The History of Gods New Testament Church

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Insights from the Content Essays
Application of What Has Been Learned
Major Questions That Arise
How My Understanding of Religion Has Changed
Conclusion
References

Introduction

In his book Turning Points, historian Mark Noll attempts to trace significant events in the two-millennium history of Gods New Testament church. Noll (2012) examines the key theological and historical topics that drove the churchs development. While Noll provides a general picture of church history, he also allows the reader to focus on specifics. In this essay, I will address three emerging ideas. The first two include Jesus divinity and identity (Christology) and Protestantism, which emerged from the content essays. The other is the issue of the Trinity doctrine and the rise of anti-Trinitarians, which I identified from Nolls text.

Insights from the Content Essays

The idea of Jesuss true identity features prominently in the essays. The essays generally suggest Chalcedon was concerned about more than just Jesus being God and man. The Chalcedon Councils ruling defined true trinitarianism (Pillay, 2017). From the essays, I discovered that the most contentious issue was whether Jesus was who he claimed to be and how this might affect Christianity as a whole. However, the authors of the essays could still have carried their insights further. It will be interesting to see how they tackle the question of how the dispute over Jesus identity affected the church reformation and Protestantism.

Another idea that I found interesting in the essays was Protestantism. One of the essays that caught my attention argues that Protestantism is an offshoot of the Catholic Churchs faults. I agree that protestants are the progeny of a Protestant Reformation schism over church corruption and the sale of indulgences. However, I feel that the author did not look at how disagreements over the identity of Christ could have also contributed to the rise of Protestantism. Indeed, there is substantial evidence on the internet indicating that reformists disagreed with the Catholic Church as well as among themselves on the identity of Christ (Pillay, 2017). For instance, Martin Luther argued that because Jesus divine and human natures were intertwined, any statement about him extended to both. Calvin held that Jesus had died on the cross and that he now sat at the Fathers right hand as a glorified person.

Another important idea is that of the significance of the Trinity and the rise of anti-Trinitarians, which I identified from Nolls (2012) text. Noll asserts that anti-Trinitarians reaffirmed a Christology that had been rejected as heretical in early Christianity. They were essentially Arians because they rejected the traditional Christian view that God exists in three forms and that during the Incarnation, He took on human form as a human being. I learned that the doctrine of the Trinity does signifies the pre-existence of Christ, which has also always been a central tenet of the Christian faith. Understanding this concept is the foundation for all Christian ideas surrounding Christology.

Application of What Has Been Learned

While I am a believer, I had little understanding of how the Trinity doctrine came about. In fact, it is a concept that I did not find relevant as a believer. This has changed. Nolls text and the essays on Protestantism and Jesus identity have given me a biblical understanding of the Trinity. I can apply what I have learned to real-world scenarios where the Trinity is disputed. There are still millions of Arianism adherents today, despite the Churchs attempts in the fourth and fifth centuries and beyond to eliminate the faith. One of the most popular groups is Jehovahs Witnesses, a modern-day Arian sect (Pane, 2021). They believe that Jesus was not the eternal Son of God, but rather a human being formed in the image of the Father.

Nevertheless, I do have experiences that illustrate the points made by other students in the essays. Personally, I have always believed in Jesus multiple identities. I once broke into a dispute with a Muslim cleric who refuted the idea that Jesus was God in human form. Nolls book provides convincing perspectives that strengthen my belief in Jesus multiple identities. I came across some sources on the internet that strengthen Nolls (2012) arguments. This is in respect to the questions of how Christology focuses on Jesus identity (Pillay, 2017). Christology has had a huge impact on Christian doctrine throughout history.

Major Questions That Arise

The major questions that emerged after reading the content essay on Chapter 3 are: What is the significance of the Council of Chalcedon to fundamental Christian beliefs? How did the question of the true identity of Jesus Christ contribute to the split of the church? And how did the ruling of the Council of Chalcedon contribute to the rise of fundamentalist beliefs in contemporary society?

I also took issue with the failure to recognize that identity is at the heart of every part of the Christian life. I feel that it is a complex concept, and the essays failed to convey it sufficiently, considering Jesuss identity and Protestantism. They also failed to explain how the reformers attempted to distinguish between those who claimed to be Christians and those who were not.

How My Understanding of Religion Has Changed

As a believer, a lot has changed in my life. Nolls text and the essays have strengthened my belief in the Trinity. I now understand that when our predecessors were converted to Christianity, they put on new minds and new hearts, and that is what we must do today as men and women transformed by the gospels transcendent power. I feel that Chalcedonians Definition sums up this fact, and it will never be changed or replaced if Christianity is alive and well.

Reading the work of other student learners has taken me on an intellectual journey. I now see the Bible as a guidebook for defining ones own identity. It makes the identity of God or Christ clearer, but the goal of such explanations is never to present us with a general understanding of God. The identity of God or Jesus is used to show what people made in Gods image should be like (Little, 2017). I learnt that everything in the Scripture comes down to one question: Who am I? The goal of every religion, philosophy, denial of religion, and ideology is to help people discover their true selves.

Conclusion

The readings elicited three ideas. These include Christology, Protestantism, the Trinity, and the growth of anti-Trinitarians. Reading the essays, it appears that Christians have always been concerned with portraying Jesus Christs divinity. Protestantism was another theme that I found intriguing in the articles. One of the studies that drew my attention contends that Protestantism is a result of the Catholic Churchs flaws, which reformists identified. Another key concept I discovered in Nolls text is the importance of the Trinity and the growth of anti-Trinitarians. Overall, my life has improved dramatically after becoming a Christian. My faith in the Trinity has been enhanced by Nolls text and thoughts. I now see that when our forefathers became Christians, they had to put on new minds and hearts, and that is exactly what we must do now as men and women transformed by the gospels transcendent power.

References

Little, W. (2017). Introduction to sociology 2nd Canadian edition. BCampus.

Noll, M. (2012). Turning points: Decisive moments in the history of Christianity. Academic.

Pane, E. (2021). A study of the preexistence of Christ according to the Jehovahs Witnesses and its evaluation. Journal Koinonia, 13(2), 89-43. Web.

Pillay, J. (2017). Reformation and transformation today: Essentials of reformation tradition and theology as seen from the perspectives of the South. Theological Studies, 73(3), 1-6. Web.

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