The Lamb of God - Research Paper Example

The Lamb of God Introduction If one takes a close look at the human civilization, one can not help noticing that the concept of religion has been playing a significant role in it since the early centuries. Indeed, the development of humanity at any given point in history was strongly influenced by a certain religious system. What is even more important is that the emergence of a spiritual teaching has often been seen as a centre of the frame of reference for many nations. That is why by studying a religion, a person is able to gain a better understanding of the nature of the human society and develop a broader perspective on the peculiarities of civilization. Another point that should be mentioned is that many concepts that are widely used by a spiritual teaching should not be seen as static, but rather dynamic notions that are developed by the generations of believers and may be influenced by the contemporary historical events. This paper will analyze the concept of Lamb of God as a way to address Jesus Christ. Different aspects of the name Considering the concept of Lamb of God, one should point out that this expression is found exclusively in the New Testament; however, it has a close connection to other images of animals that were used in the Old Testament. The first one which comes to mind is the scapegoat which was used by the Jews to cleanse their sins. One should point out that this practice originated long ago and reflected the primitive beliefs of the Jewish nation that heavily relied on human or animal sacrifice as a form of restoring the balance in the universe. It would be a mistake to suggest that the Christian use of similar terms relies on the following concept. Quite the opposite, Lamb of God, as Jesus Christ is known to be referred to, does not have a similar meaning. As one can easily see, the idea of a scapegoat was influenced by the period of time the Jews formed their nation after being oppressed by the Egyptians. That historical period has also had influence on the perception of the concept of Lamb of God in the future. Thus, Christian scholars noted that Jesus Christ should not be perceived as a scapegoat, but rather as another image from the Old Testament, namely the Passover Lamb. Once again the connection is clearly seen. Thus, the Passover Lamb symbolizes a completely different approach towards this idea: it is a positive, rather than a negative one. In spite of the fact that in both cases the animals are sacrificed, sacrifice of a scapegoat stands for the desire to get rid of evil, while the Passover Lamb is used as a symbol of hope for the bright future. Finally, the last position which should be taken into the account by a person which is willing to gain a proper understanding of the idea of Lamb of God is the views which can be found in the last book of the New Testament, the Revelation. Thus, in it Jesus Christ symbolically appears as a victorious lamb. The change of the interpretation of the image can be easily explained by the fact that in the times when the book of Revelation was written Christianity was in opposition to the existing religions, especially the one which dominated the contemporary social environment, namely Judaism. That is why it is quite understandable that one of the apostles would want his God to be seen shy as a lamb, yet victorious as a lion. This means that the early Christians tried to adhere to the principle of non violence which was promoted by Jesus, yet still wanted to spread their faith and make the image of it appealing. Views of the scholars While considering the evolution of the name Lamb of God it may be particularly important to take a close look at the way it was used by the scholars in their writing. Thus, the earlier use of it is found in the Gospel of John. One should keep in mind that the text which was written by this apostle was largely influenced by his personal interaction with Jesus. This means that John might have used it in meanings that are not understandable to our contemporaries. In any way, it was he who developed the approach towards the role of Jesus as an agent of God who acts to save the humanity (Sadananda, 2004, 281). This means that the role of Son of God is emphasized in the general story of Gospels. In other words, this is the starting point of referring to Him as Lamb of God. The next Christian thinker and saint who addressed the same issue was Saint Augustine. This scholar is though to have developed the above mentioned concept (Schaff, 1996, 36). So, in the times of John, when Christianity was still a Jewish sect, the name in question was a picturesque image which was used in the sacred texts to appeal to the believers. However, it was Saint Augustine who explained by Jesus is called Lamb of God and what additional meaning this name has. According to him, just like a lamb that is killed for different purposes (e.g. to be eaten or sacrificed), the death of Son of God also had a purpose: to cleanse the people from the sins that they committed and provide them with salvation. Saint Augustine lived in the early Middle Ages when Christianity was an important agent in Europe and was in need of substantial basis for its teaching. Several centuries later, there was another Christian scholar who developed the concept in question. This was Saint Anselm of Canterbury. Unlike the thinkers in the previous centuries, who merely introduced the name of Lamb of God or provided general background to it, he took a careful as well as detailed look at the very idea. Thus, the greatest contribution of Saint Anselm’s is that he clearly differentiated the use of the above mentioned name and the use of the concept of a scapegoat. The main difference between the two lied in the following: Jesus Christ was fully aware of the role that he played for the humanity and was willing to follow the path until the end for the good of the people; contrary to that, scapegoat was a social role which was not chosen, but imposed on a person. This means that Lamb of God is not synonymous to scapegoat, but reflects a completely different aspect of the relationship between people and God (Jech, 2013, 73). Saint Anselm lived in the end of the eleventh century when Christianity was firmly established in Europe and was a highly developed spiritual teaching that felt the urge to differentiate itself from its spiritual ancestor, namely Judaism. As a result, this Christian saint put his efforts to prove the difference between the two traditions. It must be noted that the interest towards the name Lamb of God did not decline in the previous centuries. Thus, John Calvin, one of the people who were extremely active in the times of Protestant Reformation. According to the views of this thinker Christ should be seen an agent of God Who did His best to help people (Old, 1998, 125). This kind of thinking is similar to the one which was expressed by Saint John. However, Calvin develops the idea of agency further and suggests that Jesus should be called Lamb of God since He remained silent and shy as a lamb while he was undergoing the trial of Pontius Pilatus and the further crucifixion. There is no doubt that the phenomenon of Reformation clearly reflects the view of Calvin as a desire to return back to the original nature of Christianity and focus on the peculiarities of the role of Jesus. Finally, one should also engage the ideas of another Christian scholar when it comes to understanding the true meaning of the name Lamb of God. In the end of the nineteenth century Sergey Bulgakov, an Eastern Orthodox priest, developed a peculiar idea, according to which the role of Jesus Christ as the agent of God Who will be sacrificed if needed was determined pre-eternally (Bulgakov, 2008, 114). This is a rather interesting approach since it shows the resemblance of the image of Jesus and a literal lamb: their lives both serve a particular purpose and this purpose is predetermined before their birth. In other words, to a certain extent the idea that is behind the name Lamb of God also has a direct dimension to it. Conclusion Having examined all the points which were discussed in the paragraphs above, one is able to come to the following conclusion: the name Lamb of God is one of the key terms that are used in Christianity. It has many aspects to it that should be taken into consideration in order to gain the correct understanding of it. To begin with, one should note that this concept is different from a concept that is found in the Old Testament, namely the scapegoat. In addition to that, numerous scholars over the centuries contributed to the understanding of the name in question. References Bulgakov, S. (2008). The Lamb of God. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Jech, C. (2013). Religion as art form: Reclaiming spirituality without supernatural beliefs. Eugene, OR: Resource Publications. Old, H. (1998). The reading and preaching of the scriptures in the worship of the Christian church. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans. Sadananda, D. (2004). The Johannine exegesis of God: An exploration into the Johannine understanding of God. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Schaff, P. (1996). St. Augustine: Homilies on the Gospel of John ; Homilies on the first Epistle of John ; Soliloquies. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. Read More