Church History: Simply Stated

The idea of biblical integrity is a further concept of infallibility, by suggesting that current biblical text is complete and without error, and that the integrity of biblical text has never been corrupted or degraded. The Protestant Old Testament is synonymous with the "Hebrew Scriptures" included in the Jewish canon , but not the Catholic Old Testament, which contains additional texts.

Roman Catholic and Eastern Christians recognize 73 books as canonical, with 46 books for the Old Testament 7 more than Protestants. The Old Testament canon entered into Christian use in the Septuagint , a Greek translation with a few books in Greek originally. In addition to the Septuagint, Christianity subsequently added various writings that would become the New Testament.

Somewhat different lists of accepted works continued to develop in antiquity. In the 4th century a series of synods , most notably at the Synod of Hippo in AD , produced a list of texts equal to the 46 book canon of the Old Testament that Catholics use today and the book canon of the New Testament that all use. A definitive list did not come from any early Ecumenical Council.

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With the benefit of hindsight it can be said that this process effectively set the New Testament canon, although there are examples of other canonical lists in use after this time. During the Protestant Reformation , certain reformers proposed different canonical lists of the Old Testament.

The texts that are present in the Septuagint, but not included in the Jewish canon, fell out of favor and, in time, they would come to be removed from Protestant canons. These texts are referred to as Deuterocanonical books in Catholic Bibles, whereas in a Protestant context they are referred to as the Apocrypha. The "New Testament apocrypha" has a very different meaning. It is a poorly defined group of early writings in which, generally, none ever achieved acceptance by any widespread group.

In Christianity , God is the creator and preserver of the universe. God is the sole ultimate power in the universe but is distinct from it. The Bible never speaks of God as impersonal. Instead, it refers to him in personal terms — who speaks, sees, hears, acts, and loves. God is understood to have a will and personality and is an all powerful , divine and benevolent being. He is represented in Scripture as being primarily concerned with people and their salvation.

Many Reformed theologians distinguish between the communicable attributes those that human beings can also have and the incommunicable attributes those which belong to God alone. Many of these attributes are "negative", meaning that they only say what God is not. For example, saying he is immutable is saying that he does not change. Some attributes ascribed to God in Christian theology [17] are:.

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Some Christians believe that the God worshiped by the Hebrew people of the pre-Christian era had always revealed himself as he did through Jesus ; but that this was never obvious until Jesus was born see John 1. Also, though the Angel of the Lord spoke to the Patriarchs, revealing God to them, some believe it has always been only through the Spirit of God granting them understanding, that men have been able to perceive later that God himself had visited them.

This belief gradually developed into the modern formulation of the Trinity , which is the doctrine that God is a single entity Yahweh , but that there is a trinity in God's single being, the meaning of which has always been debated. This mysterious "Trinity" has been described as hypostases in the Greek language subsistences in Latin , and "persons" in English.

Nonetheless, Christians stress that they only believe in one God. Most Christian churches teach the Trinity, as opposed to Unitarian monotheistic beliefs. Historically, most Christian churches have taught that the nature of God is a mystery , something that must be revealed by special revelation rather than deduced through general revelation. Christian orthodox traditions Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant follow this idea, which was codified in and reached its full development through the work of the Cappadocian Fathers. The true nature of an infinite God, however, is commonly described as beyond definition, and the word 'person' is an imperfect expression of the idea.

Some critics contend that because of the adoption of a tripartite conception of deity, Christianity is a form of tritheism or polytheism. This concept dates from Arian teachings which claimed that Jesus, having appeared later in the Bible than his Father, had to be a secondary, lesser, and therefore distinct god. For Jews and Muslims , the idea of God as a trinity is heretical — it is considered akin to polytheism.

Christians overwhelmingly assert that monotheism is central to the Christian faith, as the very Nicene Creed among others which gives the orthodox Christian definition of the Trinity does begin with: In the 3rd century, Tertullian claimed that God exists as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—the three personae of one and the same substance. In Christianity , the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is one being who exists, simultaneously and eternally , as a mutual indwelling of three Persons: Since earliest Christianity, one's salvation has been very closely related to the concept of a triune God, although the Trinitarian doctrine was not formalized until the 4th century.

At that time, the Emperor Constantine convoked the First Council of Nicaea , to which all bishops of the empire were invited to attend. Pope Sylvester I did not attend but sent his legate. The council, among other things, decreed the original Nicene Creed. For most Christians, beliefs about God are enshrined in the doctrine of Trinitarianism , which holds that the three persons of God together form a single God.

The Trinitarian view emphasizes that God has a will and that God the Son has two wills, divine and human, though these are never in conflict see Hypostatic union. However, this point is disputed by Oriental Orthodox Christians, who hold that God the Son has only one will of unified divinity and humanity see Miaphysitism. To the ancients, personhood "was in some sense individual, but always in community as well. Since the beginning of the 3rd century [28] the doctrine of the Trinity has been stated as "the one God exists in three Persons and one substance , Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Trinitarianism, belief in the Trinity, is a mark of Catholicism , Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy as well as other prominent Christian sects arising from the Protestant Reformation , such as Anglicanism , Methodism , Lutheranism , Baptist , and Presbyterianism.

A small minority of Christians hold non-trinitarian views, largely coming under the heading of Unitarianism. Most, if not all, Christians believe that God is spirit, [John 4: With this background, belief in the divinity of Christ and the Holy Spirit is expressed as the doctrine of the Trinity , [30] which describes the single divine ousia substance existing as three distinct and inseparable hypostases persons: The Trinitarian doctrine is considered by most Christians to be a core tenet of their faith.

Nontrinitarians typically hold that God, the Father, is supreme; that Jesus, although still divine Lord and Savior, is the Son of God ; and that the Holy Spirit is a phenomenon akin to God's will on Earth. The holy three are separate, yet the Son and the Holy Spirit are still seen as originating from God the Father. The New Testament does not have the term "Trinity" and nowhere discusses the Trinity as such. Some emphasize, however, that the New Testament does repeatedly speak of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to "compel a trinitarian understanding of God.

In many monotheist religions, God is addressed as the father, in part because of his active interest in human affairs, in the way that a father would take an interest in his children who are dependent on him and as a father, he will respond to humanity, his children, acting in their best interests. In Christianity, God the Father's relationship with humanity is as a father to children—in a previously unheard-of sense—and not just as the creator and nurturer of creation, and the provider for his children, his people.

Thus, humans, in general, are sometimes called children of God. To Christians, God the Father's relationship with humanity is that of Creator and created beings, and in that respect he is the father of all. The New Testament says, in this sense, that the very idea of family, wherever it appears, derives its name from God the Father, [Eph 3: However, there is a deeper "legal" sense in which Christians believe that they are made participants in the special relationship of Father and Son, through Jesus Christ as his spiritual bride.

Christians call themselves adopted children of God. In the New Testament, God the Father has a special role in his relationship with the person of the Son, where Jesus is believed to be his Son and his heir. According to the Nicene Creed , the Son Jesus Christ is "eternally begotten of the Father", indicating that their divine Father-Son relationship is not tied to an event within time or human history.

In Eastern Orthodox theology, God the Father is the "principium" beginning , the "source" or "origin" of both the Son and the Holy Spirit, which gives intuitive emphasis to the threeness of persons; by comparison, Western theology explains the "origin" of all three hypostases or persons as being in the divine nature, which gives intuitive emphasis to the oneness of God's being. Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature, person, and works of Jesus Christ , held by Christians to be the Son of God.

Primary considerations include the Incarnation , the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature and person of God, and the salvific work of Jesus. As such, Christology is generally less concerned with the details of Jesus' life what he did or teaching than with who or what he is. There have been and are various perspectives by those who claim to be his followers since the church began after his ascension. The controversies ultimately focused on whether and how a human nature and a divine nature can co-exist in one person.

The study of the inter-relationship of these two natures is one of the preoccupations of the majority tradition. Teachings about Jesus and testimonies about what he accomplished during his three-year public ministry are found throughout the New Testament. Core biblical teachings about the person of Jesus Christ may be summarized that Jesus Christ was and forever is fully God divine and fully human in one sinless person at the same time, [34] and that through the death and resurrection of Jesus , sinful humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life via his New Covenant.

While there have been theological disputes over the nature of Jesus, Christians believe that Jesus is God incarnate and " true God and true man " or both fully divine and fully human. Jesus, having become fully human in all respects, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, yet he did not sin.

As fully God, he defeated death and rose to life again. Scripture asserts that Jesus was conceived, by the Holy Spirit, and born of his virgin mother Mary without a human father. The apostle Peter, in what has become a famous proclamation of faith among Christians since the 1st century, said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. The word is often misunderstood to be the surname of Jesus due to the numerous mentions of Jesus Christ in the Christian Bible. The word is in fact used as a title , hence its common reciprocal use Christ Jesus , meaning Jesus the Anointed One or Jesus the Messiah.

Followers of Jesus became known as Christians because they believed that Jesus was the Christ, or Messiah, prophesied about in the Old Testament , or Tanakh. The Christological controversies came to a head over the persons of the Godhead and their relationship with one another. Christology was a fundamental concern from the First Council of Nicaea until the Third Council of Constantinople In this time period, the Christological views of various groups within the broader Christian community led to accusations of heresy , and, infrequently, subsequent religious persecution.

In some cases, a sect's unique Christology is its chief distinctive feature, in these cases it is common for the sect to be known by the name given to its Christology. The decisions made at First Council of Nicaea and re-ratified at the First Council of Constantinople , after several decades of ongoing controversy during which the work of Athanasius and the Cappadocian Fathers were influential.

The language used was that the one God exists in three persons Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ; in particular it was affirmed that the Son was homoousios of one substance with the Father. The Creed of the Nicene Council made statements about the full divinity and full humanity of Jesus, thus preparing the way for discussion about how exactly the divine and human come together in the person of Christ Christology.

Nicaea insisted that Jesus was fully divine and also human. What it did not do was make clear how one person could be both divine and human, and how the divine and human were related within that one person. This led to the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries of the Christian era. The Chalcedonian Creed did not put an end to all Christological debate, but it did clarify the terms used and became a point of reference for all other Christologies. He is considered by Trinitarians to be coequal with the Father and Holy Spirit. He is all God and all human: His mission on earth proved to be that of enabling people to know God as their Father, which Christians believe is the essence of eternal life.

God the Son is the second person of the Trinity in Christian theology.

The doctrine of the Trinity identifies Jesus of Nazareth as God the Son, united in essence but distinct in person with regard to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit the first and third persons of the Trinity. So Jesus was always "God the Son", though not revealed as such until he also became the "Son of God" through incarnation. So, in Christian theology, Jesus was always God the Son, [38] though not revealed as such until he also became the Son of God through incarnation. The exact phrase "God the Son" is not in the New Testament.

Later theological use of this expression reflects what came to be standard interpretation of New Testament references, understood to imply Jesus' divinity, but the distinction of his person from that of the one God he called his Father. As such, the title is associated more with the development of the doctrine of the Trinity than with the Christological debates. There are over 40 places in the New Testament where Jesus is given the title "the Son of God", but scholars don't consider this to be an equivalent expression.

Matthew cites Jesus as saying, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God 5: The book of the Acts of the Apostles and the letters of the New Testament, however, record the early teaching of the first Christians— those who believed Jesus to be both the Son of God, the Messiah, a man appointed by God, as well as God himself. This is evident in many places, however, the early part of the book of Hebrews addresses the issue in a deliberate, sustained argument, citing the scriptures of the Hebrew Bible as authorities.

For example, the author quotes Psalm The author of Hebrews' description of Jesus as the exact representation of the divine Father has parallels in a passage in Colossians. John's gospel quotes Jesus at length regarding his relationship with his heavenly Father. It also contains two famous attributions of divinity to Jesus. The biblical basis for later trinitarian statements in creeds is the early baptism formula found in Matthew Docetism from the Greek verb to seem taught that Jesus was fully divine, and his human body was only illusory. At a very early stage, various Docetic groups arose; in particular, the gnostic sects which flourished in the 2nd century AD tended to have Docetic theologies.

Docetic teachings were attacked by St. Ignatius of Antioch early 2nd century , and appear to be targeted in the canonical Epistles of John dates are disputed, but range from the late 1st century among traditionalist scholars to the late 2nd century among critical scholars. The Council of Nicaea rejected theologies that entirely ruled out any humanity in Christ, affirming in the Nicene Creed the doctrine of the Incarnation as a part of the doctrine of the Trinity. That is, that the second person of the Trinity became incarnate in the person Jesus and was fully human.

The early centuries of Christian history also had groups at the other end of the spectrum, arguing that Jesus was an ordinary mortal. The Adoptionists taught that Jesus was born fully human, and was adopted as God's Son when John the Baptist baptised him [39] because of the life he lived. Another group, known as the Ebionites , taught that Jesus was not God, but the human Moshiach messiah, anointed prophet promised in the Hebrew Bible.

Some of these views could be described as Unitarianism although that is a modern term in their insistence on the oneness of God. These views, which directly affected how one understood the Godhead, were declared heresies by the Council of Nicaea. Throughout much of the rest of the ancient history of Christianity, Christologies that denied Christ's divinity ceased to have a major impact on the life of the church. Arianism affirmed that Jesus was divine, but taught that he was nevertheless a created being there was [a time] when he was not [in existence] , and was therefore less divine than God the Father.

The matter boiled down to one iota; Arianism taught Homo i ousia —the belief that Jesus's divinity is similar to that of God the Father—as opposed to Homoousia —the belief that Jesus's divinity is the same as that of God the Father. Arius ' opponents additionally included in the term Arianism the belief that Jesus' divinity is different from that of God the Father Heteroousia.

Arianism was condemned by the Council of Nicea, but remained popular in the northern and western provinces of the empire, and continued to be the majority view of western Europe well into the 6th century. Indeed, even the Christian legend of Constantine's death-bed baptism involves a bishop who, in recorded history, was an Arian.

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In the modern era, a number of denominations have rejected the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity, including the Christadelphians and the Jehovah's Witnesses. The Christological debates following the Council of Nicaea sought to make sense of the interplay of the human and divine in the person of Christ while upholding the doctrine of the Trinity. Apollinaris of Laodicea — taught that in Jesus, the divine component took the place of the human nous thinking — not to be confused with thelis , meaning intent.

This however was seen as a denial of Jesus' true humanity, and the view was condemned at the First Council of Constantinople. Subsequently, Nestorius of Constantinople — initiated a view that effectively separated Jesus into two persons—one divine and one human; the mechanism of this combination is known as hypostas e s , and contrasts with hypostas i s —the view that there is no separation. Nestorius' theology was deemed heretical at the First Council of Ephesus Though, as seen by the writings of Babai the Great , the Christology of the Church of the East is highly similar to that of Chalcedon, many orthodox Christians particularly in the West consider this group to be the perpetuation of Nestorianism ; the modern Assyrian Church of the East has at times shunned this term, as it implies acceptance of the entire theology of Nestorius.

Various forms of Monophysitism taught that Christ only had one nature: A notable monophysite theologian was Eutyches c. Monophysitism was rejected as heresy at the Council of Chalcedon in , which affirmed that Jesus Christ had two natures divine and human joined in one person, in hypostatic union see Chalcedonian creed. While Eutychianism was suppressed into oblivion by the Chalcedonians and Miaphysites, the Miaphysite groups who dissented from the Chalcedonian formula have persisted as the Oriental Orthodox Church.

As theologians continued to search for a compromise between the Chalcedonian definition and the Monophysites , other Christologies developed that partially rejected the full humanity of Christ. Monothelitism taught that in the one person of Jesus there were two natures, but only a divine will. Closely related to this is Monoenergism , which held to the same doctrine as the Monothelites, but with different terminology.

The Incarnation is the belief in Christianity that the second person in the Christian Godhead , also known as God the Son or the Logos Word , "became flesh" when he was miraculously conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. The incarnation is a fundamental theological teaching of orthodox Nicene Christianity , based on its understanding of the New Testament.

The incarnation represents the belief that Jesus, who is the non-created second hypostasis of the triune God , took on a human body and nature and became both man and God. In the Bible its clearest teaching is in John 1: In the Incarnation, as traditionally defined, the divine nature of the Son was joined but not mixed with human nature [42] in one divine Person, Jesus Christ, who was both "truly God and truly man".

The Incarnation is commemorated and celebrated each year at Christmas , and also reference can be made to the Feast of the Annunciation ; "different aspects of the mystery of the Incarnation" are celebrated at Christmas and the Annunciation. This is central to the traditional faith held by most Christians. Alternative views on the subject See Ebionites and the Gospel according to the Hebrews have been proposed throughout the centuries see below , but all were rejected by mainstream Christian bodies.

In recent decades, an alternative doctrine known as " Oneness " has been espoused among various Pentecostal groups see below , but has been rejected by the remainder of Christendom. In the early Christian era , there was considerable disagreement amongst Christians regarding the nature of Christ's Incarnation.

While all Christians believed that Jesus was indeed the Son of God , the exact nature of his Sonship was contested, together with the precise relationship of the " Father ," "Son" and " Holy Ghost " referred to in the New Testament. Though Jesus was clearly the "Son," what exactly did this mean?

Debate on this subject raged most especially during the first four centuries of Christianity, involving Jewish Christians , Gnostics , followers of the Presbyter Arius of Alexandra, and adherents of St. Athanasius the Great , among others. Eventually, the Christian Church accepted the teaching of St.

Athanasius and his allies, that Christ was the incarnation of the eternal second person of the Trinity , who was fully God and fully a man simultaneously. All divergent beliefs were defined as heresies. This included Docetism , which said that Jesus was a divine being that took on human appearance but not flesh; Arianism , which held that Christ was a created being; and Nestorianism , which maintained that the Son of God and the man, Jesus, shared the same body but retained two separate natures.

The Oneness belief held by certain modern Pentecostal churches is also seen as heretical by most mainstream Christian bodies. The most widely accepted the early Christian Church made definitions of the Incarnation and the nature of Jesus at the First Council of Nicaea in , the Council of Ephesus in , and the Council of Chalcedon in These councils declared that Jesus was both fully God: These two natures, human and divine, were hypostatically united into the one personhood of Jesus Christ.

The link between the Incarnation and the Atonement within systematic theological thought is complex. Within traditional models of the Atonement, such as Substitution , Satisfaction or Christus Victor , Christ must be Divine in order for the Sacrifice of the Cross to be efficacious, for human sins to be "removed" or "conquered". In his work The Trinity and the Kingdom of God , Jurgen Moltmann differentiated between what he called a "fortuitous" and a "necessary" Incarnation.

The latter gives a soteriological emphasis to the Incarnation: The former, on the other hand, speaks of the Incarnation as a fulfilment of the Love of God , of his desire to be present and living amidst humanity, to "walk in the garden" with us. Moltmann favours "fortuitous" incarnation primarily because he feels that to speak of an incarnation of "necessity" is to do an injustice to the life of Christ. Moltmann's work, alongside other systematic theologians, opens up avenues of liberation Christology. In short, this doctrine states that two natures, one human and one divine, are united in the one person of Christ.

The Council further taught that each of these natures, the human and the divine, was distinct and complete. This view is sometimes called Dyophysite meaning two natures by those who rejected it. Hypostatic union from the Greek for substance is a technical term in Christian theology employed in mainstream Christology to describe the union of two natures, humanity and divinity, in Jesus Christ. A brief definition of the doctrine of two natures can be given as: The First Council of Ephesus recognised this doctrine and affirmed its importance, stating that the humanity and divinity of Christ are made one according to nature and hypostasis in the Logos.

The First Council of Nicaea declared that the Father and the Son are of the same substance and are co-eternal. This belief was expressed in the Nicene Creed. Apollinaris of Laodicea was the first to use the term hypostasis in trying to understand the Incarnation. The Nestorian Theodore of Mopsuestia went in the other direction, arguing that in Christ there were two natures dyophysite human and divine and two hypostases in the sense of "essence" or "person" that co-existed. The Chalcedonian Creed agreed with Theodore that there were two natures in the Incarnation.

However, the Council of Chalcedon also insisted that hypostasis be used as it was in the Trinitarian definition: Thus, the Council declared that in Christ there are two natures; each retaining its own properties, and together united in one subsistence and in one single person. As the precise nature of this union is held to defy finite human comprehension, the hypostatic union is also referred to by the alternative term "mystical union. The Oriental Orthodox Churches , having rejected the Chalcedonian Creed, were known as Monophysites because they would only accept a definition that characterized the incarnate Son as having one nature.

The Chalcedonian "in two natures" formula was seen as derived from and akin to a Nestorian Christology. However, the Oriental Orthodox have in modern ecumenical dialogue specified that they have never believed in the doctrines of Eutyches, that they have always affirmed that Christ's humanity is consubstantial with our own, and they thus prefer the term "Miaphysite" to refer to themselves a reference to Cyrillian Christology, which used the phrase "mia physis tou theou logou sesarkomene".

In recent times, leaders from the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches have signed joint statements in an attempt to work towards reunification. Although Christian orthodoxy holds that Jesus was fully human, the Epistle to the Hebrews , for example, states that Christ was 'holy and without evil' 7: The question concerning the sinlessness of Jesus Christ focuses on this seeming paradox. Does being fully human require that one participate in the "fall" of Adam , or could Jesus exist in an "unfallen" status as Adam and Eve did before the "fall," according to Genesis 2—3?

Evangelical writer Donald Macleod suggests that the sinless nature of Jesus Christ involves two elements. The assertion is that Jesus did not commit sin, nor could he be proven guilty of sin; he had no vices. In fact, he is quoted as asking, "Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? The temptation of Christ shown in the gospels affirms that he was tempted.

Indeed, the temptations were genuine and of a greater intensity than normally experienced by human beings. Jesus was tempted through hunger and thirst, pain and the love of his friends. Thus, the human weaknesses could engender temptation. The temptations Christ faced focused upon his person and identity as the incarnate Son of God. MacLeod writes, "Christ could be tempted through his sonship.

Regarding the temptation of performing a sign that would affirm his sonship by throwing himself from the pinnacle of the temple, MacLeod observes, "The sign was for himself: I must forget all else and all others and all further service until that is clear.

The communion of attributes Communicatio idiomatum of Christ's divine and human natures is understood according to Chalcedonian theology to mean that they exist together with neither overriding the other. That is, both are preserved and coexist in one person. Christ had all the properties of God and humanity. God did not stop being God and become man. Christ was not half-God and half-human. The two natures did not mix into a new third kind of nature. Although independent, they acted in complete accord; when one nature acted, so did the other.

The natures did not commingle, merge, infuse each other, or replace each other. One was not converted into the other. They remained distinct yet acted with one accord.

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Some now disregard or even argue against this "doctrine" to which most denominations of Christianity ascribe. This section looks at the Christological issues surrounding belief or disbelief in the virgin birth. A non-virgin birth would seem to require some form of adoptionism. This is because a human conception and birth would seem to yield a fully human Jesus, with some other mechanism required to make Jesus divine as well.

A non-virgin birth would seem to support the full humanity of Jesus. Barth speaks of the virgin birth as the divine sign "which accompanies and indicates the mystery of the incarnation of the Son. Donald MacLeod [56] gives several Christological implications of a virgin birth:. The discussion of whether the three distinct persons in the Godhead of the Trinity were of greater, equal, or lesser by comparison was also, like many other areas of early Christology, a subject of debate.

In Athenagoras of Athens c. On the other end of the spectrum were tritheism as well as some radically subordinationist views, the latter of which emphasized the primacy of the Father of Creation to the deity of Christ and Jesus's authority over the Holy Spirit. During the Council of Nicea, the modalist bishops of Rome and Alexandria aligned politically with Athanasius; whereas the bishops of Constantinople Nicomedia , Antioch, and Jerusalem sided with the subordinationists as middle ground between Arius and Athanasius.

Theologians like Jurgen Moltmann and Walter Kasper have characterized Christologies as anthropological or cosmological. These are also termed 'Christology from below' and 'Christology from above' respectively. An anthropological Christology starts with the human person of Jesus and works from his life and ministry toward what it means for him to be divine; whereas, a cosmological Christology works in the opposite direction.

Starting from the eternal Logos, a cosmological Christology works toward his humanity. Theologians typically begin on one side or the other and their choice inevitably colors their resultant Christology. As a starting point these options represent "diverse yet complementary" approaches; each poses its own difficulties.

Both Christologies 'from above' and 'from below' must come to terms with the two natures of Christ: Just as light can be perceived as a wave or as a particle, so Jesus must be thought in terms of both his divinity and humanity. You cannot talk about "either or" but must talk about "both and".

Christologies from above start with the Logos, the second Person of the Trinity, establish his eternality, his agency in creation, and his economic Sonship. Jesus' unity with God is established by the Incarnation as the divine Logos assumes a human nature. This approach was common in the early church—e. John in the Gospels. The attribution of full humanity to Jesus is resolved by stating that the two natures mutually share their properties a concept termed communicatio idiomatum.

Christologies from below start with the human being Jesus as the representative of the new humanity, not with the pre-existent Logos. Jesus lives an exemplary life, one to which we aspire in religious experience. This form of Christology lends itself to mysticism, and some of its roots go back to emergence of Christ mysticism in the 6th century East, but in the West it flourished between the 11th and 14th centuries. A recent theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg contends that the resurrected Jesus is the "eschatological fulfillment of human destiny to live in nearness to God.

The Christian faith is inherently political because allegiance to Jesus as risen Lord relativises all earthly rule and authority. Jesus is called "Lord" over times in Paul's epistles alone, and is thus the principal confession of faith in the Pauline epistles. Wright argues that this Pauline confession is the core of the gospel of salvation. The Achilles' heel of this approach is the loss of eschatological tension between this present age and the future divine rule that is yet to come.

This can happen when the state co-opts Christ's authority as was often the case in imperial Christology. Modern political Christologies seek to overcome imperialist ideologies. The resurrection is perhaps the most controversial aspect of the life of Jesus Christ. Christianity hinges on this point of Christology, both as a response to a particular history and as a confessional response.

After Jesus had died, and was buried, the New Testament states that he appeared to others in bodily form. Some skeptics say his appearances were only perceived by his followers in mind or spirit. After seeing Jesus they boldly proclaimed the message of Jesus Christ despite tremendous risk. Eusebius of the early church worked out this threefold classification, which during the Reformation played a substantial role in scholastic Lutheran Christology and in John Calvin 's [64] and John Wesley 's Christology. Pneumatology is the study of the Holy Spirit. In Christian theology pneumatology refers to the study of the Holy Spirit.

Within mainstream Trinitarian Christian beliefs he is the third person of the Trinity. The Christian theology of the Holy Spirit was the last piece of Trinitarian theology to be fully developed. Within mainstream Trinitarian Christianity the Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of the Trinity who make up the single substance of God. The English word comes from two Greek words: Pneumatology would normally include study of the person of the Holy Spirit, and the works of the Holy Spirit. This latter category would normally include Christian teachings on new birth , spiritual gifts charismata , Spirit-baptism , sanctification , the inspiration of prophets , and the indwelling of the Holy Trinity which in itself covers many different aspects.

Different Christian denominations have different theological approaches. Christians believe that the Holy Spirit leads people to faith in Jesus and gives them the ability to live a Christian lifestyle. The Holy Spirit dwells inside every Christian, each one's body being his temple. The word is variously translated as Comforter, Counselor, Teacher, Advocate, [72] guiding people in the way of the truth.

The Holy Spirit's action in one's life is believed to produce positive results, known as the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables Christians, who still experience the effects of sin, to do things they never could do on their own. These spiritual gifts are not innate abilities "unlocked" by the Holy Spirit, but entirely new abilities, such as the ability to cast out demons or simply bold speech.

Through the influence of the Holy Spirit a person sees more clearly the world around him or her and can use his or her mind and body in ways that exceed his or her previous capacity. A list of gifts that may be bestowed include the charismatic gifts of prophecy , tongues , healing, and knowledge. Christians holding a view known as cessationism believe these gifts were given only in New Testament times. Christians almost universally agree that certain " spiritual gifts " are still in effect today, including the gifts of ministry, teaching, giving, leadership, and mercy.

After his resurrection , Christ told his disciples that they would be " baptized with the Holy Spirit" and would receive power from this event, [Ac 1: On the first Pentecost , Jesus' disciples were gathered in Jerusalem when a mighty wind was heard and tongues of fire appeared over their heads. A multilingual crowd heard the disciples speaking, and each of them heard them speaking in his or her native language. Even with these early revivalists, the use of the term "born again" to describe this experience of conversion was still not widespread. Historically, the classic text from John 3 was consistently interpreted by the early church fathers as a reference to baptism.

Catholic commentator John F. This phrase without the article , refers to a rebirth which the early Church regarded as taking place through baptism 1 Pet 1. The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that the essential elements of Christian initiation are: Baptism gives the person the grace of forgiveness for all prior sins; it makes the newly baptized person a new creature and an adopted son of God 2 Corinthians 5: Baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark character of his belonging to Christ.

No sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents Baptism from bearing the fruits of salvation. Given once for all, Baptism cannot be repeated" CCC The Holy Spirit is involved with each aspect of the movement of grace. Moved by grace, man turns toward God and away from sin, thus accepting forgiveness and righteousness from on high" CCC The Catholic Church also teaches that under special circumstances the need for water baptism can be superseded by the Holy Spirit in a 'baptism of desire', such as when catechumens die or are martyred prior to receiving baptism CCC Pope John Paul II wrote about "the problem of children baptized in infancy [who] come for catechesis in the parish without receiving any other initiation into the faith and still without any explicit personal attachment to Jesus Christ" Catechesi Tradendae It consists of surrendering to the word of God and relying on it, but it also means, at a later stage, endeavoring to know better—and better the profound meaning of this word" CT The National Directory of Catechesis published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB defines conversion as, "the acceptance of a personal relationship with Christ, a sincere adherence to him, and a willingness to conform one's life to his.

The New Evangelization is directed to the Church herself, to the baptized who were never effectively evangelized before, to those who have never made a personal commitment to Christ and the Gospel, to those formed by the values of the secular culture, to those who have lost a sense of faith, and to those who are alienated [22]. Declan O'Sullivan, co-founder of the Catholic Men's Fellowship and knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , wrote that the "New Evangelization emphasizes the personal encounter with Jesus Christ as a pre-condition for spreading the gospel.

The born-again experience is not just an emotional, mystical high; the really important matter is what happened in the convert's life after the moment or period of radical change. The Lutheran Church holds that "we are cleansed of our sins and born again and renewed in Holy Baptism by the Holy Ghost.

But she also teaches that whoever is baptized must, through daily contrition and repentance, drown The Old Adam so that daily a new man come forth and arise who walks before God in righteousness and purity forever. She teaches that whoever lives in sins after his baptism has again lost the grace of baptism. In part, it reads: John saith, was not in Him. But all we the rest, although baptized and born again in Christ, yet offend in many things: Although the phrase "baptized and born again in Christ" occurs in Article XV, the reference is clearly to the scripture passage in John 3: The phrase consistently referred to baptism in the early Church.

According to the Reformed churches being born again refers to "the inward working of the Spirit which induces the sinner to respond to the effectual call". According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q 88, "the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption are, his ordinances, especially the word, sacraments, and prayer; all of which are made effectual to the elect for salvation. In Reformed theology, "regeneration precedes faith. God first sovereignly and efficaciously regenerates, and only in consequence of that do we act.

Therefore, the individual is passive in regeneration, neither preparing himself nor making himself receptive to what God will do. Regeneration is a change wrought in us by God, not an autonomous act performed by us for ourselves. In Methodism , the "new birth is necessary for salvation because it marks the move toward holiness. That comes with faith. Admit Him to your heart. Belief in the New Birth is an essential and distinctive element of Evangelical Christianity.

Also, to be born again means to follow Romans Jehovah's Witnesses believe that individuals do not have the power to choose to be born again, but that God calls and selects his followers "from above". The term "born again" is used by several Christian denominations, but there are disagreements on what the term means, and whether members of other denominations are justified in claiming to be born-again Christians. Catholics should ask Protestants, "Are you born again—the way the Bible understands that concept? Another of many examples is the Catholic who claims he also is "born again.

However, what the committed Catholic means is that he received his spiritual birth when he was baptized—either as an infant or when as an adult he converted to Catholicism. That's not what Jesus meant when He told Nicodemus he "must be born again" Jn 3: The deliberate adoption of biblical terms which have different meanings for Catholics has become an effective tool in Rome's ecumenical agenda.

First, classical Roman Catholicism teaches that regeneration occurs at baptism, a view known as baptismal regeneration. Reformed theology has insisted that regeneration may take place at any time in a person's life, even in the womb. It is not somehow the automatic result of baptism. Second, it is common for many other evangelical branches of the church to speak of repentance and faith leading to regeneration i.

By contrast, Reformed theology teaches that original sin and total depravity deprive all people of the moral ability and will to exercise saving faith. Regeneration is entirely the work of God the Holy Spirit - we can do nothing on our own to obtain it. God alone raises the elect from spiritual death to new life in Christ Eph.

Born again

Historically, Christianity has used various metaphors to describe its rite of initiation, that is, spiritual regeneration via the sacrament of baptism by the power of the water and the spirit. This remains the common understanding in most of Christendom , held, for example, in Roman Catholicism , Eastern Orthodoxy , Oriental Orthodoxy , Anglicanism , [51] Lutheranism , and in much of Protestantism. However, sometime after the Reformation , Evangelicalism attributed greater significance to the expression born again [52] as an experience of religious conversion Heb This same belief is, historically, also an integral part of Methodist doctrine, [53] [54] and is connected with the doctrine of Justification.

With the voluntaristic type, rebirth is expressed in a new alignment of the will, in the liberation of new capabilities and powers that were hitherto undeveloped in the person concerned. With the intellectual type, it leads to an activation of the capabilities for understanding, to the breakthrough of a "vision". I wish the author would have addressed how to respond to the complexity of Post-Modern era of church history.

Jul 05, Anthony Golden rated it liked it. Decent As an overview of Christian Church History, this booklet did well. However the formatting of the kindle version was poorly executed as footnotes appeared in the middle of sentences. Dec 05, Kevin Hall rated it really liked it. Easy read Short, easy to read, summary of Church history. Probably a book your teens or maybe even children a little younger could read and profit from. John rated it really liked it Jul 13, Mitchell Page rated it really liked it Jun 17, Brandon Costa rated it really liked it Aug 30, Eric Bryant rated it it was amazing Oct 14, Sarah Cobb rated it it was amazing Oct 11, Dan Mohnen added it Jan 10, Uli marked it as to-read Nov 11, Michael added it Jan 20, Anthony Hilder marked it as to-read Feb 09, Robin Howard is currently reading it May 26, Ryan Rhoden added it May 27,