The Person of Jesus Christ

• What is the main question regarding Jesus Christ in this study material?

  Who Jesus was
• What are the three views of Jesus that the spec wants you to consider?

  Son of God, teacher of wisdom, political liberator
• What do almost all Christians believe about Jesus?

  He is the son of God
• What does the doctrine of the Trinity state?

  One God in three persons
• What does the trinitarian view claim about Jesus Christ?

  Jesus is the Son of God
• What are the key points of the Nicene Creed?

  • Belief in one God
  • Christ is the Son of God, “eternally begotten”
  • “Begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father”
  • “He came down from heaven for our salvation”
  • “By the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate”
  • “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life”
• What does the Chalcedonian Definition claim about Christ?

  Christ has two natures in one being
• What is the term used for the nature of God in Christian monotheism?

  Triune God
• How are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit described in relation to each other?

  Co-equal and co-eternal
• What is the main critique of the Trinity by Unitarian theologian Channing?

  It creates infinite confusion
• What does John Hick argue about Jesus being God?

  It leads to contradictory qualities
• How does Hick illustrate his argument against Jesus being God?

  By comparing it to a circle being a square
• What do Augustine and Karl Barth say about the Trinity?


  It is a mystery to be taken on faith
• What is the significance of the biblical evidence for the Trinity?

  It supports the relationship between Father and Son
• What does John 10:30 state about Jesus and the Father?

  They are one
• What do the "I am" statements from John suggest about Jesus?

  He thought of himself as divine
• What does Hick argue about the title 'son of God' in Judaism?

  It was a common title for special humans
• What is the development argument regarding Jesus' divinity?

  It suggests later invention of his divine status
• How does Hick apply demythologisation to the incarnation?

  It embodies a conviction in life
• What does Mark 1:11 say about Jesus during his baptism?

  “You are my beloved son”
• How does Jesus' control over miracles differ from Old Testament prophets?

  Jesus performed miracles under his own control
• What was Reimarus' view of Jesus after the Crucifixion?

  His disciples hid his body to pretend resurrection
• What does Reimarus argue about the timing of the gospel authors?

  They wrote miracles long after Jesus' death
• What does St. Paul claim about the resurrection of Jesus?

  Faith is pointless if it did not happen
• What does N.T. Wright argue about the resurrection?

  It can be justifiably believed as historical
• What does Wright suggest about the empty tomb's discovery?

  It suggests authenticity due to women's testimony
• What does Wright conclude about the rise of early Christianity?

  It cannot be explained without the resurrection
• What did Wright claim about Jewish theological beliefs on the Messiah and resurrection?

  They underwent radical mutations contrary to traditional thought.
• Why does Wright believe the historian must ask why these theological changes occurred?

  Because they were astonishing transformations in a conservative religion.
• What does Wright propose as the reason for the changes in Jewish beliefs?

  The bodily resurrection of Jesus really happened.
• What are two key elements of Wright's case for the resurrection?

  The empty tomb and post-mortem appearances.
• Why is the discovery of the empty tomb by women significant?

  It suggests the account was not fabricated.
• What conclusion does Wright draw about the rise of early Christianity?

  It cannot be explained without the resurrection of Jesus.
• What is the hallucination hypothesis regarding Jesus' post-mortem appearances?

  It suggests they were visionary hallucinations.
• How does Wright respond to the hallucination hypothesis?

  Disciples would not conclude resurrection from visions.
• What does Keith Parsons argue about the transformation of Jewish theology?

  It does not require a supernatural explanation.
• What does Parsons cite as evidence of Jesus' heretical elements?

  Jesus claimed authority to forgive sins.
• What is the significance of Jesus' teachings contradicting Moses' laws?


  It implies Jesus had greater authority than Moses.
• What is C. S. Lewis' trilemma regarding Jesus' identity?

  Jesus was either God, insane, or evil.
• What does Hick argue about Jesus' divinity?

  Jesus was not uniquely the son of God.