Day 4. September 8, 2006
Movement 1. Dei Filius
Lecture 2. From Jesus to Christ: How the Jesus of History Became the Christ of Faith (Part 3)
Like each of the synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of John was intended for a distinct audience. Unlike the synoptic Gospels, John does not depict the full sweep of the life and ministry of Jesus. Instead, Jesus, the stranger descended from the realm of light proclaims himself humanity's new access to God. The final part of the canon, the letters attributed to Paul, are the oldest Christian-origin documents. Paul lacked direct knowledge of Jesus' life and ministry but had come to know the cosmic Christ on the road to Damascus where he was set the task of taking the Gospel to the gentiles. As the canon slowly took shape over four centuries the emerging church had to address three core problems. First was the failure of Israel to embrace Jesus as the Messiah. Second was the failure of Jesus to return. Third was the definition of Jesus. From conflicts over these issues orthodoxy gradually emerged.