RELS 312 1st Edition Exam 3 Study Guide Lectures 8 12 Lecture 8 Questing for the Historical Jesus 3 4 Easter is the main Christian holiday It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus the Christ The four Gospels are written by Matthew Mark Luke and John who were all Disciples of Christ The Greek word for gospel translates as good news i e the news of redemption through Jesus Christianity is a missionary religion Christians invite others to partake in its practices and beliefs The person and work of the Jewish person Jesus is at the center of that movement within Judaism that became a religious community distinct from Judaism Principle Historical Periods 3 B C E 30 C E Lifetime of Jesus 30 120 The New Testament or Apostolic age 120 451 The early Church 1517 1600 The Protestant Reformation th 17 c present The modern period The Old Quest 1774 1906 The No Quest 1906 1953 The New Quest 1953 forward The Third Quest current SEE FOUR PERIODS OF QUESTING OUTLINE ON BB We can only perceive the historical Jesus in through the impact he made on His followers The Jesus we are questing for is the one who evoked the faith that gave rise to Christianity James Dunn Lecture 9 Jesus and His Followers 3 18 Mark Earliest of the four gospels Only talks about Jesus life after He begins His ministry after He is baptized by John the Baptist Luke Jewish priests conspire to do away with Jesus after he declares that the Sabbath day is for people rather than people for the Sabbath in order to justify His performing miracles on the Jewish day of rest The Roman governor Pontius Pilate crucifies Jesus when he doesn t deny that he is the king of the Jews Recounts the events in Jesus life before His ministry baptism Includes two chapters not found in Mark o It talks about visions anticipating Jesus birth and visions anticipating John the Baptist s birth It also says that angels told shepherds about Jesus so the shepherds came to pay their respects and proclaimed that He was the messiah Matthew says they were wise men o It talks in more detail than Mark about Jesus crucifixion Luke says that Pilate says that Jesus is innocent but lets the angry mob of Jews decide if he should be put to death Additionally while Mark only references the empty tomb Luke goes on to say that after the tomb was found empty Jesus appeared with His followers and speaks with them Matthew Seems to be written to persuade Jews to believe in the truth of Jesus claim to be messiah o Herod s prescribed genocide of all male infants under 2 years to be killed is reminiscent of Pharaoh s order that preceded Moses rise as the liberator of the Jews in the Exodus from Egypt Includes a genealogy of Jesus as a descendant of David through Joseph Mary s husband Shows the fulfillment of a prophecy that a virgin will have a son Luke and Matthew are the two sources that mention the virgin birth John Paul The most unique of the canonized gospels Matthew Mark and Luke are referred to as the synoptic gospels Asserts the cosmic significance of Jesus life and declares Jesus identity as messiah and savior In the beginning was the logos meaning a divine blueprint or pattern or divine intelligence John says that Jesus is the incarnation of that divine Word John s view of the significance of Jesus can be found in the verse for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life Paul was an educated cosmopolitan convert with a privileged status of a Roman citizen He was a major influence in the early Church After his conversion on his way to Damascus he travelled all around the Mediterranean preaching to Jews and gentiles non Jews about the good news of Jesus and His promises Paul s letters to the various churches that sprung up in the places he preached are the earliest Christian literature predating the Gospels They have majorly influenced Christian theology o 1 Thessalonians was the first book written His message was that you don t have to be become a Jew to follow Jesus You don t have to observe religious traditions You don t even have to correct moral conduct in order to be saved All you have to do is have faith in Jesus truly believe in His life death and message and then salvation is yours Marcion He was excommunicated by the Church in 144 His writing were rejected and not included in the New Testament Marcion expounded on Paul s distinction between the Law and the Gospel by saying that there were distinct deities in the Old Testament and the New Testament o To Marcion the God of the Old Testament was the Demiurge cruel stern and fearsome The New Testament God was a God of love and mercy who replaces the God of the Old Testament He rejected most of Christian writing save a portion of the Gospel of Luke and 10 of Paul s letters The Gnostics Gnosticism a school of interpretation that claims to have privileged secret knowledge both for Judaism and Christianity They see the world as dualistic a constant battle between good and evil Christian Gnostics saw Jesus as a messenger from the spirit realm to combat the evil in the world This view wasn t accepted by the Church because it was inconsistent with divine incarnation The Gospel of Thomas a Gnostic writing presents Jesus sayings as if He was still alive and does not describe His death The Early Church Christians refused to participate in the public worship of Roman civic gods through rituals because that would conflict with the Hebrew tradition and furthermore be idol worship which is strictly forbidden in the Christian faith As a result they faced Roman persecution on the grounds of insubordination The last and fiercest crackdown on Christians was under the reign of Diocletian This period is known as the Great Persecution but like the persecutions before it it was unsuccessful in containing the spread of the faith Christians embraced martyrdom in expectation of a reward in eternity with Christ Roman persecution had the unintended effect of helping Christians establish a reputation for courage and fidelity that attracted many new converts Constantine Christians were granted the freedom to practice their religion under Constantine Christianity didn t replace paganism overnight and Constantine may have accepted Christianity thinking that it would help to stabilize his regime Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in 379 under Theodosius The Apostles Creed named for the first group commissioned to preach the message of Jesus