To place Christ as part of the divine with a singular God was to deny the emperor his power and influence. Facing these tidal headwinds coming from the emperor, the promotion of Christology was viewed as useful propaganda by early Christians. It became a useful guide to explain many of the mysteries surrounding the human nature of Jesus, his good deeds, and his subsequent resurrection into Heaven.
While trying to convince an audience couched in Greek philosophy, practitioners of Christology attempted to mesh current Hellenistic thinking with the doctrine of Christ. Acts 17: 16-34 presents an experience by Paul trying to persuade a Greek audience to embrace the humanity and divinity of Christ. While at a meeting in Areopagus, Paul states: …show more content…
Jesus was cast as a figure sympathetic to those who were considered to be society’s outcast and downtrodden. John 10:14-15 illuminates this characterization: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep” (NIV). The image of the “father” Christ differed from Roman and Greek gods who were often seen as aloof, violent, or ignorant of suffering. Therefore, as Christology embraced a caring god who considered himself personally responsible for all humanity, early adherents to Christianity found solace from the violent persecution of their fellow brothers and sisters. Again, this showcases Christology’s importance as a propaganda tool. Teaching that God and Christ were omni-benevolent, and actually cared for their worshippers, painted a stark difference between the human whims of the Pontifex …show more content…
God, however, tricked the Devil into accepting Christ’s death as a ransom, for the Devil did not realize that Christ could not be held in the bonds of death. Once the Devil accepted Christ’s death as a ransom, this theory concluded, justice was satisfied and God was able to free us from Satan’s grip. (1995)
This theory exemplifies the early Christian belief that Jesus was both human and divine, and that it was through his sacrifice and reconciliation with God that humanity was able to overcome original sin. By adequately explaining the nature of Jesus, this gave wide leverage to the early Church. Furthermore, Jesus was crucial in developing an eschatology, or a record for the end times, for the early Church. Christian eschatology is concerned primarily with the Second Coming of Christ. During the first-century AD, early Jewish beliefs fell into two schools of thought about eschatology: The Sadducees who did not believe in an afterlife, and the Pharisees who believed the opposite (NIV, Acts). But Christian eschatology developed key themes that include the afterlife, Hell, Heaven, and the doctrine of the Resurrection of the
While trying to convince an audience couched in Greek philosophy, practitioners of Christology attempted to mesh current Hellenistic thinking with the doctrine of Christ. Acts 17: 16-34 presents an experience by Paul trying to persuade a Greek audience to embrace the humanity and divinity of Christ. While at a meeting in Areopagus, Paul states: …show more content…
Jesus was cast as a figure sympathetic to those who were considered to be society’s outcast and downtrodden. John 10:14-15 illuminates this characterization: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep” (NIV). The image of the “father” Christ differed from Roman and Greek gods who were often seen as aloof, violent, or ignorant of suffering. Therefore, as Christology embraced a caring god who considered himself personally responsible for all humanity, early adherents to Christianity found solace from the violent persecution of their fellow brothers and sisters. Again, this showcases Christology’s importance as a propaganda tool. Teaching that God and Christ were omni-benevolent, and actually cared for their worshippers, painted a stark difference between the human whims of the Pontifex …show more content…
God, however, tricked the Devil into accepting Christ’s death as a ransom, for the Devil did not realize that Christ could not be held in the bonds of death. Once the Devil accepted Christ’s death as a ransom, this theory concluded, justice was satisfied and God was able to free us from Satan’s grip. (1995)
This theory exemplifies the early Christian belief that Jesus was both human and divine, and that it was through his sacrifice and reconciliation with God that humanity was able to overcome original sin. By adequately explaining the nature of Jesus, this gave wide leverage to the early Church. Furthermore, Jesus was crucial in developing an eschatology, or a record for the end times, for the early Church. Christian eschatology is concerned primarily with the Second Coming of Christ. During the first-century AD, early Jewish beliefs fell into two schools of thought about eschatology: The Sadducees who did not believe in an afterlife, and the Pharisees who believed the opposite (NIV, Acts). But Christian eschatology developed key themes that include the afterlife, Hell, Heaven, and the doctrine of the Resurrection of the