ChristianityAnIntroduction3rdEdition.pdf

CONTENTS
Cover

Series page

Title page

Copyright page

Preface

List of Illustrations and Maps

Introduction

1 Jesus of Nazareth and the Origins of Christianity

The Significance of Jesus of Nazareth for Christianity

The Sources of Our Knowledge about Jesus of Nazareth

Jesus of Nazareth in His Jewish Context

The Gospels and Jesus of Nazareth

The Birth of Jesus of Nazareth

The Early Ministry of Jesus of Nazareth

The Teaching of Jesus of Nazareth: The Parables of the Kingdom

The Crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth

The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth

Events and Meanings: The Interpretation of the History of Jesus

The New Testament Understandings of the Significance of Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth and Women

The Reception of Jesus of Nazareth outside Judaism

2 The Christian Bible

The Old Testament

Major Themes of the Old Testament

The New Testament

The Christian Understanding of the Relation of the Old and New
Testaments

The Translation of the Bible

The Bible and Tradition

3 Christian Creeds and Beliefs

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The Emergence of Creeds

What Is Faith?

The Christian Understanding of God

The Christian Understanding of Humanity

Jesus of Nazareth

The Christian Understanding of Salvation

Grace

The Church

The Sacraments

The Christian Hope

Conclusion

4 Christian History

The Early Church, c. 100–c. 500

The Middle Ages and the Renaissance, c. 500–c. 1500

Competing Visions of Reform, c. 1500–c. 1650

The Modern Period, c. 1650–1914

The Twentieth Century, 1914 to the Present

Conclusion

5 Denominations

Catholicism

Eastern Orthodoxy

Protestantism

The Ecumenical Movement and the World Council of Churches

The Erosion of Protestant Denominationalism in the United States

Conclusion

6 The Life of Faith

Gateways to Exploring the Life of Faith

Christian Communities: The Life of the Church

Christian Worship

The Sacraments

Rhythms and Seasons: The Christian Year

The Structuring of Time: The Monastic Day

The Structuring of Space: Pilgrimage and the Christian Life

Conclusion

7 Christianity and the Shaping of Culture

Christianity and Culture: General Considerations

Christian Symbolism: The Cross

Christian Art

Icons

Church Architecture

Stained Glass

Christian Music

Christianity and Literature

Christianity and the Natural Sciences

Conclusion

Conclusion

Further Reading

Useful Introductions to Christianity in General

Jesus of Nazareth and the Origins of Christianity

The Christian Bible

Christian Creeds and Beliefs

Christian History: An Overview

Denominations: Forms of Christianity

The Life of Faith: Christianity as a Living Reality

Christianity and the Shaping of Culture

Sources of Quotations

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Index

End User License Agreement

List of Illustrations
Chapter 01

Figure 1.1 The angel Gabriel declaring to Mary that she is to bear the
savior of the world, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti; this incident is related
early in Luke’s gospel. Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882), Ecce
Ancilla Domini (The Annunciation), 1850. Oil on canvas, mounted on
wood, 72 × 42 cm.

Figure 1.2 The birth of Christ, as depicted by Fra Angelico in a mural in
the monastery of San Marco, Florence, between 1437 and 1445. Fra
Giovanni da Fiesole (1387–1455) and workshop, Birth of Christ, with
the Saints Catherine of Alexandria and Peter the Martyr (1437–1445).
Fresco, 193 × 164 cm. Florence, S. Marco, upper storey, dormitory, cell
No.5 (east corridor).

Figure 1.3 Jesus of Nazareth calling Peter and Andrew by the Sea of
Galilee (1481), by Domenico Ghirlandaio. Domenico Ghirlandaio
(Domenico Bigordi) (1449–1494), The Calling of SS. Peter and
Andrew, 1481. Fresco.

Figure 1.4 The Galilean ministry of Jesus.

Figure 1.5 Piero della Francesca’s depiction of the resurrection of
Christ, c. 1460–1464. Piero della Francesca (c.1410/20–1492), The
Resurrection of Christ (c. 1460–1464). Fresco (removed), 225 × 200 
cm. Sansepolcro, Pinacoteca Comunale.

Chapter 02

Figure 2.1 The route of Israel’s exodus from Egypt and conquest of
Canaan.

Figure 2.2 The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the greatest
wonders of the Ancient World; after Johann Bernhard Fischer von
Erlach, c. 1700.

Figure 2.3 The gospel of Mark: a manuscript illumination from the
Lindisfarne Gospels, c. 698–700. Manuscript illumination, Irish–
Northumbrian, c. 698/700. Mark the Evangelist. From the Lindisfarne
Gospels, written and illuminated by Bishop Eadfrith in Lindisfarne
monastery.

Figure 2.4 The frontispiece to the King James Bible of 1611, widely

regarded as the most influential English translation of the Bible. The
Holy Bible, published by Robert Barker, 1611.

Chapter 03

Figure 3.1 One of the most famous attempts to represent the Trinity:
Andrei Rubljov’s icon of 1411, depicting the three angels with Abraham,
widely interpreted as an analogue of the Trinity. Illustration: Rubljov,
Andrei c. 1360/70–1427/30, The Holy Trinity (The Three Angels with
Abraham) (1411). Icon painting. Moscow, Tretjakov Gallery.

Figure 3.2 William Blake’s watercolor “The Ancient of Days” (c. 1821),
depicting God in the act of creating the world. Blake, William (1757–
1827), “The Ancient of Days,” frontispiece of Europe: A Prophecy (c.
1821). Relief etching, pen, and watercolor. Fitzwilliam Museum,
University of Cambridge, UK.

Figure 3.3 Michelangelo’s fresco The Creation of Adam (1511–1512)
from the Sistine Chapel, Rome. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564).
Fresco, 280 × 570 cm. Rome, Vatican, Cappella Sistina (Sistine Chapel),
4th image.

Figure 3.4 Karl Barth (1886–1968).

Figure 3.5 Mosaic depicting Jesus Christ, in the Byzantine church of
Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, c. 1260. Istanbul/Constantinople (Turkey),
Hagia Sophia, North Gallery. Deesis (Christ with Mary and John the
Baptist). Mosaic, Byzantine, c. 1260.

Figure 3.6 A triumphal procession in Rome celebrating Titus’ victory
over the Jews in AD 70; carved on the Arch of Titus, triumphal arch in
the Forum Romanum erected in AD 81. The New Testament portrays
Jesus of Nazareth as a triumphant victor over sin and death. Rome
(Italy), the Arch of Titus, section of the left internal relief: Triumphal
procession with the seven-armed candlestick from the Temple of
Solomon.

Figure 3.7 The Harrowing of Hell, as depicted in Jean de Berry’s Petites
Heures (14th century). Harrowing of Hell, folio 166 from Jean de
Berry’s Petites Heures.

Chapter 04

Figure 4.1 Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor.

Figure 4.2 The Abbey of Montecassino.

Figure 4.3 A Celtic Cross from Ireland, widely regarded as a symbol of
the distinctive forms of Christianity that emerged in this region.

Figure 4.4 Thomas Aquinas, from the series of portraits of famous men
in the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino (c. 1476), by Justus van Gent (active
between 1460 and 1480).

Figure 4.5 Erasmus of Rotterdam, c. 1525/30, after the painting (1517)
by Quentin Massys (1465/66–1530).

Figure 4.6 Portrait of Martin Luther (1528); from the studio of Lucas
Cranach the Elder (1472–1553).

Figure 4.7 Portrait of the Genevan reformer John Calvin.

Figure 4.8 Henry VIII (1540), by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497–
1543).

Figure 4.9 Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus (1556), by
Jacopino del Conte (1510–1598).

Figure 4.10 Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870–1924), leader of the Bolshevik
Revolution in Russia.

Figure 4.11 The opening of the second session of the Second Vatican
Council, September 29, 1963, with Pope Paul VI (formerly Giovanni
Battista Montini).

Chapter 06

Figure 6.1 A Russian Orthodox wedding at the Church of the
Transfiguration, St. Petersburg.

Figure 6.2 Christian baptism by total immersion in the Indian Ocean in
the island of Zanzibar.

Figure 6.3 The Last Supper celebrated and commemorated in the
eucharist; according to Jacopo da Ponte Bassano (c. 1510–1592).

Figure 6.4 Queen Elizabeth II hands out Maundy Money during the
Royal Maundy Service held at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral in 2004.
The purses containing the coins were handed to 78 men and 78 women,
the number selected to mark the Queen’s 78th year.

Figure 6.5 Santiago de Compostela, the center of a major pilgrimage
route in northern Spain.

Chapter 07

Figure 7.1 Saint Augustine of Hippo in a monastic cell, as depicted by

Sandro Botticelli, c. 1495.

Figure 7.2 Ground plan of York Minster, one of the greatest Gothic
cathedrals of Europe. Note especially its cruciform structure.

Figure 7.3 The crucifixion, as depicted by Matthias Grünewald in the
Isenheim Altarpiece, executed c. 1513–1515.

Figure 7.4 Byzantine icon of the late thirteenth or early fourteenth
century, showing Mary with the infant Jesus.

Figure 7.5 The south transept of the cathedral of Notre Dame de
Chartres, one of the best examples of Gothic church architecture. The
façade was completed in the mid-thirteenth century. Chartres (Dep.
Eure-et-Loir, France), Cathedrale Notre-Dame (1134–1514; choir 1194–
1221, transept after 1194–c. 1250, nave c. 1200–1220, west façade
1134–1514). Exterior: façade of the south transept.

Figure 7.6 The pulpit in St. Peter’s Cathedral, Geneva.

Figure 7.7 The great rose window above the main portal of the
cathedral of Notre Dame, Strasbourg, France, one of the finest
examples of stained glass in Europe. Strasbourg (Alsace, France),
Minster: Cathédrale Notre-Dame (12th–15th century). West façade
(planned in 1276 by Erwin von Steinbach): Window rose above the
main portal.

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Also by Alister E. McGrath from Wiley Blackwell
Emil Brunner: A Reappraisal (2014)

The World of C.S. Lewis (2013)

Christian History: An Introduction (2013)

Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought,
Second Edition (2012)

Reformation Thought: An Introduction, Fourth Edition (2012)

Theology: The Basic Readings, Second Edition (edited, 2012)

Theology: The Basics, Third Edition (2012)

Luther’s Theology of the Cross: Martin Luther’s Theological Breakthrough,
Second Edition (2011)

Darwinism and the Divine: Evolutionary Thought and Natural Theology
(2011)

The Christian Theology Reader, Fourth Edition (edited, 2011)

Christian Theology: An Introduction, Fifth Edition (2011)

Science and Religion: A New Introduction, Second Edition (2009)

The Open Secret: A New Vision for Natural Theology (2008)

The Order of Things: Explorations in Scientific Theology (2006)

Christianity: An Introduction, Second Edition (2006)

Dawkins’ God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life (2004)

The Intellectual Origins of the European Reformation, Second Edition
(2003)

Christian Literature: An Anthology (edited, 2003)*

A Brief History of Heaven (2003)

The Blackwell Companion to Protestantism (edited with Darren C. Marks,
2003)

The Future of Christianity (2002)

Reformation Thought: An Introduction, Third Edition (2000)

Christian Spirituality: An Introduction (1999)

Historical Theology: An Introduction (1998)

The Foundations of Dialogue in Science and Religion (1998)

The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Modern Christian Thought (edited, 1995)

A Life of John Calvin (1990)

Note
* out of print

Christianity

An Introduction

Third Edition

Alister E. McGrath

This edition first published 2015
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McGrath, Alister E., 1953–
 Christianity : an introduction / Alister E. McGrath. – Third Edition.
  pages cm
 Includes bibliographical references and index.

 ISBN 978-1-118-46565-3 (pbk.) 1. Christianity. I. Title.
 BR121.3.M33 2015
 230–dc23
    2014030311

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Cover image: Interior of the church La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona. Photo © Jose Fuste Raga/Corbis

http://www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell

Preface
The study of Christianity is one of the most fascinating, stimulating, and
intellectually and spiritually rewarding undertakings available to anyone. This
book aims to lay the foundations for such a study, opening doors to
discovering more about the world’s leading religion. It can only hope to whet
its readers’ appetites and lead them to explore Christianity in much greater
detail.

Anyone trying to sense the modern world or the process by which it came into
existence needs to understand something about the Christian faith.
Christianity is by far the largest religion in the world, with somewhere
between 2,500 and 1,750 million followers, depending on the criteria
employed. To understand the modern world, it is important to understand
why Christianity continues to be such an important presence in, for example,
the United States and is a growing presence in China.

This book sets out to provide an entry-level introduction to Christianity,
understood both as a system of beliefs and as a social reality. It is an
introduction in the proper sense of the term, in that it has been written on the
basis of the assumption that its readers know little or nothing about the
history of Christianity, its practices and beliefs. Every effort has been made to
keep the language and style of this book as simple as possible.

Alister McGrath
Oxford University

List of Illustrations and Maps

1.1 The angel Gabriel declaring to Mary that she is to bear the savior of the
world, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti; this incident is related early in Luke’s
gospel. Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882), Ecce Ancilla Domini (The
Annunciation), 1850. Oil on canvas, mounted on wood, 72 × 42 cm.
Source: Erich Lessing/AKG Images.

1.2 The birth of Christ, as depicted by Fra Angelico in a mural in the
monastery of San Marco, Florence, between 1437 and 1445. Fra
Giovanni da Fiesole (1387–1455) and workshop, Birth of Christ, with
the Saints Catherine of Alexandria and Peter the Martyr (1437–1445).
Fresco, 193 × 164 cm. Florence, S. Marco, upper storey, dormitory, cell
No.5 (east corridor). Source: Rabatti-Domingie/AKG Images.

1.3 Jesus of Nazareth calling Peter and Andrew by the Sea of Galilee (1481),
by Domenico Ghirlandaio. Domenico Ghirlandaio (Domenico Bigordi)
(1449–1494), The Calling of SS. Peter and Andrew, 1481. Fresco.
Source: Vatican Museums and Galleries/Bridgeman Art Library.

1.4 The Galilean ministry of Jesus (map).

1.5 Piero della Francesca’s depiction of the resurrection of Christ, c. 1460–
1464. Piero della Francesca (c. 1410/20–1492), The Resurrection of
Christ (c. 1460–1464). Fresco (removed), 225 × 200 cm. Sansepolcro,
Pinacoteca Comunale. Source: Rabatti-Domingie/AKG Images.

2.1 The route of Israel’s exodus from Egypt and conquest of Canaan (map).

2.2 The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the greatest wonders of the
Ancient World; after Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, c. 1700.
Source: AKG Images.

2.3 The gospel of Mark: a manuscript illumination from the Lindisfarne
Gospels, c. 698–700. Manuscript illumination, Irish–Northumbrian, c.
698/700. Mark the Evangelist. From the Lindisfarne Gospels, written
and illuminated by Bishop Eadfrith in Lindisfarne monastery. Source:
British Library/AKG Images.

2.4 The frontispiece to the King James Bible of 1611, widely regarded as the
most influential English translation of the Bible. The Holy Bible,
published by Robert Barker, 1611. Source: Alamy.

3.1 One of the most famous attempts to represent the Trinity: Andrei
Rubljov’s icon of 1411, depicting the three angels with Abraham, widely

interpreted as an analogue of the Trinity. Illustration: Rubljov, Andrei c.
1360/70–1427/30, The Holy Trinity (The Three Angels with Abraham)
(1411). Icon painting. Moscow, Tretjakov Gallery. Source: AKG Images.

3.2 William Blake’s watercolor “The Ancient of Days” (c. 1821), depicting
God in the act of creating the world. Blake, William (1757–1827), “The
Ancient of Days,” frontispiece of Europe: A Prophecy (c. 1821). Relief
etching, pen, and watercolor. Fitzwilliam Museum, University of
Cambridge, UK. Source: Fitzwilliam Museum, University of
Cambridge/Bridgeman Art Library.

3.3 Michelangelo’s fresco The Creation of Adam (1511–1512) from the
Sistine Chapel, Rome. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564). Fresco,
280 × 570 cm. Rome, Vatican, Cappella Sistina (Sistine Chapel), 4th
image. Source: Erich Lessing/AKG Images.

3.4 Karl Barth (1886–1968). Source: Ullstein Bild/AKG Images.

3.5 Mosaic depicting Jesus Christ, in the Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia,
Istanbul, c. 1260. Istanbul/Constantinople (Turkey), Hagia Sophia,
North Gallery. Deesis (Christ with Mary and John the Baptist). Mosaic,
Byzantine, c. 1260. Source: Erich Lessing/AKG Images.

3.6 A triumphal procession in Rome celebrating Titus’ victory over the Jews
in AD 70; carved on the Arch of Titus, triumphal arch in the Forum
Romanum erected in AD 81. The New Testament portrays Jesus of
Nazareth as a triumphant victor over sin and death. Rome (Italy), the
Arch of Titus, section of the left internal relief: Triumphal procession
with the seven-armed candlestick from the Temple of Solomon. Source:
Erich Lessing/AKG Images.

3.7 The Harrowing of Hell, as depicted in Jean de Berry’s Petites Heures
(14th century). Harrowing of Hell, folio 166 from Jean de Berry’s Petites
Heures. Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, BNF Lat
18104.

4.1 Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor. Source:
Nimatallah/AKG Images.

4.2 The Abbey of Montecassino. Source: Pirozzi/AKG Images.

4.3 A Celtic Cross from Ireland, widely regarded as a symbol of the
distinctive forms of Christianity that emerged in this region. Source:
Juergen Sorges/AKG Images.

4.4 Thomas Aquinas, from the series of portraits of famous men in the
Palazzo Ducale in Urbino (c. 1476), by Justus van Gent (active between

1460 and 1480). Source: Erich Lessing/AKG Images.

4.5 Erasmus of Rotterdam, c. 1525/30, after the painting (1517) by Quentin
Massys (1465/66–1530). Source: Pirozzi/AKG Images.

4.6 Portrait of Martin Luther (1528); from the studio of Lucas Cranach the
Elder (1472–1553). Source: AKG Images.

4.7 Portrait of the Genevan reformer John Calvin. Source: AKG Images.

4.8 Henry VIII (1540), by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497–1543). Source:
Nimatallah/AKG Images.

4.9 Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus (1556), by Jacopino del
Conte (1510–1598). Source: AKG Images.

4.10 Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870–1924), leader of the Bolshevik Revolution
in Russia. Source: AKG Images.

4.11 The opening of the second session of the Second Vatican Council,
September 29, 1963, with Pope Paul VI (formerly Giovanni Battista
Montini). Source: Keystone/Getty Images

6.1 A Russian Orthodox wedding at the Church of the Transfiguration, St.
Petersburg. Source: © Robert Harding Picture Library Ltd/Alamy.

6.2 Christian baptism by total immersion in the Indian Ocean in the island
of Zanzibar. Source: © World Religions Photo Library/Alamy.

6.3 The Last Supper celebrated and commemorated in the eucharist;
according to Jacopo da Ponte Bassano (c. 1510–1592). Source:
Cameraphoto/AKG Images.

6.4 Queen Elizabeth II hands out Maundy Money during the Royal Maundy
Service held at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral in 2004. The purses
containing the coins were handed to 78 men and 78 women, the number
selected to mark the Queen’s 78th year. Source: Phil Noble/PA
Archives/Press Association Images.

6.5 Santiago de Compostela, the center of a major pilgrimage route in
northern Spain. Source: Andrea Jemolo/AKG Images.

7.1 Saint Augustine of Hippo in a monastic cell, as depicted by Sandro
Botticelli, c. 1495. Source: Rabatti-Domingie/AKG Images.

7.2 Ground plan of York Minster, one of the greatest Gothic cathedrals of
Europe. Note especially its cruciform structure. Source: © The Dean &
Chapter of York.

7.3 The crucifixion, as depicted by Matthias Grünewald in the Isenheim

Altarpiece, executed c. 1513–1515. Source: Erich Lessing/AKG Images.

7.4 Byzantine icon of the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century,
showing Mary with the infant Jesus. Source: Cameraphoto/AKG
Images.

7.5 The south transept of the cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres, one of
the best examples of Gothic church architecture. The façade was
completed in the mid-thirteenth century. Chartres (Dep. Eure-et-Loir,
France), Cathedrale Notre-Dame (1134–1514; choir 1194–1221, transept
after 1194–c. 1250, nave c. 1200–1220, west façade 1134–1514).
Exterior: façade of the south transept. Source: Archives CDA/St-
Genès/AKG Images.

7.6 The pulpit in St. Peter’s Cathedral, Geneva. Source: J.-P.
Scherrer/Geneva 2005.

7.7 The great rose window above the main portal of the cathedral of Notre
Dame, Strasbourg, France, one of the finest examples of stained glass in
Europe. Strasbourg (Alsace, France), Minster: Cathédrale Notre-Dame
(12th–15th century). West façade (planned in 1276 by Erwin von
Steinbach): Window rose above the main portal. Source: Hedda
Eid/AKG Images.

Introduction
At some point around AD 60, the Roman authorities woke up to the fact that
there seemed to be a new secret society in the heart of their city, which was
rapidly gaining recruits. They had not the slightest idea what it was all about,
but it seemed to involve some mysterious and dark figure called Chrestus or
Christus (Latinized form of the ancient Greek word Christos, “anointed”) as
the cause of all the trouble. His origins lay in one of the more obscure and
backward parts of the Roman empire. But who was he? And what was this new
religion all about? Was it something they should be worried about, or could
they safely ignore it?

It soon became clear that this new religion might have the potential to cause
real trouble. The great fire that swept through Rome at the time of the
Emperor Nero in AD 64 was conveniently blamed on this new religious group.
Nobody liked them much, and they were an obvious scapegoat for the failings
of the Roman authorities to deal with the fire and its aftermath. The Roman
historian Tacitus (c. 56–c. 117) gave a full account of this event some fifty
years after the fire. He identified this new religious group as “the Christians,” a
group that took its name from someone called “Christus,” who had been
executed by Pontius Pilate back in the reign of Tiberius. This “pernicious
superstition” had found its way to Rome, where it had gained a huge
following. It is clear that Tacitus understands the word “Christian” to be a
term of abuse.

Yet, muddled and confused though the official Roman accounts of this
movement may be, they were clear that the movement centered in some way
on that figure called Christus. It was not regarded as being of any permanent
significance, being seen as something of a minor irritation. At worst, it was a
threat to the cult of the emperor (or emperor worship). Yet, three hundred
years later, this new religion had become the official religion of the Roman
empire.

So what was this new religion? What did it teach? Where did it come from?
Why was it so attractive? How did it come to be so influential in its first few
centuries? What happened after it had achieved such success at Rome? And
how has it shaped the lives of individuals and the history of the human race? It
is these questions that the present book will begin to answer.

So where do we start? What is the most helpful entry point to a study of
Christianity? Looking at Christian beliefs? Exploring the history of the

church? Surveying Christian art? In the end, the best place to begin is the
historical event that got all of these under way. It is impossible to think or talk
about any aspect of the Christian faith without talking about Jesus of
Nazareth. He is the center from which every aspect of the Christian faith
radiates outward. We therefore turn immediately to Jesus and his significance
for Christianity, to begin our exploration there.

1
Jesus of Nazareth and the Origins of Christianity
Christianity is rooted in the historical figure of Jesus of Nazareth, often also
referred to as “Jesus Christ.” Christianity is not simply the body of teachings
that derive from Jesus of Nazareth – ideas that could be dissociated from the
person and history of their originator. Marxism, for example, is essentially a
system of ideas grounded in the writings of Karl Marx (1818–1883). But Marx
himself is not part of Marxism. At a very early stage, however, the identity of
Jesus became part of the Christian proclamation. The Christian faith is thus
not merely about emulating or adopting the faith of Jesus of Nazareth; it is
also about placing faith in Jesus of Nazareth.

The Significance of Jesus of Nazareth for
Christianity
As we have already noted, the figure of Jesus of Nazareth is central to
Christianity. Christianity is not a set of self-contained and freestanding ideas;
it represents a sustained response to the questions raised by the life, death,
and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

Before we begin to explore the historical background to Jesus and the way in
which the Christian tradition understands his identity, we need to consider his
place within Christianity. To begin with, we shall consider the ways in which
Christians refer to the central figure of their faith. We have already used the
name “Jesus of Nazareth”; but what of the related name, “Jesus Christ”? Let’s
look at the latter in more detail.

The name “Jesus Christ” is deeply rooted in the history and aspirations of the
people of Israel. The word “Jesus” (Hebrew Yeshua) literally means “God
saves” – or, to be more precise, “the God of Israel saves.” The word “Christ” is
really a title, so that the name “Jesus Christ” is better understood as “Jesus
who is the Christ.” As a derivative of the verb “to anoint” (chriō), the word
“Christ” is the Greek version of the Hebrew term “Messiah,” which refers to an
individual singled out or raised up by God for some special purpose (p. 23). As
we shall see, this captured the early Christian belief that Jesus of Nazareth was
the culmination and fulfillment of the hopes and expectations of Israel.

…