Who do you say that I am?

Mark 8:27 Jesus went on with his disciples to the

villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he

asked his disciples, ‗Who do people say that I

am?‘28And they answered him, ‗John the Baptist;

and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the

prophets.‘ 29He asked them, ‗But who do you say

that I am?‘ Peter answered him, ‗You are the

Messiah.

―Alexamenos worships his god‖

C.S

. Le

wis

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying thereally foolish thing that people often say aboutHim: ―I‘m ready to accept Jesus as a great moralteacher, but I don‘t accept His claim to be God.‖That is the one thing we must not say. A man whosaid the sort of things Jesus said would not be agreat moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic— on a level with the man who says he is apoached egg — or else he would be the Devil ofHell. You must make your choice. Either this manwas, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman orsomething worse. You can shut Him up for afool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon;or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord andGod. But let us not come with any patronizingnonsense about His being a great human teacher.He has not left that open to us. He did not intendto.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/61/Race_of_Jesus.ogv

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1. If we can know about God through our own

reason and observation, why did God make

Revelation available to us?

2. Throughout history, humans have been

seeking God. Why do we have that inborn

tendency?

3. What is salvation history?

4. In what ways is God‘s loving plan in history

fulfilled in the Incarnation?

5. What sources of information can help to

assure us that God really exists?

6. Given that faith is a sure and certain gift of

God to believe in Him, why should we try to

use our reason to reach him?

ChristologyChristology – the reasoned account of Christian faith in Jesus as Christ.• serves faith by seeking to

understand

• by understanding faith, one may enter into it more deeply & more responsibly

• allows faith to affect more dimensions of life: personal, interpersonal, societal, political, cultural

Interplay between Jesus & Christ

Jesus

A particular

individual in a

historical context

The historical

person

Unrepeatable event

ChristGreek title of honor

identifying Jesus as the

anointed one of God (Hebrew: Messiah)

The universal being

Recurring

Pharisees Sadducees

Most influential sectStrict Observance of Law

(Oral and Written)

Examples:

Nicodemus, Paul

Elite Priests

Chosen by Romans to

keep the peace.

Temple ManagementMajority of the Sanhedrin

Torah alone saves.

Essenes Zealots

Dessert Dwellers

Monastic Lifestyle b/c

city was corrupt

Example: John the

Baptist

Rebellious, Militant

Jewish Independence

Began the 70 AD

Revolt

Examples: Simon,

Judas?

USA (PRESENT DAY) PALESTINE (1ST CENTURY)

GALILEE -- WHERE JESUS

SPENT MOST OF HIS LIFE;

MEANS ―CIRCLE OF

GENTILES‖

SAMARIA – BETWEEN

JUDEA AND GALILEE

JUDEA – WHERE JESUS

WAS BORN AND DIED

Why can‘t we all just get along?

Jews vs. the Samaritans

What have the Romans done for us?

• Romans built up the land…

• Permitted freedom of religion

• Peace and Taxes

6-4 BC JESUS‘ BIRTH

30-33 AD JESUS‘ PUBLIC MINISTRY

45-60 PAUL‘S MINISTRY & EPISTLES

50 COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM

63 NERO‘S CHRISTIAN PERSECUTIONS

66-70 JEWISH REVOLT/DESTRUCTION/DIASPORA

70-95 GOSPELS & ACTS WRITTEN

80-150 REVELATION & OTHER LETTERS

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1. What is significant about Christianity being rooted in Judaism?

2. Explain how the Gospels developed.

3. What criteria did the early Church Fathers use to determine which books formed the canon of the New Testament?

4. Name the two primary ways that Church passes on Revelation and explain how these ways are related.

• Magisterium – the official, authoritative teaching voice of the Church

5. Explain the difference between Tradition

and tradition?

6. How do we know that the beliefs and teachings of the Church really come from God?

• Parousia – (Gk ―triumphal

return‖); the return of

Jesus in glory at the end

of time (the second coming).

• Everybody is dying!

(persecutions, revolt,

diaspora)

• What was Nero‘s

problem?

Gospel – (Gk) euangelion; ―good announcement.‖

Evangelist – one who tells the good news.

Gospels emphasize a basis of faith not historical Jesus.

They don‘t give us a historical portrait of Jesus; they give us a portrait of faith.

Historical Consciousness: Everything written was in a particular time and place.