Christology: The Role of Jesus

Coming from your rich Muslim tradition, I am sure you are aware of your own faith's conception of God and its similarities and contrasts to the treatment of God in Christianity. Yet it is Christianity's unique view of Christ that demarcates its ideology most saliently.

Debates in Christology have defined the Christian tradition since its inception. And the fruit of these debates is responsible for the varying Christologies across Christianity today. The common elements of those belief systems revolve around the ontological makeup of Jesus determined at the Council of Nicaea in 325, where it was decided that Jesus was not just an extraordinary human being. Rather, he was one being with two natures, human and divine. [1] This characteristic is the most common denominator across traditions. That God came to Earth in this form was a departure from Arianism, which held that Jesus was not divine. I also see most of Christology emphasizing Jesus's love for humanity. Jesus's love is often envisioned as a force that reaches out to humanity to offer itself to people.[2]

However, the exact composition of Jesus's status as part God, part man and

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both personal and political dimensions."[8] Asian Americans see Christ's example as fighting the powers that be as a vital part of his ministry and thus their own ministries.[9] But in manifold ways, Christ's work and being were seen as dynamically present and non-contradictory since the early church fathers. Paul wrote that Jesus's ministry is "God's working out of his purposes for humanity: 'In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself'" (2 Cor. 5:19).[10] God's being and work were seen as one in the same. The culmination of this viewpoint was the Chalcedon Creed. The Chalcedon Creed, established in 451, goes far in defining the interplay between Christ's work and being. Pope Leo I believed that the "Logos is not altered or changed by the Incarnation."[11] In the creed he influenced it is stated that Jesus was "fully divine, fully human, two natures in one person, without confusion or change, separation or division." Thus, Leo provided room for both a full aspect of divinity and a full aspect of humanity, which amplified Nicaea. While such a rendering reconciles Jesus's humanity and divinity without problems, it does not necessarily solve any Christological problems. Instead, it "drew the boundaries within which o
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Approximate Word count = 1412
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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