chistory_christ

 

CHRISTOLOGY

by Ray Shelton

 

The problem of the person of Christ arose in the second and third century A.D. as Christianity spread through the Roman Empire. It encountered the monotheism of the Greek philosophers. This created the problem of the person of Chirst: how could God become man? Let us examine this problem in the early church and the proposed solutions as well as the Chalcedon solution adopted by Council of Chalcedon in A.D. 451.  To read the Chalcedonian conclusion of the Christological problem, click here.  To read the Biblical solution of Christological problem, click here.

OUTLINE

I.  Introduction


II.  One-sided Solutions

A.  Ebionism

B.  Adoptionism
Theodotus
Paul of Samosata

C.  Docetism


III.  Gnosticism

IV.  The Christology of Ignatius

V.  Spirit-Christology

VI.  The Christian Apologists

VII.  Irenaeus


VIII.  Western Christologies

A.  The Christology of Hippolytus

B.  The Christology of Tertullian

C.  The Christology of Novatian


IX.  Eastern Christologies

A.  The Alexandrian Christology

B.  The Christology of Origen

C.  Pamphilus and Eusebius

D.  Methodius of Olympus


X.  Proposed Solutions

A.  Two Types of Christology

1.  Word-flesh Type of Christology

2.  Word-man Type of Christology


B.  The Clash of Two Types of Christology

1.  Arians

2.  Eustathius


C.  The Christology of Athanasius

D.  Apollinarianism

E.  The Orthodox Reaction


F.  The Christologies of the Cappadocians


XI.  The Chalcedonian Solution

A.  The Chalcedonian Christ

B.  The Alexandrian Christology

C.  The Antiochene Christology

1.  Diodore of Tarsus

2.  Theodore of Mopsuestia


D.  Nestorianism


E.  Cyril of Alexandria


F.  From Ephesus to Chalcedon


G.  The Council of Chalcedon

H.  The Monophysites

 

XII.  Summary

XIII.  The Biblical Solution

XIV.  Conclusion

XV.  The Biblical Doctrine of Salvation

 

In writing this paper, I have relied very heavily upon J. N. D. Kelly’s book,
Early Christian Doctrine, 2nd edition
[New York, Evanston, and London: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1958, 1960]
so that maybe I should put quotation marks around the whole paper.
Thank you, Dr. Kelly.