Christianity: Origins and Contemporary Expressions
This domain examines Christianity from its Jewish and Greco-Roman origins to its contemporary plural forms. The exam tests historical knowledge, use of sources, and ability to explain continuity and change.
Core concepts
- Origins: Jesus of Nazareth proclaimed the reign of God; crucifixion and resurrection faith shaped earliest communities; Paul's mission opened the movement to Gentiles.
- Sources: Gospels, Acts, Pauline letters and extra-canonical writers; historical-critical method distinguishes genre, audience and theology.
- Creeds and councils: Nicaea 325 (homoousios against Arianism), Constantinople 381, Ephesus 431, Chalcedon 451 (two natures in one person).
- Divisions: East-West schism 1054; Reformation from 1517 (Luther's 95 Theses); Council of Trent 1545-63; Vatican II 1962-65.
- Contemporary expressions: ecumenism (WCC, 1948), Pentecostalism, liberation theology (Gutierrez, 1971), inculturation, fundamentalism and liberal theology, secularisation.
Worked example
Question: How did Nicaea shape Christian identity? Reasoning: the council responded to Arius's claim that the Son was created; homoousios asserted full divinity; the creed gave a portable rule of faith and imperial backing. Evaluate: it defined orthodoxy but did not end conflict, and its language reflects fourth-century Greek categories. Conclusion: Nicaea shaped identity through doctrine, liturgy and exclusion, not merely through a text.
Traps
Treating the Bible as one book; confusing the Nicene and Apostles' creeds; reducing the Reformation to Luther alone; ignoring Eastern Orthodoxy; equating 'Catholic' with 'Christian'; giving dates without explaining significance.