At the recommendation of Etagloc I've watched a handful of lectures. I became an instant fan. The way he teaches, with humor and animation, leading the public into the universe of theological scholarship, is great for people like myself that have a strong interest in science and history. He never denies anyone's faith or attempts to prove his own. I thought these 3 presentations were the most intriguing so far:
I'd like to post the outlines he gave and a quick explanation of what I found to be his key points-
DID JESUS THINK HE WAS GOD?
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Gospel according to John
John differs in ways from the synoptic telling of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which were earlier accounts. None of the sayings in John that focus on Christ's divinity to such an extent are in those Gospels. I agree with Ehrman: it makes sense the author was expressing his interpretation of the meaning/role of Jesus by "putting words in his mouth."
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Problem with knowing what Jesus said
Scholars from the Jesus Seminar believe that within the 5 Gospels (they hold Thomas to be as valid historically), only 18% of the sayings could reliably be attributed to Jesus. 40-60 years passed between Jesus's death and the first Gospels.. There are multiple contradictions and discrepancies between them, along with the theological perspective that is imposed.
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A common scholarly reconstruction: Jesus the apocalypticist
The majority of modern scholars agree that Jesus is best understood as an apocalyptic prophet. This was in the period where apocalyptic thinking among the Jews was common. I disagree with Ehrman slightly here: Christ could also be using the popular medium of the day to relay deeper meanings. If we take the teachings literally Jesus held to a similar vision as other apocalypticists- "the Kingdom of God is at hand." Jesus spoke of the "Son of Man", a judge who will destroy the forces of evil and reveal the kingdom of God. Christ uses the phrase implying himself, and yet another figure in other passages.
There is enough evidence to think that Jesus did see himself as a prophet, a voice of God.
Ehrman believes Jesus also thought of himself as the anointed one, the Messiah (a physical, future King of Israel). He points out the verse where Jesus says that when the Kingdom arrives, his 12 disciples would be made rulers. Ehrman says that if He was teaching this to his apostles, Judas may have informed Pilate, leading to the accusations and trial. Erman doesn't believe Jesus planned to sacrifice himself. The disciples afterward started deciding that the messiah had to suffer, and thus CHRISTIANITY was born.
THE EARLIEST UNDERSTANDING OF JESUS' DIVINITY
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Divine humans and the ancient world
In the old world there were gradations within the realms of divine vs. human. Polytheists acknowledged lesser gods and divinities, and their gods could intermingle with humans. Moses, Enoch, and David were elevated in recognition as God. In ancient belief God could also become human, as in examples of the "angel of the Lord".
Ehrman argues that early Christians viewed Jesus in the same 3 ways, whether independently or as a combination: as human that became divine, divine human that was born of a union of God and a mortal (Mary), and a God that came to earth.
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Exultation christology
Exultation Christology is a study of the way we believe that Christ was exulted to the level of divinity. The first followers thought of Jesus as a 100% flesh and blood human, until the resurrection. If He was raised from the dead, they concluded He must have gone to heaven with God afterward, and was made into a divine being. Ehrman sites examples of pre-literary tradition sprinkled into the earliest writings (50AD or so). In the letter to the Romans Paul mentions Jesus born of the flesh of David, who became the son of God at His resurrection. Some scholars consider this a low level christology, the view that God "adopted" Jesus. This is an interesting side-note: Ehrman doesn't think the author of Romans is Paul, because Paul believed Jesus became the son of God
before the resurrection.
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Backward movement of christology
Christians at some point started thinking that Christ must have been "the Son" earlier in His life. They went back to the baptism (where the "voice of God" was heard) and then to to His birth which by this reason must have also been a supernatural occurrence. That's why the earliest writings of Paul don't highlight the details of what was written in the (later) Gospels, ie the virgin birth.
Eventually the exultation was believed to take place before His birth! What do you know?! Christ was exulted from "eternity past." Again, the consensus among historians is that these were developments happening in the Christian community before Paul's writings.
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Incarnation christology
This is the theory that God, the Omnicient, becomes man. Paul is the first Christian author (that we know of), and his letters express this christology. Paul believed that before becoming human, Christ was an angelic being. The Phillipian Hymn Phillipians 2:6-11 is an example of this theology- Jesus was in the form of God and became human to suffer on the cross, and God then exalted Him. The saying ,"every knee shall bow" was taken from ISAIAH 45, in relation to submitting before the Almighty. Jesus is exalted to the level of God, worshiped and confessed to.
The christology of John is the most exalted in the NT. Here, Jesus is incarnated as the Word, which through Him the universe was created. Since the Word was God and with God, Jesus is now elevated beyond the plane of mere angels- HE IS THE CREATOR! Quite a journey of interpretation as the theology developed in the 1st century. But the story doesn't end here.
THE CHRISTIAN DILEMMA
The dilemma began among the first churches in attempting to agree on a concrete description of what/who Jesus is. Passages of scripture seemed to be at odds with one another. Different Christian groups emphasized different things. A paradox evolved- Jesus is 100% human, and 100% God. Was Jesus God or was God God? Sounds insane but this is what the early followers were arguing.
-Birth of the trinity
In the 2nd and 3rd century there were still debates over Christ's divinity and the nature of God. The established churches rejected contrary opinions. Modalism was one solution to the paradoxes; that God could have different modes of existence. The popes and bishops held this view. A theologian and intellectual Tertullian (the great-grand daddy of the trinity lol) wrote against Modalism, regarding it a heresy. He noted that God had a relationship with the son, therefore God is not the son. He devised the word "trinity" to describe God as three distinct but equal beings.
In the 4th century debates remained among scholars. The faith had grown and intellectuals were coming up with new solutions to the religious dilemmas. The teachings of Arius (that Jesus was subordinate to God the Father) caused a rift within the orthodox churches, which led to Constantine calling for a council to establish a set doctrine for the Roman populace. Arius lost the debate. Christ was now affirmed as equal to God, same powers and honor, and He always existed. The holy spirit was acknowledged in the doctrine of the trinity and together they were understood to be a mystery, a problem beyond logic.
Remarkably, Arianism survived and some historians think in the 4th century there were more Christians who held his view than not. The debates never ended. There are Christians who insist that if you don't follow their doctrinal interpretation, you're a heretic. Christianity, instead of being
of Jesus, became
about Jesus- and here we are today.
