Reflection Essay Matthew & Anselm
The resuertation is the single most important aspect of the Christian faith. As Easter comes upon us, Christians are thankful for the amazing sacrifice that Jesus did to die on the cross for our sins, and for the father for letting his one and only son get crucified. However, was it necessary for Jesus to come as a human form and redeem humanity? In Cur Deus Homo, Anselm explores the possibility of another way for human way to be saved in form of other divine creatures. Therefore, in this essay, it will explore Anselm’s questions by answering from his dialogue but also using scripture in the book of Matthew. By the end of the essay, the reader will conclude that Jesus needed to come as a human form to save
…show more content…
For B, he asked, “If this liberation were said to have been brought about somehow by someone other than a divine person, by either an angel or a human being, the human mind would accept this much more readily” (249). In addition, B adds, that God could have made a sinless creature in his place. Just like God made Adam, why couldn’t God just make another more perfect and sinless creature to restore for what Adam and Eve did in the garden of Eden. Which is a great question to ask for? If God can create anything, why did he not create a sinless creature to come and restore humanity or bring down an unfallen angel? In book 2 chapter 6, the chapter is named as of, “That only a God-man can make the recompense through which human beings are saved” (293). This is what Anselm replied, “And someone who can give God …show more content…
In the book of Matthew, it shows the miracles that only God can do. These are the events that demonstrated that only a God like man can do. One of many miracles told in the book of Matthew is when Jesus forgives and heals a paralyzed man. In this story, Jesus came to Nineveh and men brought a paralyzed man on a mat. Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee” (9:2). Once Jesus said that the man’s sins are forgiven, the rest of the men around him thought that Jesus was talking blasphemy (9:3). Here the reader can see that there were many people was not all too convenient that Jesus was God. This is a key moment because there was nobody that can cure a paralyzed man. These people do not believe in Jesus’s power until the man raised and started walking. Therefore, Jesus needed to come down and demonstrated to the world of the power that he has. Now the reader can see that based on this miracle that only a God like man can heal this person. There was no way that another divine creature can heal in this situation. Therefore, there Jesus is the only equal value creation to God, that demonstrate to other less value creation, that Jesus is all
One of the main principles of Christianity is the belief in both the divinity and humanity of Jesus, that these two natures are combined harmoniously in one being. In general, all modern Christians believe that Jesus was human, he was considered to be “The Word was made flesh” (John, I: 14). However, Jesus was more than just a human, despite being subjected to pain, suffering and death like all other human beings, he was sinless and also possessed the power to heal and to defy death in order to ascend, both body and spirit, into heaven. He was all man and all God, a combination of these two elements, remaining distinct but united in one being. The deity of Jesus is a non-negotiable belief in Christianity, which is referred to in many parts of scripture, “God was revealed in the flesh” (I Timothy, 3:16). The Christian faith does not perceive Jesus as God but rather a reincarnation of God, a mysterious deity who is the second person of the Holy Trinity. Throughout history, controversy has surrounded the issue of the humanity and divinity of Jesus, leading to the formation of Docetism, the belief that Jesus was fully divine but not fully human, Arianism, that Jesus was superior to all of creation, but less divine than God, and Nestorius, that there were two separate persons within Jesus. This the proportion of the divine and human within Je...
Christianity falls under the category of Theism, which is the belief in only one personal god. Christian worldview believes that God sent humanity His only son so that we can learn about God and how He wants us to act. Jesus is crucified later in His life on a cross, which relieved us from losing a relationship with God due to our sins. When analyzing the Christian worldview, we learn that God came to earth in human form as Jesus Christ to experience life with humanity and restore earth back to harmony. In this paper I will discuss God, Jesus, and humanity individually, how restoration will occur, and finally, analyze and reflect on the Christian worldview.
a) Theological Definition The greatest support of the deity of Jesus is in what he did, not what he said. It is very easy to make claims about being divine, but the proof is in the actions. It is important because it suggests about our nature and God’s ability and willingness to relate to us, as sinful human beings.
The Gospel of Matthew is an eyewitness story written for an audience of believers, under great stress, and persecution. Matthew develops a theological plot incorporating genealogy, speeches, parables, inter and intra textual references, common vocabulary, and fulfillment quotations, with a tension that builds as we are invited into the story. The crucifixion and resurrection bring us to a Christological climax that symbolically points beyond its conclusion to God’s Kingdom, bringing atonement, salvation and the ushering in the Eschaton. The extraordinary events surrounding the crucifixion act as commentary, adding important details concerning the death of Jesus.1
There are several aspects to consider when exploring the Christian worldview. There are many facets or denominations and they each have their own distinct beliefs and practices, but they all share the same fundamental beliefs. In this Paper we will explore the character of God, His creation, humanity and its nature, Jesus’ significance to the world, and the restoration of humanity, as well as my beliefs and the way that I interact with Christianity and my personal worldview.
God uses Jesus to help the population in all different ways. Jesus helps the blind see, he clothes the poor, and overall, can cure anyone who is worthy. God shows his presence through Jesus so the people of earth have someone to follow. Even today we see God work his wonders even without the presence of Jesus. God shows miracles which no one would believe if they were not reality. God’s presence in the world is mediated through nature and reality as seen in the readings of The Gospel of Matthew and The Book of Exodus.
The New Testament is primarily about Jesus’ ministries and teachings. As Jesus traveled from country to country during his last three years on earth, He performed many miracles and healings of sick, lame, and demon-possessed people. As a student, I can relate to this tremendously, since I am studying pre-physical therapy. "A physical therapist can help injured or ill people improve their movement and manage their pain. These therapists are often an important part of rehabilitation and treatment of patients with chronic conditions or injuries (Occupational Outlook Handbook-Physical Therapists, 2014)." Similarly to Jesus, I can help people and maybe even help heal their injuries as a physical therapist. However, Jesus is the ultimate healer that can work through me to make this possible.
This paper covers all the different viewpoints on the life of Jesus with thorough research exploring the Gospels. Moreover it gives us useful insights related to the preexistence, birth, childhood, miracles all the way up to the death and resurrection of Jesus and helped us to better understand how writings are manipulated in order to achieve its success which in this case are the gospels.
The gospels explain Jesus’ life and death including His identity but also his activities, works, leadership and his suffering. Jesus is seen as a manifestation of God’s relationship with humans. An important fact about Jesus is the humility and modesty associated with his birth, upbringing and death. The fact that such a person ...
...ctions. Peter answered with the Spirit. The power by which the crippled man was healed was that of Jesus of Nazareth. Not only that, but Peter accused the Sanhedrin of responsibility for rejecting and killing Christ. He also noted God’s power in raising Jesus from the dead. Peter’s speech to the Sanhedrin summarizes his other two sermons. Although they were unable to deny the apostolic miracle, the Sanhedrin felt compelled to stop the apostolic preaching. Before the power of God that transformed unschooled, ordinary men into powerful proclaim of the gospel, the Sanhedrin was unable to punish the apostles. This chapter ends with a report of the church’s prayer in gratitude for God’s deliverance of the apostles from the Jewish authorities.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to the Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14). Jesus reiterates that the people of God should strive to bring glory through their actions to God so that their light shines and all the nations can be blessed. We see in Matthew that Jesus preforms many miracles, and is able to bless many people through them. “And in his name the Gentiles will hope” (Matthew 12:21). This verse, along with the ones before it, from the prophet Isaiah, explain why Jesus healed the crippled man; Jesus’s miracle will bring hope to the Gentiles. This hope to the Gentiles brings God to all nations, as part of the global restoration
His book presents three main perspectives on Christology (biblical, historical, and contemporary). He attempts to combine classical views and contextual views of Christology.
In this paper, I will examine Jesus’ resurrection from the dead because, according to many scholars, there is no other event in the life of Jesus that is as significant. In order to better comprehend the magnitude of this event, I will begin by looking at what can be discerned from the Resurrection of Jesus. Then, I will explore the two different kinds of resurrection testimony that there are: the confessional tradition and narrative tradition. For the confessional tradition, I will look at a few examples including St. Paul’s confession in First Corinthians which is composed of four parts: Jesus’ death, the question of the empty tomb, the third day, and the witnesses. For the narrative tradition, I will briefly examine the two sources of information
During the time of Jesus, God’s and demigods were believed to have healed the sick and raised people from the dead. Some believed famous and virtuous men could calm storms, chase away pestilence, and abide by greetings as gods. Christian authors viewed the miracles of Jesus as works of love and mercy showing compassion for a sinful and suffering humanity. Each miracle involves specific teachings and they were an important component of Jesus’ divinity and the dual natures of Jesus as God and ...
The book of Matthew in the bible tells of the many lesion that were taught to Jesus disciples. These lesson where then passed on to the followers of Jesus Christ, they were taught many lessons for daily living. Jesus gives basic rules to follow one that sticks with me is “11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 11-12, King James Version). This lesson sticks with me because knowing even if people mistreat me, or talk about me, I can keep my head held high because my father in heaven will comfort me with his love and grace. The lessons in the book of Luke (15-31, King James Version) Jesus uses stories to explain how people may stray away, but how we as Christians should either bring or welcome them back. Today’s society forgets these lessons and sees their fellow men as nuisances as back then. Therefore Jesus had to perform miracles for people to see what he said was real.