Middle Ages To The Reformation
While the concept of Kyrios dominated the Christology of the Apostolic Age, an important supplementary element emerged in the Middle Ages. Based on the influences of Anselm of Canterbury, Bernard of Clairvaux and women mystics, the "tender image of Jesus" as a friend and a source of love and comfort was developed. This contrasted with the images of Jesus as the Lord and as the key to eventual salvation based on his sacrifice at Calvary. The Franciscan approach to popular piety strengthened this friendly image. According to Archbishop Rowan Williams, this made an important impact within the Christian ministry by allowing Christians to feel the living presence of Jesus as a loving figure "who is always there to harbor and nurture those who turn to him for help and take delight in his presence".
The Middle Ages, between the fifth and 15th centuries, ushered in three new aspects of Christology: monastic, popular and academic. The spiritual and monastic perspectives were due to Anselm of Canterbury, Peter Abelard and Bernard of Clairvaux, each focusing on a different variation of that theme. The popular piety championed by the Franciscans led to a more widespread appreciation of Christology from the Middle Ages onwards. At the same time, European universities embarked on a systematic and scholarly approach to Christology, with Thomas Aquinas being the key figure in that arena.
Some key theological figures in this period, such as Saint Augustine or John Calvin, never wrote specific works on Christology, yet modern scholars have attempted to extract Christological insights from their works, e.g. the study of Theocentricism in the writings of Augustine and the analysis of Christ as "king, priest and prophet" in the writings of Calvin.
During the Middle Ages, many of the conflicts between Scripture and tradition were resolved through the construction of theological arguments, and were presented in terms of summae, which summed up complete presentations of discussions that led to knowledge. The apex of these in the 13th century was provided by Saint Thomas Aquinas. His Summa Theologiae presented the first systematic Christology that consistently resolved a number of the existing issues. In his Christology from above, Aquinas also championed the principle of perfection of Christ, namely that in every human sense, Jesus was the best that could ever be.
The question of "grace" was at the heart of the Reformation, which Martin Luther initiated. This amounted to the question of where do I find a gracious God? Luther believed the saving work of Christ is imputed for the remission of sins via the words of the gospels. This led to his fourfold formula of solo Christo, sola gratia, sola fide, sola scriptura, i.e. only Christ, grace, faith and scripture. Martin Luther believed in the Creed of Chalcedon and that Jesus was both God and man. He viewed incarnation as the union of God and man.
Read more about this topic: Christology
Famous quotes containing the words middle ages, middle, ages and/or reformation:
“In public buildings set aside for the care and maintenance of the goods of the middle ages, a staff of civil service art attendants praise all the dead, irrelevant scribblings and scrawlings that, at best, have only historical interest for idiots and layabouts.”
—George Grosz (1893–1959)
“There’s no telling what might have happened to our defense budget if Saddam Hussein hadn’t invaded Kuwait that August and set everyone gearing up for World War II½. Can we count on Saddam Hussein to come along every year and resolve our defense-policy debates? Given the history of the Middle East, it’s possible.”
—P.J. (Patrick Jake)
“In all her products, Nature only develops her simplest germs. One would say that it was no great stretch of invention to create birds. The hawk which now takes his flight over the top of the wood was at first, perchance, only a leaf which fluttered in its aisles. From rustling leaves she came in the course of ages to the loftier flight and clear carol of the bird.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Go on then in doing with your pen what in other times was done with the sword; shew that reformation is more practicable by operating on the mind than on the body of man.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)