Master of Arts

Domestic & International Course Offerings

West Lafayette, Indiana

(Fall 2009)
THEO 64801. Christology
Professor Thomas W. Ryba
Who was Jesus Christ? What was his mission? What does it mean when Christians affirm that he was both God and Man? Jesus Chris's historical and ontological identity is at the basis of any understanding of Christianity or Christian theology. Without an understanding of this identity, the Christian tradition is inscrutable. Theologically, Jesus' identity has necessary linkages to all the divisions of theology but especially to the Christian doctrine of God, anthropology, soteriology, sacramentology, and spirituality. Although the Trinity is rightly termed the central doctrine of the Christian tradition, Christians believe that Jesus Christ, in his message and person, was the primary revelation of this tri-personal God. Therefore, according to the order of revelation, Christology precedes Trinitology. Some systematic theologies mirror this according to the principle that the modus docendi (way something is taught) should follow the modus inveniendi (the way something is discovered). One might further say that most Trinitological doctrines stand or fall on the basis of how well their foundations are constructed in Christology.