(with annotations and revisions done by Julius-Kei Kato)
We will refer to sub-divisions of this article by the section numbers within square brackets (e.g. [1]).
Resources:
Original Link to this Summary (in the public domain / accessed 2020-09-20): https://www.global-ethic-now.de/gen-eng/0b_weltethos-und-religionen/0b-01-02-christentum/0b-01-0201-jesus.php
Paradigm Shifts in Christianity (a one-page visual diagram) https://www.global-ethic-now.de/gen-eng/0b_weltethos-und-religionen/0b-pdf/paradigm-shifts-christianity.pdf
(HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!) Excellent survey by Bishop Richard Holloway of the six major paradigms in Christian history He also has a section at the beginning explaining paradigms and "paradigm shifts." HERE
[1] Jesus of Nazareth--considered by his
disciples as “the Christ” (the Chosen Messiah)
•
Place of birth: Bethlehem or
Nazareth in Galilee. He grew up in Nazareth. (Historically speaking, ‘grew up
in Nazareth’ is a more secure piece of data)
•
Year of birth: not after 4 BC, if
Jesus was born under King Herod (27–4 BC).
•
First public appearance: around the
15th year of Emperor Tiberius (27/28 or 28/29 AD), when he was baptized by John
the Baptist.
•
Public Life: as a wandering preacher
and teacher in the region between Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee and Jerusalem
– for a short time (some months?), at best not more than three years, during
which time he gathered around himself a circle of disciples.
• Year of Death: He was crucified when he was perhaps in his early 30s, most probably around 30 AD, under Pontius Pilatus (26–30). The exact date cannot be determined.
Christianity takes its name from Jesus of Nazareth who was
called by his followers “(the) Christ” (Heb. Moshiach / Gk. christos)
meaning “the anointed one.”
Jesus is not a mythical person. His history is situated in
Palestine, a province of the Roman empire at the time. He had a short public
ministry and then crucified under Rome for political provocation and alleged
blasphemy.
[2.1] The
Historical Life and Ministry of Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus of Nazareth was a Jew from the peasant class
who proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom of God.
He lived at a time when many people believed that God was
going to let his “kingdom” come.
·
God’s will—he proclaimed—is for people to love
God and their neighbour (indeed even their enemies! Matthew 5:44) as they love themselves.
·
Jesus practiced solidarity with
everyone who cared to listen and come to his gatherings. He prioritized the
disadvantaged, e.g., the poor and the marginalized.
·
The gospels record that he performed
many healing actions on behalf of the sick.
·
He sometimes relativized certain
Jewish religious laws when he thought that some greater value was
at stake, emphasizing that the Law was for the sake of the person and not vice
versa.
·
He prophetically provoked the
Temple-establishment (the priests, the Sadducee party) and their business
interests in the Temple (seen in the ‘purging of the Temple’ incident)
·
He publicly confronted the
religious leadership (who were Jews) and the political authorities (who were Romans).
·
For this he was tried and sentenced to death
on the cross.
After his death, his disciples had encounters with him that convinced them that he had been raised by God from the dead. This easter faith and proclamation that “Christ has been risen” became the foundation of Christian faith.
[2.2] Jesus Christ – Human and Divine (this part by JK Kato)
One official doctrine (teaching) regarding Jesus in
Christianity is that He is both human and divine. This is the result of decisions
made in several important early church councils (particularly, Nicea,
Constantinople, and Chalcedon [see below]) in which it was decided that, at the
official level, Jesus Christ is to be believed by Christians as “one in essence
with the Father” (hence, divine), and “one person having two natures—human and
divine.”
It is important though to see how the thinking about Jesus evolved
over time as a historical process. We can identify several stages:
- ENCOUNTER: When Jesus began his public life, people perceived him first and foremost as some sort of charismatic “Rabbi” (teacher) who taught, healed, and shared fellowship with people, especially the disadvantaged.
- MESSIAH?
As time went on, some of his followers began to believe that this
charismatic rabbi was the MESSIAH who many Jews at the time were waiting
for—the one who was going to realize the reign of God in their midst.
Jesus also probably thought so about himself. (Note that “Messiah” was NOT
EQUAL to “God” in Jesus’ historical context)
- POST-RESURRECTION:
After Jesus’ death, the resurrection experience made the disciples
identify Jesus more and more closely with YHWH, giving him exalted titles:
Lord, Son of God, Saviour, Lamb of God, Prince of Peace, etc.
- JESUS’
DIVINITY - This process of Jesus becoming more exalted in the thinking of
Christians ultimately led (300+ years later) to a radically close identification
between God ("YHWH" in the Old Testament) and Jesus as expressed in the faith-statement: Jesus
is also divine (i.e., that
Jesus is “God the Son,” “God incarnate,” “the Second Person of the Holy
Trinity,” etc. / aka the "deification" of Jesus). This identification happened over a period of time and
was made correct and required (“orthodox”) belief only in the 300s of the Common Era or AD. Note that this deification of Jesus Christ is the unique characteristic of Christianity. It is what divides it from Judaism and Islam although the three religions are monotheistic. Christianity claims that it worships ONE God in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).
- The
roots of this belief in Jesus having some sort of divinity are already
found in the New Testament – most notably, in the gospel of John.
For a more detailed presentation of related points,
see my article “Did Jesus Claim that He Was God?” in: http://www.catholica.com.au/gc4/jkk/016_jkk_240419.php
[3] The
Earliest Christian Communities
Christianity spread in all directions from its place of
origin in Roman-occupied Palestine. Some accounts of earliest Christianity’s
growth are more well-documented than others. In the New Testament, the focus is
on the westward expansion of the early Christian movements (from Palestine to
Rome). What began as a rural movement in Palestine became predominantly an
urban movement. Paul, the apostle, was particularly instrumental in making the
Jesus movement a more gentile-friendly one. One early crucial problem that
arose was the following:
Controversy among the first Christians: Must Non-Jews (“gentiles”
“pagans”), when they become Christians, observe the Jewish Law (Halachah),
i.e., circumcision, holy days, the Sabbath, dietary rules, purity regulations?
There even seemed to be conflict about this between the leading apostles, Peter
and Paul ad documented in the New Testament.
Peter
“But when Cephas (= Peter) came to Antioch I opposed him to his face, because
he stood self-condemned; for until certain people came from James, he used to
eat with the Gentiles; but after they came, he drew back and kept himself
separate, for fear of the circumcision faction. And the other Jews joined him
in this hypocrisy.” (Gal. 2.11–13)
Paul
“But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the
gospel, I said to Cephas (= Peter) before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live
like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like
Jews? We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet we know that
a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus
Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be
justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no
one will be justified by the works of the law’.” (Gal. 2.14–16)
Paul undertook extensive missionary journeys in the Greek-speaking world.
The Second Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. Jerusalem was further destroyed in 135 CE and the Jewish Christians were dispersed.
Greek speaking gentile Christianity came to become the dominant form of Christianity.
The Christian communities gradually developed a hierarchical structure with bishops, priests, and deacons (from the 100s [the second century] onwards)
[4] Christian Scriptures (Writings)
The early Christians took over the Jewish Bible in
its Greek form (called the Septuagint), which contained certain
books not included in the Hebrew-language TANAK (Jewish Scriptures)
•
The Christians called it the “Old Testament”,
distinguishing it from the “New Testament” consisting of:
•
four narratives of Jesus’ teaching and ministry
(called “Gospels”),
•
an account of the apostles’ ministry (The
Acts of the Apostles)
•
21 letters written by or attributed to Paul and
other apostles,
•
an apocalyptic book of prophesy (Revelation)
All of them were written between 45 and ca. 140 AD.
Christians regard these writings as being inspired by God and therefore setting
the norm for all subsequent Christian teaching and practice.
Only much later did the notion of a “literal inerrancy” take form.
See also: https://www.global-ethic-now.de/gen-eng/0b_weltethos-und-religionen/0b-pdf/christian_bible.pdf
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