Update on Sys B

The final is over and my hand still feels cramped. We had to write freehand on notebook paper, double-spaced, and one-sided our responses the questions, which I posted previously. The questions I ended up writing about were:

What really matters is the soul. The body is a trap, a burden, to be laid aside in the resurrection. So let's concentrate on saving souls.

Jesus was a wise teacher and an exemplary human being. Christianity has built him up into a god, even though he never claimed to be one.

Salvation is fundamentally about forgiveness of sins, and that's what Jesus won for us on the cross.

I ended up with 24 pages by the end. It was pretty draining, too because there was just so much information to get out of my head and onto paper. A summary of each:

1. This view of creation is incomplete and inaccurate, causing one to hold to a low view of God's creative capacity. We are made in the image of God with both a body and a soul, therefore both are valuable dimensions worthy of redemption. Also, Jesus himself had a resurrected body recognizable by his disciples, though not at first. He didn't lay aside his body, so we won't either, since Jesus showed us what it means to be truly human.

2. Jesus was more than just a wise sage or a model human being - He was fully human and fully God, true God of true God. I went through the seven stages of Jesus' career showing how each contributes to his divinity. (Incarnation, Inauguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, Intercession, and Return)

3. Salvation is more than just forgiving our sins (I had to differentiate between sin and sins). We are saved to shalom - that fulfillment of who we are in God. Jesus was our representative on the cross, absorbing our sin onto himself; he was not simply a substitute like you have in a basketball game where someone comes in for you. Jesus represented all of humanity as he died on the cross, overcoming sin and evil.