APSS1A02 Introduction to Western Theories of Human Nature

Lecture 4
Christianity before the
Enlightenment
 Outline
• Historical background: Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament
• Some ideas about Jesus Christ
• Christianity in the medieval period
• Questions about the (medieval) Christian conception of human nature
 The Two Bibles
The Old Testament
• Written from 1200 to 200BC
• Depicting the Jewish history up to the birth of
Jesus Christ
• With a core theme on God’s relationship with ‘the
chosen people’ (the Jews)
• Consists of 39 books under 4 headings: Law,
History, Peotry/Wisdom, & Prophets.
• http://www.free-bible-study-lessons.net/old-testa
ment-books.html
The New Testament
• Dates of composition still controversial
• Depicting the lives of Jesus Christ and
his students
• Consists of 27 books under 4 categories:
Gospels, History, Epistles, &
Apocalyptic
• http://www.free-bible-study-lessons.net/n
ew-testament-books.html
 Main themes in the Hebrew conception of
man
• Creation ex nihilo.
• The anthropomorphic God?
• The fall: Freedom and disobedience to God as the source of sin.
• Regeneration of humanity made possible by ‘the mercy, forgiveness, and
love of God’.
 Some Myths in the Old Testament

Noah’s Ark
Abram

Garden of Eden

Cain and Abel

Tower of Babel Timeline
Timeline
 Jesus Christ at a glance
• Commonly known as Jesus of
Nazareth, a 1st-century Jewish religious
leader, who was killed on the orders of
Pontius Pilate.
• His teaching is mostly found in the
letters of his apostles.
• As with Socrates, there is the question
whether his students’ writings truly
represent his ideas.
Some contrasting ideas in the stories of Jesus

Claims of facts Claims of values

• The Kingdom of Heaven/the Hell • Justice of God
• Miracles • Power of faith
• Prophecy • Hope
• Resurrection • Redemption of humanity through
love and forgiveness
Facts or Values?
 Trinity: the new conception of God
• The Father: Old Testament’s God (Jehovah); a non-temporal and non-
spatial being.
• The Son: Jesus Christ, the son of God; the embodied God.
• The Holy Spirit: the power of God which moves the embodied beings (the
son and the believers); the link between the holy and the physical world.
 How Jesus’s teaching changed people’s
values?
• The duality of mind and body
• Inwardness
• Universal love
 Christian Orthodoxy in the Middle Ages
• Christianity gained its popularity since the
conversion of the Roman emperor
Constantine the Great (313AD).
• A different church structure was now
found: An hierarchy of officials including
priests, bishops, archbishops, and later, the
Pope.
• The church structure survived after the
defeat of the Roman empire by German
barbarians.
Constantine the Great (272-
337AD)
Human Nature in Orthodox Catholic Teaching

• ‘For the early Catholic world view the fundamental problem is that of the relation of the
individual soul to a just and merciful, infinite, omnipotent, and perfect Father-God, who so
loved the world that He sacrificed His only begotten son for the redemption of humanity. The
world itself and human beings are the creation of God and fulfil His purposes. The crucial
issue is personal salvation for the sinful, erring self in a corrupt and unjust society. The way to
salvation is by purity of heart, repentance of sins, love of God and one’s neighbour as oneself.
Essential to salvation is belief in Jesus Christ, through whose sacrifice and vicarious suffering
the redemption of sinful mankind is purchased. Not science, philosophy, mathematics, the
arts, are important: not the life of reason but the life of faith, devotion, prayer, good works,
love, and obedience to God and to His Church.’ (From Socrates to Sartre, p.78)
 Scholasticism: Marriage of Philosophy and
Christianity
St Augustine (354-430AD)
• The City of God
• Plato’s distinction between the
world of forms and senses can
explain the difference between the
heaven and the earth.
St Thomas (1225-1274AD)
• Summa Theologiae
• The distinction between dogma and
philosophy
• Revealed theology is based on faith.
• Natural theology is based on rational and
scientific thinking, much in the spirit of
Aristotelian philosophy.
 Questions about Christianity
• Should the Bible be understood literally or metaphorically?
• Is rationality incompatible with the Christian view of man?
• Can philosophy and science give new light to the belief in God?
• Is salvation a matter of transcending human wickedness, or a matter of
pleasing God?
• Some positions to consider: Theism, Atheism, Deism, and Agnosticism.