World Religions-Christianity Slides
World Religions-Christianity Slides
Christianity
OUR TREATMENT:
1. Jesus’ life and ministry
2. Jewish & Gentile Christianity
• Text: “Sermon on the Mount”
3. History & Doctrine: Councils
4. History & Doctrine: Denominations
5. Ritual & Practice
6. Malkovsky: Crossover Communion
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
30 CE: Romans crucify Jesus of Nazareth
50 – 100 CE: Composition of NT
325 CE: Council of Nicaea (Christ divine)
451 CE: Council of Chalcedon (Two natures)
1054 CE: Great Schism (Orthodox, Catholic)
16th c. CE: Protestant Reformation
1960s: Second Vatican Council
Christian Scriptures
Old Testament ≈ Hebrew Bible
Ordering slightly different; expanded for some Christians
New Testament
27 books, including
o 4 gospels + Acts of the Apostles (a sequel to Luke)
o 21 letters / epistles
o The Book of Revelation (a.k.a. The Apocalypse)
Paul’s letters likely the oldest complete texts (1Thess c. 50 C.E.)
The Gospels
“The Gospel” = the “good news” of salvation in Jesus Christ
Four canonical gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Genre: not a strict biography in the modern sense. Rather, a narrative
account of Jesus’ life, passion, death, and resurrection, based on historical
events and intended to bring the reader to faith in Jesus (cf. John 20:31).
The gospels themselves are already theological
Synoptic Problem
The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke frequently and closely parallel
one another in content (and even word order).
The “problem”: How do we account for their similarities and
differences?
Dominant answer: Two source theory: Mark (shortest) is the oldest.
Matthew & Luke use Mark’s narrative framework as a basis, inserting a
shared source (“Q”) as well as their own sources (“M” and “L”).
Jesus’ Life
Infancy narratives
Likely later material (Mark, oldest, has no account of Jesus’ birth).
Scholars: their form resembles Midrash (commentaries on Hebrew
Bible to fill gaps, resolve difficulties) more than it does strict history.
For example…
o Magi and animals / Gentiles
o Jesus in a feedbox / Eucharist
Beginning of Ministry - (1 year, per Synoptics; 3 years, per John)
Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist, an ascetic in the wilderness
o Act typically marks conversion, repentance (but Jesus sinless?)
Jewish interpretation of Torah (not out to start a new religion)
Healings and exorcisms; association with the marginalized
Main content: Reign (Kingdom) of God (“Messiah” oblique, secret)
Jesus’ Death
Passion narrative: account of Jesus’ suffering (passio) and death by
crucifixion on “Good Friday”; oldest stratus of gospels
Common elements: betrayal (Judas, collusion of high priests),
condemnation from Roman Prefect, relatively quick death
Unclear: relation to Passover. Synoptics have Thursday as Passover
meal, but Jesus’ death occurs before Passover meal in John (lambs).
Charge: “King of the Jews”
o Messianic claim? Reign of God connected…
o Danger of uprising would spook Rome
o Jesus’ horrific public execution was a major blow to his
movement; scandal.
Jesus’ Resurrection
Resurrection vs. Resuscitation
Gospels report Jesus resuscitating several dead people in his
ministry
Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said
to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four
days.’ Jesus…cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man
came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face
wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go’” (Jn
11:39-44).
Jesus’ own resurrection reported as something quite different
“Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The
two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached
the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying
there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went
into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that
had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in
a place by itself” (Jn 20:3-7).
Continuity
Reiterate commands.
Setting: Mountain – Moses
Discontinuity
Worship in secret
Reversal
Divorce
Authority – not as scribes
No abolishment of law but fulfillment.
More Background
Structure of the Early Church
• Built from “local” churches. Paul writes to “the church of God that is in
Corinth” (1Cor 1:2), “the church of the Thessalonians” (1Thess 1:1),
“the churches of Galatia” (Gal 1:2).
• Bishop (episkopos, “over-seer”): leader & authority of a local church;
understood as successors of Jesus’ apostles (= 12 core disciples)
• Universal “church” is in fact a “communion of churches.”
Decisions in the Early Church
Council: “A meeting, principally of bishops, gathered in Christ’s name, who
make decisions binding on the church” (John O’Malley).
• Ecumenical council: a “world wide” or “church wide” council; an
important meeting for decisions impacting the whole (rather than a
local) church.
• Typically, councils are convoked to settle major crises. The early
Church had numerous christological (“Who is Jesus?”) councils.
The Council of Nicaea (325 C.E.)
Crisis: Arianism
• Common Christian practice to regard Jesus as “Lord” (John 20:28).
• A presbyter (literally “elder,” a priest) named Arius teaches that Jesus
is not divine, but a kind of super-creature. Gains huge following.
o Saying: “before he was begotten or created, he was not.”
o Motivation: maintain God’s unity
Resolution: Affirm Jesus’ full divinity, “one in being” w/ God the Father;
condemn Arianism as a heresy (not orthodox)
• Decision enshrined in the Nicene Creed:
o “begotten, not made”; “homoousios with
the Father”; “God from God”
o Motivation: protect the story of salvation
(“What Jesus did,” exchange dictum)
• Opponents of Arius: Athanasius of Alexandria,
St. Nicholas of Myra (legend: punched Arius)
Christianity Today
Global population: ~2.6 billion
Catholic (1.3 billion)
• Latin Rite (“Roman”): 1.2 billion
Protestant (~900 million)
• Baptist churches: 100 million
• Lutheran: 80 million
• Non-denom.: 90 million
• Reformed: 70 million
Orthodox (280 million)
Anglican (110 million)
Restorationists, Non-Trinitarian
• Latter-Day Saints: 16.7 million
• Jehovah’s Witnesses: 8.5 million
Denominations of Christianity
Historical movements
• Christian Gnosticism: groups which combined Platonic dualism,
rejection of materiality, and salvation through the knowledge of an
elaborate myth (including multiple gods, good and evil)
o Marcion (2nd c.): taught that Jewish God different from Jesus’
• Pelagianism: 4th c. movement (and persistent tendency) based on the
idea that human salvation can be achieved through one’s own
individual effort, apart from God’s help (grace).
o Doctrine of Original Sin (Augustine, d. 430):
1) There was a “first” sin historically and personally committed
2) We are all implicated in the first sin; the human race stands at a distance
from God as a result.
Historical and Contemporary
• Non-Chalcedonian Christians – Ancient traditions which elected not to
accept the formula “one person, two natures” (Chalcedon, 451 CE)
o Patristic answer: the “exchange dictum”
Christian Practices
Veneration (Latin: dulia): reverence
shown to finite people or things
which lead to God. Differs from
adoration (Latin: latria), which is
reserved for God alone.
Iconography
• Sacred images produced in the
midst of prayer and fasting
o Highly stylized, not “realistic”; “windows to the eternal”
• Important especially to Christian spirituality in the East
Communion of Saints
• Saints (especially Mary) venerated by Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans
• Early practice to worship at graves of martyrs (catacombs);
intercession
• Motivation: All are alive in Christ, communion exists beyond death.
How do access to these rituals differ and what rationale stands behind
each position?
2. How much does cultural setting impact the practice of a religious
tradition like Christianity? Is it really a singular “Catholicism” that
Malkovsky experienced in both Germany and India?