Assignment 3: Reflection on Pannenberg on the Resurrection

Read Wolfhart Pannenberg, Jesus--God and Man, pp. 66-198.

Write (HANDWRITTEN) a three-page theological reflection on his thoughts on the Resurrection. Your reflection should begin with a gist of his essay.

Submission date: July 13, Class Period.

Here's a link to a eulogy on Pannenberg when he died on Sept 5, 2014.

II. New Testament Christology, Part I: Stages of the Development of Christology and The Historical Jesus

For the Stages of the Development of Christology, read • Read: Joseph A. FITZMYER, S.J., “ The Biblical Commission’s Instructions on the Historical Truth of the Gospels,” Theological Studies 25 (1964), 386-408. Accessible here.

On the Quest for the Historical Jesus, you can read the survey in  RAUSCH, SJ, chapter 1, pp. 9-22.
For a recent assessment of the issue, read  LOHFINK, SJ “The So-Called Historical Jesus,” in Jesus of Nazareth, pp. 1-23. The book is placed on reserve at the Arnoldus Library.

You can watch here Fr. Meier's video lecture on the matter (he discusses Marginal Jew, vol. 3).



On the Reign of God:
--For a general knowledge, read John FUELLENBACH, SVD, "Kingdom of God," in Dictionary of Fundamental Theology, ed. by Latourelle and Fisichella, pp. 586-94. For Guide Questions on this article, click here [FUELLENBACH].

--On the issue of the historicity of the Reign of God as a central message of Jesus, read John P. MEIER, "The Kingdom of God: God Coming in Power to Rule," in A Marginal Jew, vol. 2, pp. 237-506. A summary/outline is presented in class. The book is placed on reserve at the Arnoldus Library.

For MEIER, Jesus was a marginal Jew, "a 1st-century Jewish eschatological prophet who proclaims an imminent-future coming of God's kingdom, practices baptism as a ritual of preparation for that kingdom, teaches his disciples to pray to God as 'abba' for the kingdom's arrival, prophesies the regathering of all Israel (symbolized by the inner circle of his twelve disciples) and the inclusion of the Gentiles when the kingdom comes--but who at the same time makes the kingdom already present for at least some Israelites by his exorcisms and miracles of healing. Hence in some cases he already mediates an experience of the joyful time of salvation, expressed also in his freewheeling table fellowship with toll collectors and sinners and his rejection of voluntary fasting for himself and his disciples. To all this must be added his--at times--startling interpretation of the Mosaic Law" (A Marginal Jew II, 454).

--For a current assessment, see LOHFINK, "The Proclamation of the Reign of God," and the "Reign of God and the People of God," in Jesus of Nazareth: What He Wanted, Who He Was, pp. 24-58. The book is placed on reserve at the Arnoldus Library.

--See also FUELLENBACH, "The Kingdom of God and the Church: Ecclesiology after Vatican II," Diwa 40 (2015): 54-73.

ASSIGNMENT: Write a two-page reaction, HANDWRITTEN, on  LOHFINK,  "Jesus' Miracles," in Jesus of Nazareth: What He Wanted, Who He Was, pp. 128-152. The reaction paper should be handed in on July 6, 2016. Note: June 29 is a free cut.

I. Introduction

LECTURE 1: Introduction (outline)

Reflection Questions*
1.   What does your personal portrait of Jesus Christ look like?
2.   Which Scripture passages, scenes, or stories speak to you most vividly about the person and saving work of Christ?
3.   Which titles, names, or phrases do you use to refer to Christ?
4.   Who are the people who have taught you about Jesus Christ? What did you learn from them?
5. Which starting point for doing Christology do I prefer? And why?**

On a pad paper or bond paper, write (not with computer but hand-written!) your thoughts about these questions. Write legibly, please.

**For Question no. 5, read Rausch, pp. 1-8.

*Submission date: June 15, 2016 (Wed. class period).

Issues discussed on 6/8/16) and to be familiarized with:

• The significance of the Dual Question of Jesus in Caesarea Philippi
• Road Map for Doing Christology
• Working Definition of Christology
• The "scandal of particularity"
• The meaning of "systematic"
• The two dimensions of Christology: the Person and Saving Work of Jesus Christ
• Jesus Christ as the Object and Foundation of the Christian Faith
• The Sources for the study of Christology
• Theologians in the Bibliography

Helpful Readings on the Starting Point of Christology:

• Karl Rahner, "The Two Basic Types of Christology," Theological Investigations 13 (New York: Seabury Press, 1975), 213-23.*
• Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, "How to Do Christology," in Christ and Reconciliation, A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2013), 37-51*

*A copy the two essays above is placed in the FileBox in the Arnoldus Libray

Assignment for June 22 (submission time is the class period).

A hand-written reflection of one to two pages on Jürgen Moltmann, "The Therapeutic Relevance of Christology," in The Way of Jesus Christ: Christology in Messianic Dimensions (New York: HarperCollins, 1990), 43-46. [Moltmann's book is placed on reserve]