Some Questions Concerning Soteriology

1. In class, I suggested that to begin to understand "what happened" at the cross, we must understand at least four things.  What are they?

2. To understand "the act," I want to take us back to a certain key part of Fr. Edward Schillibeeckx's discussion in Christ the Sacrament of the Encounter with God.  As Fr. Schillibeeckx points out, the act by which our redemption is won -- the act that is both a sign and cause of our redemption -- takes place in time.  First, the author distinguishes four "phases" in this "growth toward the fullness of redemption."  Describe them.  Next, he describes what he calls "the dogmatic content" of the Passover, the Ascension, and Pentecost.  Please explain these.

3. Now that we have a somewhat clearer notion of "the act," we also need to have a clearer notion of who it was who did the act.  What does the Church say about who this person Jesus is?  (Please be able to lay out the basic definitions relating to Christ and the Trinity.)

4. Under the "significance of the act," I listed a series of images that Jesus uses to talk about his mission in the world.  The first has to do with establishing "the Kingdom of God."  For a more profound understanding of what Jesus means by "the Kingdom of God," we would have to make an in-depth study of the idea of the "kingdom" as it developed in the Old Testament (especially God's promise to David in 2 Samuel 7 that he would set up one of his descendants on the throne of his father in an everlasting kingdom), as well as a serious study of Jesus's parables and miracles.  We're not going to do that.  You do that in "Introduction to Sacred Scripture."  What I mentioned in class was merely the irony of talking about the Kingdom of God.  Why is this "kingdom" so odd, compared to human kingdoms?

5. Please be able to describe the Old Testament concept of "redemption."  How did the Jewish People come to understand what had happened during the Exodus by means of this concept?  How did Christians come to understand the significance of what had happened at their Passover Event (at the cross of Christ) by means of this concept?

6. Jesus tried to communicate something about the significance of His coming death on the cross at the Last Supper he celebrated with His disciples.  What did He communicate by means of this meal?  (Note the complexity here: Jesus uses the meal to signify His coming death on the cross.  And yet the meal is meant to teach the disciples about the significance of what happens by means of His death on the cross.  Thus the meal signifies the cross, but the significance of the cross is given by the meal. [These Christians, they're a tricky lot   Either that, or they live in a world filled with significance.  Catholics call it having a "sacramental" mentality.])

7. In class, we discussed some of the ways in which, for Christians at least, the Paschal Event of Christ's sacrifice on the cross fulfills and completes the Passover Event in the Old Testament.  Explain.

8. In class, I discussed how the image used by St. Paul of believers becoming "members" of  "the Body of Christ" communicates an idea similar to one we found in our discussion of the Trinity.  Explain.

9. In our discussion of the question, "What did the act accomplish?" I mentioned that we first should remember the problem that needs to be resolved: namely, sin.  We will shortly be discussing sin in more detail.  In particular, we will be reading an article on "the three-fold alienation of sin."  After we've read that article, I'll want you to be able to discuss both the three ways in which sin alienates us (from God, from our neighbors, and from ourselves), but also how what Christ does on the cross helps to reconcile us with God, with our neighbors, and with ourselves.

10. Under the heading, "What did the act accomplish?" I mentioned a theme that took center stage in Fr. Roch's discussion of soteriology: namely, communion.  Explain.  How does this theme relate to what St. Augustine, in his First Catechetical Instruction, says should be the "focal point" of the instruction given to catechumens?

12. What does Fr. Roch mean when he talks about "The Metaphysical Foundation of Redemption"?  What is the "metaphysical foundation" of redemption?   

13. According to Fr. Roch, in what ways is Christ our "Mediator"?

14. In his discussion of Christ as our "Mediator," Fr. Roch asks a question which was often-asked in the Early Church: "How can Christ join together God and man unless what is true of Christ?"

15. Discuss what Fr. Roch means when he talks about "He who descended is the very one who ascended."

16. In the section entitled "He who descended is the very one who ascended," Fr. Roch says that, "No one but Christ the Son can share in the Father's life and love.  Thus, we are saved only insofar as we are united to Christ as 'members' of His Body.  This union with Christ does not abolish but rather perfects our human identity."  This theme is one we have met with before.  Compare what Fr. Roch says about with what C. S. Lewis says in the section of Mere Christianity entitled "The New Man" about when we finally get "a real personality."  Compare both of these with Thomas Merton's comment in The New Seeds of Contemplation that, "The secret of my identity is hidden in the love and mercy of God."  Now think back to the first part of the course when we were talking about the "tragic misunderstanding" of the modern world with regard to God.  How does the notion of redemption laid out above help us to respond to this potential misunderstanding?

17. What, in terms of Christian soteriology, is "the Marvelous Exchange"?

18. In one section, Fr. Roch discusses "Redemption as Victory and Deliverance."  Victory over what?  Deliverance from what?  Explain.

19. In his section on "Redemption as Sacrifice," Fr. Roch discusses the sacrifices of the Old Testament.  Christians understand these to be images -- foreshadowings, as it were -- of Christ's sacrifice on the cross.  In the midst of this discussion, Fr. Roch points out something further about the Old Testament sacrifices: "God ordained these sacrifices," he says, "as a sign of a true invisible sacrifice."  What is it this "true, invisible sacrifice"?

20. How, according to Fr. Roch, does Christ's sacrifice on the cross bring about the "redemption" of all creation, re-uniting all of creation with God?