A* Condensed notes for Developments in Christian Thought written by an Oxford student. Covers AO1 and AO2. Perfect for essays. Following these notes will guarantee you top marks.
Jesus’ Resurrection
Key Scripture:
-St Paul 1 Corinthians (lines 12 onwards): teaching the Corinthians about the afterlife, and how love brings us into the
arms of God. Resurrection of both the body and soul. “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” “if
there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body”
-Luke 23:43: Promise for a paradise. “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise”
New Testament: Jesus’ resurrection is framed as:
1.) Jesus’ death did not mark the end, but a new beginning, both for Christ and humanity/Christianity).
2.) Christ’s resurrection is a moment of hope over the despair that we face in death.
3.) Jesus’ resurrection marked a spectacular way that God intervened over death.
Key Teachings taken from Christ’s resurrection:
1.) Christ’s death and resurrection saved humanity from sin.
2.) Christ’s death prompts God to establish a new Kingdom.
3.) Christ will be raised up with the Saints and Martyrs who died before him. All who followed him will have a place in
the new kingdom.
The Kingdom of God/The New Kingdom/Heaven
Key Scripture (Parousia/ambiguity):
-Mark 1:15: “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God has come near”
-Mark 9:1: “there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the Kingdom of God has come
with power”
-Luke 11:20: “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the Kingdom of God has come to you”
Key Scripture (Different interpretations):
-Book of Revelation 21:1-4: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth”
- “No one come through the father except through me”
-Catechism 1024: “communion of life and love with the Holy Trinity” “ultimate end” “state of supreme definitive
happiness”
-Christ’s followers eagerly anticipated this new kingdom, and had many questions: when, where, what, who?
-However, the answers given to these questions were very vague and ambiguous.
-Parousia: arrival: The Kingdom of God is nigh.
Different interpretations:
-See quote bank
-Literal 2nd coming of Christ that transforms the physical earth.
-The Kingdom of God as a transformed earth (paradise on earth)
-Catholic Church+St Thomas Aquinas: Beatific Vision: state of eternal happiness, beyond human comprehension and
description.
-Heaven as a spiritual, eternal state. A place for the righteous and blessed. Eternal unification with God.
Massolit: extra notes
Death and the afterlife:
-William James: believers have always seen God as primary as the provider of immortality.
-Athanasius of Alexandria: immortality is the reason for the incarnation.
Heaven:
, -In some European countries, where there is a higher standard of social services, questions about the afterlife don’t
tend to arise as much.
Beatific Vision: the ultimate direct self-communication of God to the individual person. Creates the question as to
whether all is about praising God and sitting at the right hand of the Almighty.
-Origen and ‘acpocatastasis’: the idea that everything is going to eventually play out in such a way that we are all
joined again. A union/reunion with God.
-Origen: all may be capable of attaining salvation.
-1650: Parliament passes a law that those expressing disbelief in Heaven or Hell would be sentenced to six months in
prison.
-1853: F.D. Morris was dismissed from teaching at King’s College London because he did not believe in the traditional
doctrine of heaven or hell.
-Pope John Paul II (1999): Heaven is a state of being after death, not a physical place in the clouds.
-Poll in 1999: 40% of Anglican Clergy said they didn’t believe in heaven as a physical place.
-39 Articles of Faith (Church of England): no tenet of thinking that applies specifically to heaven. Therefore, heaven is
an act of faith, not an article of faith.
-Ignatius of Antioch: if life does not go how we would like, we hope for an afterlife that gives us what we are missing
on Earth.
The Role and Person of Jesus Christ
-Why does Christ hold authority in Christian teaching and the Church?
-Christ had the necessary knowledge and experience required for the people at the time.
-Christ was the son of God/God.
-Christ was a teacher of wisdom, liberator and the son of God (which of these gives him authority?)
Role of Christ as:
-A teacher of wisdom: a moral example who brought great knowledge.
-A liberator: a physical and spiritual liberator who challenged the authorities and status quo of the time, bringing in
new ideas.
-The Son of God: Christ’s intimate relationship with God allowed him to carry out God’s will and bring salvation. He
was able to empathise with humanity.
Scripture for Christ’s authority:
-”And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.'"
(Matthew 28:18)
-"He is the head over all rule and authority" (Colossians 2:10)
-"The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand" (John 3:35)
-"You gave Him authority over all flesh" (John 17:2)
-"They were all amazed, so they debated among themselves, saying 'What is this? A new teaching with authority! He
commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him'" (Mark 1:27)
-"He gave Him authority to execute judgement, because He is the Son of Man" (John 5:27)
Christ as a teacher of wisdom
-Christ served as both a moral example and a figure who challenged the thinking of those he encountered.
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