Brown (1994) offers an astute Christological analysis via a close and critical reading of scripture. A close reading allows for the contextualization of each Gospel, to resolve issues like conflicting or inconsistent imagery and anecdotes. With inconsistencies between the Gospels, it becomes imperative to piece together Jesus's core intentions and the meanings behind both His words and His actions. The need to understand scripture historically and linguistically is also apparent in the Brown analysis. In fact, Brown (1994) also points out the importance of historical and cultural context in interpreting Scripture. For example, attributions of "magical action," which is beyond "miracle," corresponds with the Greek "miracle worker" stories during the time Scripture was being codified (Brown, 1994, p. 35). Brown notes that the Gospel portrayal of Jesus's miracles was indeed qualitatively different from either magical powers attributed to Greek "miracle workers" or to similar Levantine pagan concepts.It may also be difficult to discern Jesus's intent based on words and actions coded in scripture because of the extraordinary nature of scripture -- scripture was not designed to be historiographical. Even if the gospels are Christographical, their authors purposely constructed Jesus even while attempting...
Scripture also implies Jesus had "limited knowledge of the ordinary affairs of life," which could mean several things: that Jesus actually did experience a unique life divorced from "ordinary affairs" or alternatively, that the authors of the Gospels elevated the personage of Christ to superhuman level on purpose (Brown, 1994, p. 35). Either way, the Brown (1994) critical analysis of Scripture is essential within the context of Christology. If Jesus had little knowledge of ordinary affairs, then ordinary readers will not have an easy time viewing Jesus as a historical personage. If, however, Jesus did have more knowledge of ordinary affairs than the authors of the gospels let on, then Jesus would be humanized to a greater degree than some Christians may be comfortable with. Perceiving Jesus's intentions -- intentions of his own story as well as theological intentions -- may be all but impossible given that the apostles were responsible for recording Jesus's actions and words, and those recordings were influenced by issues like language, culture, and even potentially personal biases.
Jesus then recruits other disciples, such as James and John, and decides to spread the Word of God to other parts of the region while doing good deeds, like miraculously healing the sick and the blind. As a symbol of his personality, Jesus does not accept the role of prophet and then forbids his disciples to spread the idea that he is the messiah, due to "the contemporary messianic ideals
Christology Book Review Christ and the creation of Christology How can so many people look into a portrait of a man, written by 4 different scholar and commoners who portray the man in very similar fashion, and come away with such diametrically opposing viewpoints that the man is rendered almost meaningless? When the man is Jesus Christ and those looking at his portrait are scholars and theologians who do not believe that
" (Kysar 27) Scholars at times forget that the bible is not only a work of theology but also a work of literature. Barnes also believes in this interpretation and its New Testament expression of the Trinity, "I am thinking, in particular, of the pivotal appeal to John 1:1-3 at de Trinitate 2.2.9, which resembles Tertullian's (and Hippolytus's) use of the Johannine prologue as the paradigmatic expression of the economy of
Christology The Birth of Christ The gospel writers each contributed their unique perspective as they recorded events surrounding Jesus' birth. Each writer had a specific target audience in mind, and brought to his writings a perspective which was framed by that purpose, and by the writer's particular experience of Christ. The uniqueness of their record in no way changes the fact that their contribution was the work of God's Holy Spirit thorough
Jesus, God and Man The book, Jesus, God and Man, contributes to the ongoing theological discussion regarding the key issues to Christians and Catholics. If Jesus was God in the flesh, then he is the unique expression of complete divinity, and complete humanity. If Jesus was God, then the core teachings of Christianity are separate, and distinct from all other religions on the planet. If Jesus was God, his request of
Scholars like Borg, Crossan, Meier, and Sanders reach into Torah or into Gnostic and other extracanonical traditions such as Greek novels to draw comparisons and contrasts. The range is comprehensive, from Greco-Roman sources to Jewish and other Mediterranean sources. Often the picture of Jesus that emerges is a construction based on social-scientific and literary trends. There have been some important findings. For one, Jesus is understood more politically, proclaiming the
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