I have heard of the troubles you are experiencing in your scripture class at Loyola Academy. High school can be difficult, especially at such a prestigious Jesuit college preparatory. But I am sure you will recover. And I think you will have a better understanding of the role of Jesus after reading this letter.
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 the purpose of his loving incarnation vary between schools of thought. In short, his work and being have been understood differently. In some modes of thinking, Jesus's life of love was a work of expiation, or atonement. This way of thinking holds that God acts (suffers and triumphs) in and through Jesus. Thus it is Jesus's divinity that is essential to his work, which is to atone for humanity's sins. Without his divinity, he could not accomplish his work. His existence and death...