debate

“Pelagian Controversy”: Augustine’s teaching leads to laxityEmphasized living a good life and moral integrity

16th Century: “justification by faith” vs. “salvation by grace”

Luther: simul iustus et peccador: “at one and the same time a righteous person and a sinner”We are not made good; in being accepted by God

we become good

The Church Greek ekklesia –

Ecclesiology – study of the Church

Church: Individual

congregations Whole body of

Christian believers The Four “Marks”:

One, holy, catholic, apostolic

Just a building….

One: The Unity of the Church

While tension exists between the local and universal Church, it is resolved through the belief in one universal Church in individual communities

Eschatological approach: Disunity of the Church will be abolished on the last day

Development of branches on a tree Calvin: visible vs. invisible Church

Visible: worshippers one can see at the ChurchInvisible: communion of saints, etc. known only to

God

The Holiness of the Church

The Church is sanctified and made holy by Christ Always mass going on at all times to reaffirm

this Donatist controversy – whether church

leaders were expected to be morally pure. The Donatists believed that the entire

sacramental system of the church had become corrupt on account of the lapse of its leaders

Augustine: Church is not a pure body, but a “mixed body”

“Strong overtones” of dedication to be set apart for and dedicated to the service of God

Catholic (lower-case “c”): The Universality of the Church

Catholic – universal Cyril of Jerusalem: Church called catholic “because

it is spread throughout the entire inhabited world from one end to another, and because it teaches in its totality and without leaving anything out every doctrine which people need to know relating to things visible and invisible, where in heaven or earth.

Four ways “catholic” is used:

1. “Spread throughout the entire inhabited world”

2. “Without leaving anything out”

3. The Church extends its mission and ministry to “every sort of person”

4. The church offers and proclaims a “universal remedy for every kind of sin”

Cyril

Catholic (lower-case “c”): The Universality of the Church Thomas Aquinas: three main

ideas of “catholic”: Geographical

“Your faith is proclaimed throughout the entire world” ~Romans 1:8

Cultural “There is neither gentile, nor Jew;

slave or free, woman nor man” ~Galatians 3:28

Chronological“I am with you always, to the close of

the age” ~Matthew 28:20, and even after in heaven.

The Apostolicity of the Church

“Apostolic” in New Testament:Someone who has been commissioned by

Christ to preach the good newsSomeone who was a witness to the risen

Christ, or to whom Christ revealed himself as risen

Three ways the Church is Apostolic:1. Historically – the origins of the church are

traced back to the apostles

2. Theological – the Church is apostolic in that it maintains and transmits the teaching of the apostles

3. The church is apostolic, in that it is charged with the responsibility of carrying on the succession of apostolic ministry

The Sacraments Sacrament: an outward sign

instituted by Christ to give grace

Lombard: bears its image and exists as its cause

Intended to sanctify and to sign

Luther: three basic elements:Physical signPromiseCommand from Christ that this

physical sign should be used in this way

Baptism

Jesus: Go make disciples and baptize them

Baptism of infants vs. adultsOld Testament: newborns should

have an “outward sign” of their membership with the people of God

Baptist Church: to be administered only when one showed signs of grace, repentance, or faith

The Eucharist Jesus said to remember him

through bread and wine Eucharist: “Thanksgiving” Last Supper/Lord’s Supper:

Passover Seder “This is my body”

Transubstantiation: outward appearance is bread; inward appearance transformed

Consubstantiation: Luther: remains bread; is additionally the body of Christ

Calvin: “efficacious sign”

The Last Things: Heaven Greek: ta eschata

“eschatology”: study of the end times

“Heaven” is used to refer to the hope of dwelling in the presence of God forever.

Christian vision of heaven is shaped by two themes: New JerusalemRestoration of creation

However, these themes have a wide array of interpretations.

The Last Things: Heaven as the New Jerusalem

Early Christian writers: New Jerusalem is inhabited by disembodied soulsPhysical body vs. spiritual soul; spirit remains after

physical body leaves Citizens of heaven would be naked, free of

guilt or shame? New body, without impurities? Age of the resurrected?

30 as the perfect age? Age that people will be? Catholicism: cremation formerly banned Billy Graham: Christian hope of resurrection

is grounded in the divine promises, not the precise circumstances of a person’s funeral arrangements