A Proper Understanding About Jesus Christ

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Rudolph Bultmann sought to remake the Christian faith in existential terms while omitting all of the supernatural elements. He saw “faith” as a transforming experience, but argued that the miracles of the Bible were irrelevant, and thus that the Bible teaches error.

Liberation Theology and its Christology:

Assumes the reliability of Form Criticism and that we must begin with the Jesus of History, not the Christ of Faith which are separate.

We must not begin with traditional teachings regarding Christ

-- these, they say, are based on Greek philosophy

-- they are also based on biblical teachings which are a later addition to the Bible, and should not be seen as the “facts” of history about Jesus

Jesus emphasized the Kingdom of God in his “real” teaching

--here the emphasis is on praxis, not on theology.

--the Kingdom is about the future, not the past.

--it can be manifested in the present

Salvation is about “following Jesus” not about faith. This includes obedience to his moral teachings as well as experiencing “Christ Within”.

The resurrection of Jesus takes place in the hearts of believers.

Sin is collective though there is a personal dimension.

Jesus is the son of God, but is not unique and all may become children of God

There is a distinction between the message of Jesus (liberation) and messages about Jesus, as found in Scripture.

Truth is found outside the Church and outside of Scripture (ie, in Marxism etc)

Problems with Liberation Christology;

- It uses Scripture selectively --but, don’t we do that sometimes ourselves. Let us be careful for it will lead us into heresy.

- It tailors its message to the concerns of the poor and exploited, or at least to how these theologians perceive those concerns. Jesus did not do this himself. His teaching was universal.

- Liberation Christology is vague on many points of orthodoxy. They insist that Jesus is unique, but that he is not. He rose from the dead, but not physically. His resurrection is spiritual in the church, but he is present in every movement for liberation in the world.

We must stand against all false understandings of Jesus as well as false understandings of the Bible and of Salvation. Apologetics is first and foremost “reasoning” that proves that Jesus is who he claimed to be.