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Discussion Board 1

Decent Essays

Prior to the twentieth century, theologians limited their discussion of Christ to the views set forth in their respective denominational or confessional traditions.” But, doubt that Christ in tradition was different from the actual Christ created a shift from metaphysical to historical Christology. This sparked the search for the historical Jesus in which two approaches, “Christology from Above” and “Christology from Below arose.

Christology from above, associated closely with Rudolf Bultmann, Karl Barth, and Emil Brunner, was born from the idea that rather than studying the historical Jesus as a man, the best study would be of the resurrected Christ, His works and the relationship established by faith from His disciples. The ideas of …show more content…

Christian Theology. Second ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1998.
Kähler, Martin. The So-Called Historical Jesus and the Historic Biblical Christ. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1962.
Pannenberg, Wolfhart. Jesus - God and Man. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1968.
Schweitzer, Albert. The Quest of the Historical Jesus. New York: Macmillan, 1964.
Tyrell, George. Christianity at the Cross-Roads. London: Longmans, Green, 1910.

Greetings Andre,

In regards to Christology from above, I agree that Faith in Christ is not contingent on rational proof. It seems absurd to me that theologians have tried to isolate and separate the proclamation of Christ from the historical account of His life as well as regarding the Book of John over the Synoptic Gospels for study. (Erickson, 608) Christology from below asserts the need to study the kerygma with the historical record and to approach them in the same way as ordinary history and Wolfhart Pannenberg’s conclusion of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ had enough proof to be considered historical fact. Erickson’s Augustinian approach purports this model begins with faith, but it does not remain autonomous of reason. He proposes that faith and reason can work in conjunction on the concept that the more understanding the researcher receives toward the kerygmatic Christ, the more he will appreciate and incorporate additional historical research. (Erickson 614-615)

I agree with you that any study of the Person of Christ

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