The authority of Jesus; Jesus' authority as only human

?
  • Created by: Tori
  • Created on: 13-09-20 11:08
View mindmap
  • The authority of Jesus; Jesus' authority as only human
    • Two groups of Christians take this view:
      • Small groups who interpret the texts in a different way form the majority of Christians.
        • Both in the early centuries of the Church and in modern times.
      • Liberal Christians who reject any idea of divine inspiration underlying the Bible.
    • Adoptionism
      • The belief that Jesus was not divine by nature.
      • God 'adopted' him as his 'son' at the Baptism.
        • In the same way that kings in ancient Isreal were thought to be chosen by God as his earlthy representative
        • Mark 1:9-11
    • Unitarianism
      • This denomination was founded in the 18th century.
      • Adopts a 'deist' view of the creation of the world.
        • Eg. that God created the world but then has no further connection with it.
        • Deist = the view that God didn't have any further relationship with the world after creating it.
          • Deism's belief in God is founded on reason and nature.
      • Jesus was just a spiritual leader so his teachings may contain useful insights.
        • There is no idea of divine authority attaching to them.
      • Rejects the idea of the divinity of Jesus.
    • Liberal Christian views
      • The Gospels were products of several decades of thinking about the significant of Jesus' life and teaching.
        • Jesus' teaching and the stories associated with him has been passed down by word of mouth.
          • Thus, they would have been altered and even exaggerated in the telling.
        • This process can be seen in the Gospels themseleves.
          • Eg. In the differing accounts of the calming of the storm that are found in the first three Gospels.
      • The influence of Greek philosophy and mystery religious led to the human Jesus being transformed into a divine figure.
        • This is reinforced by the outlook of modern science, which rejects the possibility of miracles.
      • Jesus was a human being like all other humans, though his deeply spiritual nature gave his teaching authority.

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Ethics resources:

See all Ethics resources »See all Sources of Wisdom and Authority resources »