The Christmas holiday cannot properly be understood or recognized without an understanding of what holds true to its central mystery: The Incarnation. This Christian doctrine is important to Christianity because without the knowledge of both who Jesus Christ is and, why we need Jesus Christ, there cannot be a complete understanding of the gospel or means to salvation. Portrayed in the first gospel is evidence of the importance of knowing who Jesus Christ is. Based on one simple question that Jesus asks his disciples, in Matthew 16:13, "Who do men say that I, the Son of God, am," a Christian from a non- Christian and a heretic from a non-heretic can be distinguished. The attempt to answer the fundamental question, "Who is Jesus Christ?" and further, "Why do we need Jesus Christ?" is important because it broadens and enriches our understanding of Jesus Christ and also points our hearts towards the reason for celebrating his birth during the Christmas season.
There have been numerous writings that attempt to help one understand who and why we need Jesus Christ. One book in particular stands among what may be one of the most profound of them all. C.S Lewis writes in the preface of the book written by Athanasius, the great 4th century bishop of Alexandria, that it is indeed a "masterpiece" and "is a picture of the Tree of Life." Athanasius offers an approach to the doctrine of the Incarnation, which attempts to defend the Christian faith in his treatise, "The Incarnation of the Word of God." In this work he seeks to refute the heresy of that time period and periods to come and to explain why Jesus is the Christ. His approach to this doctrine provides a scriptural based, helpful foundation for the importance of the incarnation. This...
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...ave a mother; no woman can give birth to God. Cyril of Alexandria suggested that Nestorius was proposing that Jesus has two natures joined in a purely moral union. After Nestorianism came Eutychianism. Eutyches who was repeatedly summoned to the standing Synod of Constantinople in 448, finally appeared and stated his position whereas Christ has two natures before the incarnation, that was but one afterwards. The result of the Synod was that Eutyches was deposed and excommunicated, and the one-nature doctrine rejected.
Works Cited
Erickson, Millard J.. The word became flesh. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1991.
Fitzwater, P. B.. Why God became man,. Chicago: The Bible Institute Colportage Ass'n., 1934.
Gore, Charles. The incarnation of the Son of God. London: J. Murray, 1891.
Streatfeild, George Sidney. The incarnation. London: Longmans, Green, 1910.
Athanasius, a bishop and arch-enemy of Arius opposed his views. According to him, people are saved because God became a human and experienced a human death. God became human or mortal to make humans immortal. Salvation wouldn't be possible if Christ was not divine. Both views were brought into question at the Council of Nicea 325 CE, the relationship of the Father to the Son. Athanisius' theology was recognized as true and placed into the creed. The decided statement was that the Son was of the same substance with the Father, homoousia. Although homoousia ...
The image enforces the meaning of Christmas being lost, and that the people need to be aware of this now sacrilegious, laic time. The source displays the change from sacred Australia, which was a time of religion, to a more secular period. The source presents the contemporary cultural values of Australians today, often disassociating themselves from holy, divine objects, places or people. Losing their sacred connectedness to God or their purpose with religion. Taking Christ out of the equation presents how Jesus has been neglected by those supposed Christians of the modern day, who have forgotten the sole meaning of Christmas and their religion. This image imposes a reinforced message through an image presenting secularism of contemporary Australian Christmas with the words “missing”, and “what Jesus has become”. The view of Source 3 displays that anything of great importance in the religious sense, including Jesus, in temporal culture which exists in Australia is lost.
There are several aspects to consider when exploring the Christian worldview. There are many facets or denominations and they each have their own distinct beliefs and practices, but they all share the same fundamental beliefs. In this Paper we will explore the character of God, His creation, humanity and its nature, Jesus’ significance to the world, and the restoration of humanity, as well as my beliefs and the way that I interact with Christianity and my personal worldview.
This paper is written to discuss the many different ideas that have been discussed over the first half of Theology 104. This class went over many topics which gave me a much better understanding of Christianity, Jesus, and the Bible. I will be addressing two topics of which I feel are very important to Christianity. First, I will be focusing on the question did Jesus claim to be God? This is one of the biggest challenges of the Bibles that come up quite often. Secondly, I will focus on character development.
Christmas was originally supposed to be a celebration of the birthday of Jesus Christ. Modern historians suggest that Christ was actually born sometime in April, but that is hardly the point; the point is that a day on which to celebrate his birth and life was needed, and so one was chosen. During the season surrounding this holiday -- especially since it coincided with that of other, similar holidays -- it was thought right to honor Jesus by acting as he did, i.e., in a kind, generous, and forgiving manner. Out of this sprung the custom of giving gifts to loved ones on this holiday.
We know that Christ is someone unique and distinct in many ways from every other man, especially in his incarnation. This word Incarnation basically means `made flesh'. This passage shows the unique and miraculous events which were involved in Christ's incarnation.
One of the main principles of Christianity is the belief in both the divinity and humanity of Jesus, that these two natures are combined harmoniously in one being. In general, all modern Christians believe that Jesus was human, he was considered to be “The Word was made flesh” (John, I: 14). However, Jesus was more than just a human, despite being subjected to pain, suffering and death like all other human beings, he was sinless and also possessed the power to heal and to defy death in order to ascend, both body and spirit, into heaven. He was all man and all God, a combination of these two elements, remaining distinct but united in one being. The deity of Jesus is a non-negotiable belief in Christianity, which is referred to in many parts of scripture, “God was revealed in the flesh” (I Timothy, 3:16). The Christian faith does not perceive Jesus as God but rather a reincarnation of God, a mysterious deity who is the second person of the Holy Trinity. Throughout history, controversy has surrounded the issue of the humanity and divinity of Jesus, leading to the formation of Docetism, the belief that Jesus was fully divine but not fully human, Arianism, that Jesus was superior to all of creation, but less divine than God, and Nestorius, that there were two separate persons within Jesus. This the proportion of the divine and human within Je...
If the factions of Christianity are joined by belief in Jesus, they have been divided since the beginning in understanding who this man is. One of the very first questions the early church had to answer as the fledgling religion distinguished itself centered around the identity of their savior. Was he human or divine or some odd combination? Thinkers such as Arius argued that he was fully human, “pre-eminent in rank within the created order, yet someone who was created rather than being divine” (McGrath 56). However, several immediate problems with this theory arose, pointed out by critics such as Ath...
Four movements, now heresies, of the past each adopted one of these four views mentioned previously. They are: Nestorianism, Eutychianism, Apollinarianism, and Arianism. Nestorianism and Eutychianism fall under the controversy of the relationship between the two natures. The controversy of Nestorianism arose over the propriety of the term theotokos (“God-bearing”) as a description of Mary. At the Council of Chalcedon in 428 Nestorius gave his view of theotokos to which he held and overly dividing view of the two natures of Christ. Nestorius felt that the term was of doubtful propriety unless the term anthropotokos (“human-bearing”) was also used. Nestorius was later condemned when Cyril of Alexandria; who held the belief in Christ having one nature got involved. Nestorius’ pronouncement towards the birth of Christ caused Cyril to oppose him. Nestorius said that God cannot have a mother; no woman can give birth to God. Cyril of Alexandria suggested that Nestorius was proposing that Jesus has two natures joined in a purely moral union. After Nestorianism came Eutychianism. Eutyches who was repeatedly summoned to the standing Synod of Constantinople in 448, finally appeared and stated his position whereas Christ has two natures before the incarnation, that was but one afterwards. The result of the Synod was the Eutyches was deposed and excommunicated and the one- nature doctrine rejected.
Many people in American society assume that the main purpose of Christmas is the supposed coming of Santa Claus. Their assumption however is far from the truth. The origins of Christmas, which literally means "Christ mass," actually lie in Christianity-not in the fat man with a stomach that jiggles like a bowl full of jelly. Centuries ago, Christians developed a tradition of celebrating Jesus Christ's birthday. Although Christians were unsure of the exact date of Christ's birth, they officially declared December 25th as the day they would celebrate it. The holiday began simply as a day in which families would spend quality time together, reflecting on Jesus' life, giving thanks to God for sending his "one and only son."
Although Santa has become the main staple of the Christmas season it is important to remember the true reason for the season. Jesus’ birth is what December 25 began as until Saint Nicholas day merged with it. Even though the character that has developed and encountered extremely drastic changes, he has almost always been a giving generous figure in society. “Santa is ‘an invention of the advertising industry’ and ‘a representative of consumer society,’ according to Bonifatiuswerk der deutschen Katholiken [Boniface of German Catholics], which seeks to restore St. Nicholas to his proper place in the Christmas season” (Sweas).
"The elements of the Person of Christ are to be established; the faith which accompanies the theoretic process always presupposes their unity; this is for faith immediately certain, though not as yet narrowly defined, not as yet mediately cognised through the knowledge of the distinct elements, which
Although it was never celebrated in biblical times, Christmas is celebrated in local churches here in Visalia, California in praise of the fact that God loved us so much; he sent his one and only son to earth. He was wholey god and wholey man. Whereas we have succumbed to the temptations of this earth, Jesus was able to overcome all temptations and live a sinless life. He was then crucified as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. One cannot understand why we celebrate the birth of Christ without seeing the other end of his life. He was crucified for our sins and resurrected.
Throughout history, countless traditions have been created to celebrate several holidays. Many of those who celebrate the holiday traditions are unaware of their origins, but naturally accept them as cultural customs. To be specific, the popular Christian holiday, Christmas, has influenced many traditions including the stories of Santa Claus, the exchanging of gifts, the placement of trees in homes, and the decoration of glowing lights.
Jesus Christ is the reason for the season. Jesus is the reason we are able to celebrate this holiday. He is the reason we have so many presents at Christmas, but sometimes I think we take it for granted. When Jesus was born, he received three presents which is where we get the giving part of Christmas from. He was thankful for what he got, and there are some children that receive a shoe box, and could not be happier that someone in this world is thinking about them. On the other hand, there are some children that receive everything they ask for and more, and are still not happy because they wanted more. In my eyes, we should all be thankful for what we receive, and we should not want more after someone has went through the trouble of getting us what we got. Jesus does not want this day to be about getting presents, he wants this day to be about remembering him, and being happy that you are on the earth he created for us to live