Reflection: Lectures (Essay Sample)

Reflection 1
Name
Institution
Course
Date
Christology: A Global Introduction
In understanding the life and teachings of Jesus Christ in the bible, there has been contradicting topics of discussion among Christian scholars of the world. Although the bible is taken as the main source of the doctrine information, there are no much references on the life and comprehensive information concerning Jesus as the messiah. This has resulted in the categorizing of Jesus in different perspective. This means that Jesus is referred by different tiles by different people in the bible such that the only information that is available to the bible reader is a picture of Jesus sin different perspective in the bible. Hence, Jesus has been categorized in different faces in the bible. The New Testament, which is seen as the main reference point on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, has referred Jesus in different tittles depending on the different gospels that are contained in the bible. Since the bible has four main gospels, each gospel referred Jesus differently. However, in Christology, these titles are considered independently and important in the understanding of whom was Jesus during the old times and who Jesus in the current modern world. This has resulted in the modern Christology to focus on the titles of Jesus Christ as pee the different gospels in the New Testament and keeping references to other books in the bible. In the four gospels, Jesus is referred as the son of man, son of god, messiah, savior, lord, king of the Jews and friend of all. This implies that Jesus was given different trajectories all of which helps in better understanding of Christology and understand the identity of Jesus Christ in modern theology. In addition, the fact that Jesus is projected different in the different gospels is a clear testimony of the fact that Jesus exists in pluralism and all the four gospels share a common historical theological background, which is based on the life of Jesus Christ.[Karkkainen, Veli-Matti. Christology: A Global Introduction. Michigan: Baker Academic, 2003.]
Change in Christology: New Testament Models and the Contemporary Task
Christology has undergone a number of changes since different people in the new testaments and in the modern church has perceived it differently. This is because Christology has been viewed in relation to the four gospels of the New Testament. This means that Christology in the New Testament has undergone a number of developments in the new church that affects the theological perspectives of the church. The development of the Christology has resulted in the generation of various models that tries to explain the ways in which Christology has developed in the New Testament. For example, the development of different religions apart from Christianity has affected the ways in which the doctrine of Christ is perceived in the society. This implies that the doctrine has been influenced by other religions and beliefs in the society. Hence, the contact between the church, the doctrine and cultures of the world has resulted into changes in the Christology of the New Testament and the church in general. In addition, changes in the Christology are attributed to the outworking of the various effects of the ways in which beliefs were seen in the present society. Moreover, the pastoral concern has had an influence in the development and changes of the Christology. This is because the new doctrines were because of new formulation that had resulted from the traditional forms of doctrines, which were in use at the time and defended the various theological understandings of the people or Christians of the time. Pastors had different preaching models, which resulted into the interaction between the environment and the traditional beliefs of the society. This influenced greatly on the Christian beliefs and the different needs of the Christians.[McGrath, James. Change in Christology: New Testament Models and the Contemporary Task. Irish Quarterly (1998), 63:39]
From the articles, I was able to reflect on the different ways in which Jesus has been perceived by his followers. This relates to the lecture notes in which the presence of god can be divided into different pats namely God the son, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. This means that the articles helps in my deep understanding on the various perspectives of the identity of Jesus Christ and the ways in which the teachings of the gospels contribute to better understanding of the roles and characteristics of a Christian. In addition, I have learnt from the articles that the church and the leaders have a role in ensuring that the mission of the church is achieved. From the readings, the church has a mission in which the Holy Spirit had a challenge to ensure that the church is a missionary church. This can be seen in the articles in which Jesus is referred by different names including the Holy Spirit and the one who performs miracles in other to influence the Christians to become missionaries of the church. In the lecture and articles, I was able to relate the trajectories of Jesus Christ and the lessons in class. I learnt that Christ was perceived as a redeemer. This is consistent with the article in which Jesus in the gospel of look is seen as the fired and the miracles perfume in other gospels. As redeemer, I see Jesus as the one who was able to gives hope to the Christians and the followers. This helped me in my understanding of the relationship between tradition and the Christian faith. There is a great link between the articles and the lecture notes in that the articles offer a clarification and references on the teach8ings of Jesus and the various theological thoughts existing in the New Testament and the modern...