ITC Documents Vol 1 by Sharkey (editor) Michael

Author:Sharkey (editor), Michael [Sharkey (editor), Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Spiritual & Religion
ISBN: 9780898702279
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Published: 2009-09-15T16:00:00+00:00

9

SELECT QUESTIONS ON CHRISTOLOGY*

In our time, the question of Jesus Christ has come to be raised with new sharpness at the levels of both piety and theology. Many new elements are being contributed by biblical studies and by historical research on the great Christological councils. With fresh insistence, men and women in our time pose the questions raised long ago: “Who is this man?” (cf. Lk 7:49) “Where did he get all this? What kind of wisdom is he endowed with? How is it that such miraculous deeds are accomplished by his hands?” (Mk 6:2). Obviously, no answers to these questions will do if merely confined to the domain of the history of religions. In the course of these recent inquiries, valuable avenues have been opened up. But tensions have developed as well, not only among experts in theology but also between some of these and the teaching office of the Church.

This situation has induced the International Theological Commission to take part in this extensive exchange of ideas in the hope that it will be able to contribute some appropriate clarifications. As it will soon appear, the International Theological Commission has not undertaken the ambitious project of presenting a complete Christology. It has deemed it wiser to bring its attention to bear on some points of particular importance, or on points whose difficulty has been brought to light by contemporary discussions.

I. HOW TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE PERSON AND WORK OF JESUS CHRIST

A. Historical Inquiries

1. Jesus Christ, the object referent of the Church’s Faith, is neither a myth nor any sort of abstract notion. He is a man who lived in a concrete milieu and who died after having lived his own life within the unfolding of a historical process. It follows that historical research concerning Jesus Christ is demanded by the Christian Faith itself. That such research is fraught with difficulties is a fact we know full well from the twists and turns it has taken in the course of time.

1.1. The New Testament does not intend to convey mere historical information concerning Jesus. It seeks above all to hand down the witness that ecclesial faith bears concerning Jesus and to present him in the fullness of his significance as “Christ” (Messiah) and as “Lord” (Kyrios, God). This witness is an expression of faith and seeks to elicit faith. A “biography” of Jesus in the modern sense of this word cannot be produced, if it were taken to entail a precise and detailed account. However, the same applies to various personages in antiquity and in the Middle Ages. Besides, we should not draw from this fact excessively pessimistic conclusions as to the possibility of coming to know the historical life of Jesus. Today’s biblical scholarship shows well why we should not.

1.2. More often than not in the last few centuries, historical research on Jesus has been directed against the Christological dogma. And yet this antidogmatic sentiment is not a necessary precondition for the appropriate application of the historical-critical method.

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