Development of Christian Doctrine
CLICK HERE
Prof. Declan O'Byrne
Index
Please click on each topic to access the materials and exercises provided on that topic
Doctrinal development
The doctrine of the Trinity (Nicaea)
The "Christological question"
Human divinization
1. Doctrinal Development
Doctrinal Development
The contents of Christian "doctrine" are the result of doctrinal development that has occurred over time in light of the Resurrection.The "doctrines" of the Trinity, the divinity of the Son and so on, although rooted in the teaching of Jesus and in Holy Scripture, are the result of a development in the understanding of the Jesus event, a development that the Church attributes to the Holy Spirit.
Doctrinal Development
Even the Gospels themselves are to a great extent the result of doctrinal development; they are not simply bibliographies, but theological reflections on the life of Jesus that already contain what Vatican II calls a "fuller understanding of things" that depends not only on eyewitness testimony, but also on the "glorious events of Christ" (especially the resurrection) and "illuminated by the Spirit of truth."
2. The Doctrine of the Trinity
The doctrine of the Trinity (premises)
Kingdom Announcement
Son/God creature
Monotheism?
One God
Resurrection
Council of Nicaea
Father only true God
Jesus - God
The Messiah
Crucifixion
The doctrine of the Trinity
The main purpose of the Council of Nicaea was to address the teaching of Arius who thought that somehow the Son should be subordinate to God.
For the first time the church asks the question of the precise meaning of the proclamation of the Son's divinity
The doctrine of the Trinity
The question addressed by the Council can also be put this way: is the Son "god" as a deified creature, or is he "god" as the only God is: the Father? The consensus of the bishops present at the Council was that the "divinity" of the Son is equal to that of God Himself. To say this the Council uses language not taken from the Bible: the Son is of the "same substance" as the Father and nserve certain expressions in a "symbol" of faith to indicate this position.
The doctrine of the Trinity
The symbol of faith is a formula of words expressing the common faith of the Church. As the CCC says in n. 189, these formulas originated historically with baptism: one is baptised in the nname of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19). There are various 'symbols of faith', but the one typically used in the Mass is the one approved by the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Costantinople in 381.
Read
The doctrine of the Trinity
FATHER
the result of fourth-century doctrinal development is that the church understands that when it proclaims the Trinity, it is also proclaiming that the second and third persons of the Trinity are not creatures, and are divine as the one God is: the Father. The theological tradition later elaborates this with theories about the Trinity being a divine substance in three persons.
HOLY SPIRIT
SON
The symbol of Nicaea
3. The "Christological question"
The "Christological question"
The teaching of the Council of Nicaea on the consubstantial divinity of the Son sparked a debate around the person of Christ. The problem to be addressed arose from the fact that if the Son is truly of the same substance as the Father, it was not easy to explain the fact that the Incarnate Son lived a truly human life.
The Son's divinity is so different from his humanity that it is necessary to keep them distinct, almost like two persons (Nestorius, see CCC 466). Nestorius' position was condemned at the Council of Ephesus (431), the council that also taught that Mary is Mother of God (Theotokos), and not just mother of the man Jesus, precisely because Christ is one (see again CCC 466).
The opposite tendency is found in Eutiche. Eutiche (the CCC 467 when he speaks of "Monophysites", he thought that in Christ divinity was so united with his humanity that it almost erased his humanity. There was a kind of confusion between divinity and humanity, with the problem that as a result Jesus was not a man like us. But if Jesus is not a man like us, we are not saved.
Thesis of Nestorius
Eutiche's Thesis
The "Christological question"
Following therefore the holy fathers we teach that we all concordantly profess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man, of rational soul and body, consubstantial with the Father according to divinity and the same consubstantial with us according to humanity, in all things similar to us except sin. Begotten of the Father before the ages according to divinity, in the last days he himself for us and for our salvation was born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to humanity, one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only Begotten, who makes himself known in two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation. For absolutely the difference of natures has not been eliminated because of the union, but instead the properties of both natures have been preserved and merged into one prosopon and into one hypostasis [the two words can be translated as "person"], it is not apportioned or divided into two prosopa, but one and the same is the Son and Only Begotten, God Logos, Lord Jesus Christ. Thus the prophets taught us anciently about him and then the Lord Jesus Christ himself, and the Symbol of the fathers transmitted to us. (see CCC 467).
Per affrontare queste due posizioni, il Concilio di Calcedonia produce una Definizione della fede su Cristo .
The "Christological question"
Following therefore the holy fathers we teach that we all concordantly profess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man, of rational soul and body, consubstantial with the Father according to divinity and the same consubstantial with us according to humanity, in all things similar to us except sin. Begotten of the Father before the ages according to divinity, in the last days he himself for us and for our salvation was born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to humanity, one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only Begotten, who makes himself known in two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation. Since absolutely the difference of natures has not been eliminated because of the union, but instead the properties of the one and the other nature have been preserved and have come together in one prosopon and one hypostasis [the two words can be translated as "person"], he is not divided or divided into two prosopas, but one and the same is the Son and Only Begotten, God Logos, Lord Jesus Christ. This is how the prophets anciently taught us about him and then the Lord Jesus Christ himself, and the Symbol of the fathers transmitted to us. (see CCC 467).
In this definition we see in Red what is written to exclude the position of Nestorius, and in Blue what is written to exclude the position of Eutychas. .
4. Human divinization
The reason: human divinization
Behind the teaching of these Ecumenical Councils is a conviction related to the nature of human salvation. Salvation consists in human divinization, that is, in making man a partaker in the divine nature (2 Pt. 1:4). If the Son is not of the same nature as God, he cannot share the divine life with man. On the other hand, if the Son does not become man, a man like us, man is not qualified to receive divine life. For there to be human deification, the Son must live a life like ours: the life of the Divine Son lived humanly.
The reason: human divinization
In this way, according to Vatican II, Christ reveals the human "highest vocation": to live as God. In fact only in the mystery of the Incarnate Word does the mystery of man find true light. For Adam, the first man, was a figure of the future one (28) (Rom. 5:14), namely, Christ the Lord. Christ, who is the new Adam, precisely by revealing the mystery of the Father and his love also fully reveals man to himself and manifests to him his highest calling. No wonder, then, that all the truths set forth above find their source and touch their summit in him. He is "the image of the invisible God" (Col1:15) is the perfect man who restored to the sons of Adam the likeness of God, made deformed already at the beginning because of sin. Since in him human nature has been assumed, without thereby being annihilated it has also been raised in us to a sublime dignity. (Gaudium et Spes, no. 22)
The reason: human divinization
Through the incarnation the Son of God united Himself in a certain way with every man. He worked with man's hands, thought with man's intelligence, acted with man's will loved with man's heart. By being born of the virgin Mary, he became truly one of us, in everything like us except sin.
READ MORE
The doctrine of the Trinity
Man's highest vocation is to live in Christ, participating in his paschal mystery, in his relationship with the Father in the Spirit: that is, participating in the life of the Trinity itself.
The Reason.
And this applies not only to Christians, but also to all men of good will, in whose hearts grace works invisibly. For Christ died for all, and man's ultimate vocation is indeed one, the divine one; therefore we must hold that the Holy Spirit gives everyone the possibility of being associated, in the way God knows, with the paschal mystery. Such and so great is the mystery of man, this mystery that Christian Revelation makes shine in the eyes of believers. Through Christ and in Christ receives light that enigma of pain and death, which outside his Gospel oppresses us. By his death he destroyed death, by his resurrection he gave us the gift of life, so that we too, becoming sons with the Son, may pray exclaiming in the Spirit, Abba, Father!
Innocent Lamb, by his freely shed blood he has merited our life; in him God has reconciled us to himself and to each other and snatched us from the bondage of the devil and sin; so that each of us can say with the Apostle: the Son of God "loved me and sacrificed himself for me" (Gal2:20). By suffering for us, he did not simply set an example for us to follow in his footsteps but also opened the way for us: if we follow it, life and death are sanctified and gain new meaning. The Christian then, made conformed to the image of the Son who is the firstborn among many brethren receives "the firstfruits of the Spirit" (Rom8:23) whereby he becomes able to fulfill the new law of love.
Cosa sono i simboli della fede?
La parola “simbolo” viene dal greco symbolon indicava la metà di un oggetto spezzato (per esempio un sigillo) che veniva presentato come un segno di riconoscimento. Le parti rotte venivano ricomposte per verificare l'identità di chi le portava. Il « Simbolo della fede » è quindi un segno di riconoscimento e di comunione tra i credenti. Symbolon passò poi a significare raccolta, collezione o sommario. Il « Simbolo della fede » è la raccolta delle principali verità della fede. Da qui deriva il fatto che esso costituisce il primo e fondamentale punto di riferimento della catechesi.
Catechismo della Chiesa Cattolica 118
Dei verbum del Vaticano II, n. 19
Gli autori sacri scrissero i quattro Vangeli, scegliendo alcune cose tra le molte che erano tramandate a voce o già per iscritto, redigendo un riassunto di altre, o spiegandole con riguardo alla situazione delle Chiese, conservando infine il carattere di predicazione, sempre però in modo tale da riferire su Gesù cose vere e sincere. Essi infatti, attingendo sia ai propri ricordi sia alla testimonianza di coloro i quali « fin dal
principio furono testimoni oculari e ministri della parola », scrissero con l'intenzione di farci conoscere la « verità » (cfr. Lc 1,2-4) degli insegnamenti che abbiamo ricevuto.
Cosa é un Concilio?
E' un incontro dei vescovi del mondo che si è convocato per affrontare qualche dubbio o sfida. I primi due Concili Ecumenici (di Nicea nel 325 e di Costantinopoli 381) hanno formulato "simboli" per l'uso nella chiesa universale.
EN | Development of Christian Doctrine
Formazione P6A
Created on May 8, 2024
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Math Lesson Plan
View
Primary Unit Plan 2
View
Animated Chalkboard Learning Unit
View
Business Learning Unit
View
Corporate Signature Learning Unit
View
Code Training Unit
View
History Unit plan
Explore all templates
Transcript
Development of Christian Doctrine
CLICK HERE
Prof. Declan O'Byrne
Index
Please click on each topic to access the materials and exercises provided on that topic
Doctrinal development
The doctrine of the Trinity (Nicaea)
The "Christological question"
Human divinization
1. Doctrinal Development
Doctrinal Development
The contents of Christian "doctrine" are the result of doctrinal development that has occurred over time in light of the Resurrection.The "doctrines" of the Trinity, the divinity of the Son and so on, although rooted in the teaching of Jesus and in Holy Scripture, are the result of a development in the understanding of the Jesus event, a development that the Church attributes to the Holy Spirit.
Doctrinal Development
Even the Gospels themselves are to a great extent the result of doctrinal development; they are not simply bibliographies, but theological reflections on the life of Jesus that already contain what Vatican II calls a "fuller understanding of things" that depends not only on eyewitness testimony, but also on the "glorious events of Christ" (especially the resurrection) and "illuminated by the Spirit of truth."
2. The Doctrine of the Trinity
The doctrine of the Trinity (premises)
Kingdom Announcement
Son/God creature
Monotheism?
One God
Resurrection
Council of Nicaea
Father only true God
Jesus - God
The Messiah
Crucifixion
The doctrine of the Trinity
The main purpose of the Council of Nicaea was to address the teaching of Arius who thought that somehow the Son should be subordinate to God.
For the first time the church asks the question of the precise meaning of the proclamation of the Son's divinity
The doctrine of the Trinity
The question addressed by the Council can also be put this way: is the Son "god" as a deified creature, or is he "god" as the only God is: the Father? The consensus of the bishops present at the Council was that the "divinity" of the Son is equal to that of God Himself. To say this the Council uses language not taken from the Bible: the Son is of the "same substance" as the Father and nserve certain expressions in a "symbol" of faith to indicate this position.
The doctrine of the Trinity
The symbol of faith is a formula of words expressing the common faith of the Church. As the CCC says in n. 189, these formulas originated historically with baptism: one is baptised in the nname of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19). There are various 'symbols of faith', but the one typically used in the Mass is the one approved by the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Costantinople in 381.
Read
The doctrine of the Trinity
FATHER
the result of fourth-century doctrinal development is that the church understands that when it proclaims the Trinity, it is also proclaiming that the second and third persons of the Trinity are not creatures, and are divine as the one God is: the Father. The theological tradition later elaborates this with theories about the Trinity being a divine substance in three persons.
HOLY SPIRIT
SON
The symbol of Nicaea
3. The "Christological question"
The "Christological question"
The teaching of the Council of Nicaea on the consubstantial divinity of the Son sparked a debate around the person of Christ. The problem to be addressed arose from the fact that if the Son is truly of the same substance as the Father, it was not easy to explain the fact that the Incarnate Son lived a truly human life.
The Son's divinity is so different from his humanity that it is necessary to keep them distinct, almost like two persons (Nestorius, see CCC 466). Nestorius' position was condemned at the Council of Ephesus (431), the council that also taught that Mary is Mother of God (Theotokos), and not just mother of the man Jesus, precisely because Christ is one (see again CCC 466).
The opposite tendency is found in Eutiche. Eutiche (the CCC 467 when he speaks of "Monophysites", he thought that in Christ divinity was so united with his humanity that it almost erased his humanity. There was a kind of confusion between divinity and humanity, with the problem that as a result Jesus was not a man like us. But if Jesus is not a man like us, we are not saved.
Thesis of Nestorius
Eutiche's Thesis
The "Christological question"
Following therefore the holy fathers we teach that we all concordantly profess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man, of rational soul and body, consubstantial with the Father according to divinity and the same consubstantial with us according to humanity, in all things similar to us except sin. Begotten of the Father before the ages according to divinity, in the last days he himself for us and for our salvation was born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to humanity, one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only Begotten, who makes himself known in two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation. For absolutely the difference of natures has not been eliminated because of the union, but instead the properties of both natures have been preserved and merged into one prosopon and into one hypostasis [the two words can be translated as "person"], it is not apportioned or divided into two prosopa, but one and the same is the Son and Only Begotten, God Logos, Lord Jesus Christ. Thus the prophets taught us anciently about him and then the Lord Jesus Christ himself, and the Symbol of the fathers transmitted to us. (see CCC 467).
Per affrontare queste due posizioni, il Concilio di Calcedonia produce una Definizione della fede su Cristo .
The "Christological question"
Following therefore the holy fathers we teach that we all concordantly profess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man, of rational soul and body, consubstantial with the Father according to divinity and the same consubstantial with us according to humanity, in all things similar to us except sin. Begotten of the Father before the ages according to divinity, in the last days he himself for us and for our salvation was born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to humanity, one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only Begotten, who makes himself known in two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation. Since absolutely the difference of natures has not been eliminated because of the union, but instead the properties of the one and the other nature have been preserved and have come together in one prosopon and one hypostasis [the two words can be translated as "person"], he is not divided or divided into two prosopas, but one and the same is the Son and Only Begotten, God Logos, Lord Jesus Christ. This is how the prophets anciently taught us about him and then the Lord Jesus Christ himself, and the Symbol of the fathers transmitted to us. (see CCC 467).
In this definition we see in Red what is written to exclude the position of Nestorius, and in Blue what is written to exclude the position of Eutychas. .
4. Human divinization
The reason: human divinization
Behind the teaching of these Ecumenical Councils is a conviction related to the nature of human salvation. Salvation consists in human divinization, that is, in making man a partaker in the divine nature (2 Pt. 1:4). If the Son is not of the same nature as God, he cannot share the divine life with man. On the other hand, if the Son does not become man, a man like us, man is not qualified to receive divine life. For there to be human deification, the Son must live a life like ours: the life of the Divine Son lived humanly.
The reason: human divinization
In this way, according to Vatican II, Christ reveals the human "highest vocation": to live as God. In fact only in the mystery of the Incarnate Word does the mystery of man find true light. For Adam, the first man, was a figure of the future one (28) (Rom. 5:14), namely, Christ the Lord. Christ, who is the new Adam, precisely by revealing the mystery of the Father and his love also fully reveals man to himself and manifests to him his highest calling. No wonder, then, that all the truths set forth above find their source and touch their summit in him. He is "the image of the invisible God" (Col1:15) is the perfect man who restored to the sons of Adam the likeness of God, made deformed already at the beginning because of sin. Since in him human nature has been assumed, without thereby being annihilated it has also been raised in us to a sublime dignity. (Gaudium et Spes, no. 22)
The reason: human divinization
Through the incarnation the Son of God united Himself in a certain way with every man. He worked with man's hands, thought with man's intelligence, acted with man's will loved with man's heart. By being born of the virgin Mary, he became truly one of us, in everything like us except sin.
READ MORE
The doctrine of the Trinity
Man's highest vocation is to live in Christ, participating in his paschal mystery, in his relationship with the Father in the Spirit: that is, participating in the life of the Trinity itself.
The Reason.
And this applies not only to Christians, but also to all men of good will, in whose hearts grace works invisibly. For Christ died for all, and man's ultimate vocation is indeed one, the divine one; therefore we must hold that the Holy Spirit gives everyone the possibility of being associated, in the way God knows, with the paschal mystery. Such and so great is the mystery of man, this mystery that Christian Revelation makes shine in the eyes of believers. Through Christ and in Christ receives light that enigma of pain and death, which outside his Gospel oppresses us. By his death he destroyed death, by his resurrection he gave us the gift of life, so that we too, becoming sons with the Son, may pray exclaiming in the Spirit, Abba, Father!
Innocent Lamb, by his freely shed blood he has merited our life; in him God has reconciled us to himself and to each other and snatched us from the bondage of the devil and sin; so that each of us can say with the Apostle: the Son of God "loved me and sacrificed himself for me" (Gal2:20). By suffering for us, he did not simply set an example for us to follow in his footsteps but also opened the way for us: if we follow it, life and death are sanctified and gain new meaning. The Christian then, made conformed to the image of the Son who is the firstborn among many brethren receives "the firstfruits of the Spirit" (Rom8:23) whereby he becomes able to fulfill the new law of love.
Cosa sono i simboli della fede?
La parola “simbolo” viene dal greco symbolon indicava la metà di un oggetto spezzato (per esempio un sigillo) che veniva presentato come un segno di riconoscimento. Le parti rotte venivano ricomposte per verificare l'identità di chi le portava. Il « Simbolo della fede » è quindi un segno di riconoscimento e di comunione tra i credenti. Symbolon passò poi a significare raccolta, collezione o sommario. Il « Simbolo della fede » è la raccolta delle principali verità della fede. Da qui deriva il fatto che esso costituisce il primo e fondamentale punto di riferimento della catechesi.
Catechismo della Chiesa Cattolica 118
Dei verbum del Vaticano II, n. 19
Gli autori sacri scrissero i quattro Vangeli, scegliendo alcune cose tra le molte che erano tramandate a voce o già per iscritto, redigendo un riassunto di altre, o spiegandole con riguardo alla situazione delle Chiese, conservando infine il carattere di predicazione, sempre però in modo tale da riferire su Gesù cose vere e sincere. Essi infatti, attingendo sia ai propri ricordi sia alla testimonianza di coloro i quali « fin dal
principio furono testimoni oculari e ministri della parola », scrissero con l'intenzione di farci conoscere la « verità » (cfr. Lc 1,2-4) degli insegnamenti che abbiamo ricevuto.
Cosa é un Concilio?
E' un incontro dei vescovi del mondo che si è convocato per affrontare qualche dubbio o sfida. I primi due Concili Ecumenici (di Nicea nel 325 e di Costantinopoli 381) hanno formulato "simboli" per l'uso nella chiesa universale.