New Testament Final Discussion Questions
According to 1 Corinthians, what are some of the problems that arose in the Corinthian community after Paul's departure? How might these problems have been related to socioeconomic differences in the community? In what ways does Paul deal with these issues?
After Paul's departure, Apollos takes over with a recommendation from Priscilla and Aquila. He is a believer of wisdom and philosophy. This contributed to problems in the church, because this goes against what Paul taught while he was there. Another issue was that while many people were followers of Paul, there were also followers of Apollos. This caused division within the church and went against what Paul had recently preached about division. Socioeconomic issues were grain shortages and a lack of kosher meat. answer last part
According to chapter 20, discuss how Paul's encounter with the risen Jesus affected his theological views. Which of his views were confirmed? Which views had to be adjusted? What were the implications of this encounter for Paul's mission?
Before Paul's encounter with Jesus, he was known as Saul. Saul hated the followers of Jesus Christ and was eager to persecute and kill them. Jesus Christ spoke to him on the road to Damascus, but he was not visible. The light blinded Saul, but Jesus instructed him on what to do next. His encounter with Jesus changed his beliefs and changed his life. Paul was a well educated man, and previously a Jew, but after the conversion, Paul debated the Jewish people. His views had to be adjusted from his Jewish belief system to a Christian belief system. Paul's mission was to go to the gentiles, kings, and the people of Israel.
1 Thessalonians is thoroughly apocalyptic. Obviously, Paul thought he was living in the end times and he devotes a lot of space to these issues. The theology of the Parousia in 2 Thessalonians is different. According to chapter 22, compare and contrast the apocalyptic theologies in the two books.
In 1 Thessalonians, Paul's message is about being hopeful for the end times and Jesus's return. He directs people to stay away from sexual sin and focus on purity in marriage. In 1 Thessalonians he frequently refers to Jewish religion. He encourages people to live and walk in Jesus's footsteps to change their ways and walk away from sin. Paul wants people to prepare for the end times. Many scholars believe that 2 Thessalonians may have had a different author due to the writing style and other factors. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul reminds the people that suffering is a part of participating in God's kingdom, and to not be discouraged by this. He says they should follow Christ by being patient as he was on the cross. Paul's main message here is to encourage Christians being persecuted. He reminds them of Judgement Day, where the people who persecute them will be judged by God. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul stresses the end will not come immediately rather than in 1 Thessalonians, where Paul encourages Christians to prepare for the end times, before it is too late.
What does James teach about "faith alone?" How does this differ from Paul's teaching? What does Matthew 25 teach about works in the judgement of sheep and goats? How does the conception of "works" in Matthew differ from "belief" found in John. How does Paul's teaching and James' teaching compare to Jesus' teaching? Lastly, how do you justify your position on faith and works.
James teaches that actions are important and correlate with a person's faith. For example, James 2:24 says, "You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone." This is different from Paul's teaching because Paul believes that salvation is all that one needs. Matthew 25 teaches that separating sheep from goats is like separating good from evil. Paul's teaching relates more to Jesus' teaching of works, for example, John 6:28-29 says, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." I believe Christians are best represented by serving God and volunteering through their churches, helping the needy, and even being missionaries
Modern historians recognize that history is never completely objective all authors record stories that bolster their literary cause. How does Luke in Acts strengthen his theological emphases by using the conventions of ancient historiography?:
Luke strengthens his theological emphases by focusing on the fulfillment of Jewish scriptures by Jesus. Although he was writing for the Gentiles, he still chose to elaborate on this because he wanted the texts to still portray Jesus as perfect, even as a perfect Jewish follower. It is not important for the Gentiles to know this because they did not have to follow or obey Jewish law to gain salvation, but it does show the perfection of Jesus at all angles.
According to chapter 22, why is Paul so angry with the Galatians? Why does Paul think their actions put them under God's curse?
Paul is angry with the Galatians because they have strayed away from God. Paul is passionate with God's word and has even been punished for his beliefs. The Galatians have sinned so greatly and gone to unholy practices and Paul fears for them and this results in anger. Paul thinks their worship and false teachings has not only lead them astray, but actually cursed them.
According to chapter 20, what does it mean to refer to Paul's letters as "occasional"? Why is it important to understand this aspect of Paul's letters?
Paul's letters are "occasional" because they are actual communications to specific people and churches, therefore the message in the letters may not be for everyone. These letters were written to these particular people, rather than the people of this generation. They must be read with knowledge of the historical background and the occasion of the letter. They do not contain Paul's life story, but the letter gives us Paul's perspective of the argument. It is important to understand this aspect because with this knowledge, the letters are better understood because the backstory is known.
According to chapter 22, discuss the development of clergy, creed, and canon in the proto-orthodox church. Why were these instituted, and how did they help proto-orthodoxy become more successful?
The clergy was developed to decided things like how the church funds should be spent and responsibilities to uphold the reputation of the church by confronting a church member involved in a sinful lifestyle. Although Paul was more focused on preparing for the end times, but without leadership, a church could easily follow in the same path as the Church of Corinth. About fifty years after Paul died, each of his churches had a leader, or bishop. This allowed leadership into the church, which is necessary to prevent confusion and chaos. The creed was developed to state the clear meaning of their beliefs. Gnostic Christians believed there were several gods, and that the one true God did not communicate with the world. They also believed that the world had been created by an evil god who did not hold as much power as the true God. To combat this belief system, the proto-orthodox church created a creed that stated their belief system and echoed the importance of their one true God. The canon was developed in the proto-orthodox church in the second century. Although the canon was not a new concept, it was beneficial for the teachings of Jesus and his words to be documented and kept. The writings of the apostles contributed to the doctrine as well. This made the church more successful because Christians had God's word to study, discuss, and worship.
Apocalypses were a distinct genre of literature. Many ancient writers used this genre's dualistic perspective on human history to convey an apocalyptic agenda. Discuss the differences between apocalyptic literature written by ancient Jews and that written by Christians.
The main difference between the apocalyptic literature written by Christians is that Jesus Christ is the key to the future. Jewish apocalyptic literature is very similar to the Christian apocalyptic literature but does not involve Jesus.
Seemingly everything about apocalyptic literature is symbolic. Interpret the following symbols of Revelation in light of the book's historical context the twenty-four human elders; the hoe of Babylon; and the number of the Beast, 666.
The twenty-four human elders represent knowledge. Since they are in white robes, the color connects to purity, and the crowns correlate directly to royalty. More than likely, they represent the church. The hoe of Babylon is a woman who fornicates with all of the kings of the earth. She is called the ***** of Babylon, because Babylon connects with the Old Testament city that was known as God's enemy. She is wearing fine clothes and jewels because she has exploited the people and is drunk off of blood. The blood is from all of the Christians she has persecuted. Although it is common to relate The Beast 666 to many people in power and leadership today, the textbook states that this was intended to be directed towards Rome leadership. Gematria is used to interpret names and words to numerology. This means that according to gematria, 666 would refer back to a person's name or other words regarding a specific person, in this case, the antichrist.
What are the primary themes of the book of Acts? Discuss specific instances in which these themes are conveyed.
Themes of the book of Acts include the Holy Spirit, apostles, community and suffering. In Acts chapter one, the apostles replace Judas with Matthias. Peter, John, James, Andrew, Phillip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the zealot) and Judas (son of James) were all present in Jerusalem during the meeting to replace Judas. The apostles are also a theme of the book of Acts simply because Acts is referred to the Acts of the apostles. The influence of the Holy Spirit occurs throughout the entire book of Acts. For example, the Holy Spirit was present during Pentecost and was the reason the flames were on their heads and the reason they were speaking various languages. Community is also a common theme in the book of Acts. Acts 2:42 is about a group of believers participating in fellowship, meals, the Lord's Supper, and prayer groups. Also in Acts 20:21, when in Syria, it is mentioned that the local believers, even women and children went to the shore and prayed with them before saying goodbye. This is also an example of community and how the loyal followers of God encouraged one another through prayer and fellowship. Suffering is also a theme here, due to the fact that, Paul was persecuted. The Jews wanted him killed because they disagreed with his teachings and Christianity as a whole. They did not accept Jesus as the messiah, and believed Paul and Christians were blasphemous.
Discuss why apocalypses were written during times of suffering or distress. What purpose did they serve within such communities?
They protested what was happening in that time and emphasized the opportunity of everlasting life. This provided hope for the people who were suffering.
