God's Fullness
EXCURSUS: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND FOR BIBLE STUDY

Part II – The Son As God
Introduction
To emphasize the deity of Jesus to the neglect of His humanity would expose us to the age-old heresy of Gnosticism. "Christian Gnosticism" began to plague the church by the end of the first century a.d. It flourished extensively in the following century. It is neither necessary nor possible to present a full treatise on Gnosticism in this book. Many of the teachings of the Gnostics were on a collision course with the Gospel of Christ. Therefore, Gnosticism will serve as our launching pad from which to begin a brief overview of several major historical events, religious movements, literary developments, and currents of thought that have had a bearing on biblical study through the centuries.

Gnosticism
The word Gnosticism sends up a red flag. It comes from the Greek gnosis, which means "knowledge." Not ordinary knowledge, mind you, but direct knowledge, which comes from illumination, or revelation, of eternal truths. Those who claimed such knowledge saw themselves as the gifted elite. Although girded by philosophic underpinnings, Gnosticism was a syncretistic system that drew on sources that varied geographically, philosophically, and religiously. For example: From Persia, Babylon, and Greece came dualism, astrology, and philosophy, respectively.¹ Gnosticism adapted to Christianity and became a very divisive force within the church in the early second century a.d.

One of their standard tenets was a belief that all matter is evil by nature and spirit is good by nature. This dogma had a direct bearing on their view of Jesus.

One group within greater Gnosticism was identified as the Docetics. This term comes from the Greek dokeo, meaning "to appear to be, to seem." Their dualism (evil matter versus good spirit) dictated that Jesus, as God (good spirit) could not have been in the flesh (evil matter). His humanity was only an appearance, or apparition. He seemed to be human. Although there were variations in this belief, the bottom line was essentially the same. They denied the true humanity of Jesus.

Our first reaction to this ancient view of Jesus may be amazement, followed by a sigh of relief that such heresy has long since been overcome and forgotten. However, such complacency would be premature. Although the Gnostic faith did not survive the early centuries of the church, modern times have seen equally disturbing views about Jesus come to the forefront within the broader boundaries of Christendom. The Docetics arrived at an inferior view of Jesus based on false presuppositions about matter; in the past few centuries many grotesque caricatures of Jesus have appeared based primarily upon false presuppositions about the Bible.

Reformation
The Reformation was a very complex historical movement. Among other things, it was marked by moral issues, nationalisms, economics, and resistance to political authoritarianism. In religious matters, the most important development was a break from the status quo of Roman Catholicism, as illustrated by Martin Luther's "Ninety-five Theses" set forth at Wittenberg in 1517. This great breach had been foreshadowed by emerging "resistance groups," such as the Waldensians, as early as the twelfth century. Most of these groups were made up of people who saw teachings in the Bible that were contrary to those of the Catholic Church. However, neither the Inquisition nor the later Counterreformation could stem the tide. With much bloodshed and anguish, Protestantism grew in Germany and spread to other countries like Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, and Great Britain – to name a few.

During those torturous centuries the Scriptures came to the forefront as never before since the beginning of the Middle Ages. With the emergence of Scripture for the masses came also the conviction that they were sufficient for all matters pertaining to faith and life. The individual, not the church, was responsible for studying and interpreting them for salvation. This stance toward Scripture was predicated on the conviction that the Bible, in its entirety, was the true Word of God. This, as is well known, was the foundational strength of the Protestant Reformation.

Renaissance
Of course, this great historical/religious development was not happening in a vacuum. Quite the contrary. The Western world was beginning to turn itself in new directions from which it would never return. By the middle of the fifteenth century the Renaissance, or, from another perspective, the Revival of Learning, was well under way. That new tool of wonder, the printing press, was the major vehicle that would spread new ideas, discoveries, and challenges across the world of which we speak. The Revival of Learning had a great facilitator in the printed word. The monasteries began to yield their written treasures. Scholars and monks fled to the West in great numbers. They brought their precious manuscripts of science, math, philosophy, and religion. This flight was intense prior to the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453. Thus old boundaries were gone and new centers of learning emerged.

Humanity was "moving up." Economic and commercial ventures were beginning to produce better physical conditions. Concentrations of wealth were making it possible for individuals and nations to expand their horizons. For example: Christopher Columbus made his voyages to the New World in the second half of the fifteenth century under the patronage of Spain.

Learning progressed on many fronts. Old ideas were challenged by new insights and discoveries. The Italian Galileo Galilei was a product of the new age. He was proficient in Greek, Latin, logic, music, painting, physics, and astronomy. He was a staunch individualist who set the world straight by sending it around the sun with the scientific verification of the Copernican theory of our solar system. In Germany, Johann Kepler was also establishing the theory of Nicolaus Copernicus that the Earth rotated around the sun. Discovering new worlds and reorienting the old were the kinds of accomplishments that characterized the Renaissance spirit!

Scientific Humanism
However, our point of interest is how religious authority, doctrine, and sources were affected by this heady spirit of humanism. A clash between the principles of scientific humanism and principles of the Protestant Reformation was inevitable. Scientific humanism rejected the supernatural. The Bible insisted on the historicity of revelation and miracles.

Scientific humanism and religion based on biblical revelation could not be permanent bedfellows. At first the humanists conceded that revelation might be above reason but would never be contrary to it; therefore, reason must be the judge of revelation. Eventually, Rationalism declared that reason had judged revelation and found it wanting. Therefore, biblical revelation was rejected as "unscientific."

Thus the pendulum had swung completely. Instead of man receiving revelation from God, any belief in God must now be reduced to man's ability to "reconstruct" Him by rational, scientific inquiry. This meant that the Bible itself must be viewed and studied as a human product. It must not be allowed to judge man without his consent; rather, man must exercise judgment on the Bible by the principles of scientific rationalism.

Critical Biblical Studies
This was the historical nexus for the various "critical" studies of Scripture. Higher biblical criticism was launched by Jean Astruc and Johann Gottfried Eichorn in the last half of the eighteenth century with their analysis of Genesis. This was followed by Wilhelm M. L. De Wette's critical work in Deuteronomy at the beginning of the nineteenth century. He denied the Mosaic authorship of Deuteronomy: This type of analysis came to the forefront in critical biblical studies. It characterized such works as the Documentary Hypothesis of Karl Graf and Julius Wellhausen in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

It is not mere coincidence that the work of Charles Darwin was a nineteenth-century product. His famous work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection was taken by many as a scientific confirmation of the natural origin of man. As part of "the survival of the fittest," man's destiny was to rule the world as its supreme product. What the old "higher criticisms" did to Scripture was done to the human race by Darwin: both Scripture and humanity were cut off from God.

This development was rejected by many in those days. Of course, it is still denied by many today. There is one thing that continues to haunt the basic premise of all scientific humanists. It is this: History in the twentieth century proves we are not the masters of our own destiny. The collage of horrors is before us. We are not getting better. The insistence on mere "naturalism" has caught up with us.

To whom, or what, shall we turn? This question implies the basis for the shift in emphasis in New Testament liberal scholarship in the early part of the twentieth century. Once scholars had discarded the orthodox views of inspiration and revelation concerning the Bible, the conclusion was reached that the Gospels were not factual accounts of the life of Jesus, except for a few fragments here and there. They were said to be elaborate statements of faith by the devoted followers of a pious visionary. This Man called Himself the Son of Man and saw Himself as an instrument of God to usher in a new aeon of glory. Therefore, the search for the historical Jesus was doomed to failure because of a lack of evidence (since the Gospel accounts were ruled out in terms of having definitive historical value). Indeed, the historical Jesus was considered quite irrelevant!²

Reactions to Scientific Rationalism
However, World War I struck a severe blow to the optimism and self-confidence about which we have been speaking. It was thought that perhaps something was lacking. It was decided by many that a new approach or a closer look at biblical texts might prove helpful.

So, in an era of considerable disillusionment, the voices of Karl Barth, Rudolf Bultmann, and others began to be heard. With caution, and a large amount of liberal nuance, Barth pleaded for a return to the Word of God. Although to him the Bible was not the Word of God in an objective sense, it contained the Word of God for those who could peer through it and beyond. Bultmann agreed that a return to biblical studies was appropriate. However, the texts would have to be thoroughly "demythologized" before the kerygma could be discerned and appropriated in faith. Even though these positions were a far cry from conservative Christian faith, they at least pointed to a new interest and a new direction in biblical studies between World War I and World War II.

Technology and Faith
The human condition since World War II has remained agonizing. The Korean conflict reminded us that World War II was not the war to end all wars. The Vietnam bloodshed raised the specter of doubt as to whether peace on Earth is possible. The cold war of fifty years has yielded to provincial outbreaks of conflict with their atrocities, misery, and death.

This human cauldron so characteristic of much of the twentieth century has been exacerbated by the bewildering advance of scientific technology in all fields of human endeavor. We are left reeling and uncertain, confused and fearful, shattered, with no solidarity, adrift, with no anchor. The feel of impending doom is heightened in the minds of many as our millennium draws to a close.

In times like these, many people become "religious" for the first time. They often turn to some charismatic leader and find relief in escapism, cults, and "end-of-the-world" (eschatological) thinking. Others, influenced by doomsday evangelists, turn to Jesus on a spiritual high that is carried along by excess emotionalism and sustained by showmanship and sensationalism.

Fortunately, on a more insightful level, once again many Bible scholars are pointing to the historical Jesus found in a Bible that is now held in much higher regard than in the heyday of "Old Liberalism."³

Back to the Bible
The preceding observations are not intended to be lessons on church history or a survey of theology: If so, they would be inadequate. They are intended to be a reminder that it has become intellectually valid to study the Scriptures as accurate historical accounts of the life of Christ.

The search is not always easy; neither is it simplistic. However, if it is done diligently, the rewards are many and wonderful. Many different methods are being utilized today by advanced students of the Scriptures who have a deep faith in the veracity of the Bible as the inspired Word of God.⁴ It can be said with confidence that we cannot legitimately be branded as naive or foolish for turning to the scriptural accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus. On the contrary! In the Bible we find Him Who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life!"

Footnotes:
¹Cf. Robert M. Grant, Gnosticism and Early Christianity (New York: Oxford University Press, 1960), for a good introduction to Gnosticism.
²Cf. Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus, trans. W. Montgomery; with an introduction by James M. Robinson (New York: Oxford University Press, 1968), especially 401.
³E.g., Michael Green, ed., The Truth of God Incarnate (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1977); I. Howard Marshall, I Believe in the Historical Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1977); Leon Morris, I Believe in Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1976).
⁴E.g., Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth: A Guide to Understanding the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1982).