Another Miracle Birth Story Respond To Any Of Myp

TEXTBOOK: Smith The World’s Religions (50th anniversary edition) isbn #978006166018

Professor notes:

* Christianity is the second of the western, or Abrahamic faiths, that we will study. These religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) are cousins who all claim to have inherited the covenant promises made to Abraham–a major character in the book of Genesis. Since Jesus was Jewish and descended from Abraham, Christians feel themselves inheritors of the covenant promised God had made to Abraham.

*Christianity centers on the belief that the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament came in the person of Jesus. As we saw last week, Jesus was Jewish, as were his earliest followers. However, the New Testament shows that the faith quickly expanded to welcome non-Jews into the religion (this was not without controversy, as we see in debates in the book of Acts. Some early Christians felt converts needed to follow all the commandments of Judaism, but they were eventually overruled by those who said this was not necessary).

* The story of Jesus himself is told in the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), which detail his life and ministry. These are not actual biographies but stories that focus on key aspects of his story.

* Two of the gospels (Matthew and Luke) contain stories of Jesus’ birth and two do not. With Jesus, we have another miracle birth story…specifically, his conception taking place by the Holy Spirit. Both Mary and Joseph, his parents, are informed of this miraculous conception by angels on separate occasions.

* All four gospels focus primarily on his ministry, which begins around age 30 and ends at his execution around age 33.

* Jesus and his fellow Jews lived under Roman occupation. Rome was the world superpower of the time and was known to bring peace to conquered territories by force. Jesus was a peasant like the majority of his fellow Jews, and lived in Nazareth…far from the capital city of Jerusalem.

* Our textbook divides Jesus’ ministry into two parts: What he did—performing miracles and challenging authority by his behavior (it is important to note that almost everything Jesus did was scandalous–interacting with women and the outcasts of society, arguing with religious leaders). What he said— we have very little of the words of Jesus recorded in the gospels, but what we have shows a deeply spiritual and mysterious person. He often spoke in parables, he frequently answered a question with a question, and contradicts himself at times (this is not his fault, as he did not write the scriptures himself). Like his actions, his words challenged authority—“the last shall be first,” “the meek will inherit the earth,” “whoever does not hate father and mother…cannot be my disciple.”

* Modern scholars of the historical Jesus see him as someone doing his best to challenge an unfair and unjust system, and this is what brought him before the Roman authorities and led to his execution by crucifixion. After his death, the gospels tell of his resurrection from the dead.

* Christianity came to see Jesus as the son of God. It is important to note that Caesar Augustus, the Roman Emperor at the time Jesus was born, was also viewed as the son of God (he had been adopted by Julius Caesar, who was proclaimed a deity after his execution). This fact adds more intrigue and depth to the followers of Jesus, who were offering a much different path to peace in their son of God than the peace by force which Rome offered the world.

* The Roman Empire allowed a number of religions to exist (including Judaism), and the new Christian religion was yet another that people could follow. However, it was expected that citizens would worship the Roman state gods along with any other god they chose, for the Roman gods had blessed the empire and to ignore them was both an act of political subversion, and an action that could bring disastrous results by incurring the wrath of the gods. Christians typically refused to worship these state gods, and thus were increasingly seen as subversive. That said, persecution of Christians was sporadic for nearly 300 years— For nearly 300 years, depending on the Emperor at the time. This changed under Emperor Constantine, who converted to Christianity in the early 300’s and made the faith much more acceptable.

* Constantine also called for a church council at the city of Nicea, to determine exactly what Christians believed. Since Jesus was Jewish and spoke so mysteriously, early believers had many different opinions about who Jesus was and who God was. The council affirmed some key concepts-Jesus had died on the cross, and his death was necessary for the Atonement of people’s sins. Despite being killed, Jesus came back to life with his Resurrection, which is available to all believers in him. Jesus himself was declared to be fully human and fully God (100 % human and 100 % divine)–this is known as the Incarnation. The council also declared the concept of the Trinity—that there is one God in 3 persons–the Father, Son/Jesus and Holy Spirit. Each of these is fully God alone, and despite there being three, Christians declare themselves to be fully monotheistic (the Incarnation and Trinity are the mysterious explanation for God that Christians have adopted. As with other faiths, trying to put into words that which cannot be fully explained in words!).

* There are 3 major branches of Christianity…be sure to see in the textbook what makes each of them distinctive. The Orthodox and Roman Catholic branches have both been around since the beginning of the faith (they were united until a split in 1054), and the Protestant Reformation led to the third branch beginning in 1517.
Catholics are the largest of the three, while Protestants are the largest in the United States.
Marcus Borg was one of the leading scholars on the life of the historical Jesus. These two videos give an academic view of the Resurrection and its meaning in people’s lives, whether you believe in a literal empty tomb or not (these are two videos making up a complete statement from Borg from a debate…a bit longer than the other videos but worth a listen. )

Part 1:

Part 2:

A look at the Trinity (something to write about in this week’s discussion could be the mysterious nature of Christian monotheism)