religion exam 3

What is the thesis statement of Acts and how does the structure or outline of Acts follow this thesis?

The thesis statement is acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to all ends of the earth. It starts in acts when the holy spirit descends upon the disciples and they are suddenly able to speak all the languages of the people gathered in Jerusalem for the Shavuot festival. . Peter gives a speech that explains the holy spirit descended upon these people so that they will become believers. Many people are converted into Christian believers and all come together to stay and live together in Jerusalem. This leads to the Jerusalem commune, where Christians are all living together and pooling their money and food together to celebrate Christ together. Eventually, the Jewish followers were forced out of Jerusalem by Romans after they revolted. This was one of the first steps that led to the spread of Christianity. Peter and the other disciples(Phillip) spread the word of God to Jewish regions by preaching to people in Samaria and Judea. The term Christian is coined at the church in Antioch as a way to separate Christ following Jews from other Jews. It is during these missionary journeys that the first Gentile becomes a Christian. Meanwhile, Paul has an apokalypsis which convinces him to and helps him discover his purpose to spread the message of Christ to Gentiles. Paul sets out on his missionary journey with barnabas to convert as many Gentiles to Christianity as possible, traveling through many cities and eventually making it as far as Rome. It is believed that Paul possibly made it to Spain at some point, relating to the verse at the beginning of Acts that says to all ends of the Earth.

Galatians

Undisputed considered to be the angry letter, tells people to go castrate themselves. The opponents are the judaizers( jewish christian missionaries saying Gentiles need to be circumcised) . Gentile believers do not need to be circumcised is Paul's main point in this letter. He says if you let yourself get circumcised you are **Betrayal of the gospel you are earning rather than god giving it to you by faith. They should not be circumcised. Christ is the one offspring of Abraham. In baptism, gentiles become one with Christ. There is no longer any separation, you are one in Christ Jesus. If you are one, you are a descendant of Abraham. Probably not the best reasoning that he does.

Philemon

Undisputed dealing with reuniting a runaway slave with his master. No big theological thought, no real practical thing. Very personal letter just saying don't punish this slave. Paul probably did not address slavery for multiple reasons, including the fact that he had no idea that his letters would end up becoming scripture.

1 Thessalonians

Undisputed Considered to be the first letter written by Paul. The audience is the church in thessalonica, which Paul had previously visited. The main thesis:your work in faith, and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Main issues are: faith, love, and hope. This letter is very kind and gentle, it has a fatherly tone. 1 Thessalonians- gentle letter. Thought of as the first pauline letter. Focuses on hope about the second comingWill christians that have already died miss the second coming? Paul says that the dead in Christ will rise first. Don't worry about that, have hope. Those alive will be caught up into the cloud (Parousia- means state visit of a king, lots of preparation and trumpet of lord sounds. Grand entrance of Jesus, so comfort one another with these words). Second coming of Jesus is soon: it will be like a thief in the night.

1 corinthians

Undisputed DRAMATIC LETTER there was a man sleeping with his stepmom. They are suing each other, can you sleep with a prostitute, food offered to idols, division in church, celibacy within marriage, head coverings, spiritual gifts. There was a threatening fatherly tone. Corinth is this church with problems (outlandish actions). Paul is using two sources of information, the oral report from Chloe's people and the letter from the Corinthians.

Romans

Undisputed Jewish and Gentile audience. Mixed audience. He has never been there or visited the Romans before. It changes the way that he talks about things. It is the more rational letter. He says that Abraham believed and then he was circumcised later. That means that Abraham is the father of the uncircumcised and the circumcised that believe. It comes down to faith. Have the same faith that Abraham had, believe in the rising of the dead (abraham's body is dead and he was able to have a child, and we believe that jesus rose from the dead)

Apollos

Well educated Jewish Christian missionary known for his eloquence. One of the leaders that was causing division in the church. one of the people who is spreading a fake message. Mentioned in 1 Corinthians

If Jesus and his earliest disciples were jewish, why are the followers of Jesus now called Christians instead of Jews, and mainly come from what would be considered a gentile background? Make your answer specific as possible by referring to how the question is answered in Acts and in Paul's letters. Starts with the Thesis statement of Jesus.

acts// THESIS //Acts- 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to all ends of the Earth. The Holy Spirit descends on the disciples and gives them the ability to speak in tongues/multiple languages. They are able to speak the message of Christ to the people in the crowd who are then baptised and become believers. Believers then come together and form a commune in Jerusalem before they are eventually banned. When they are sent away, and the disciples are sent to spread the message to others, this is the beginning of the Gentile inclusion into Christianity. Peter preaching to Cornelius, a Gentile God-Fearer. Ethiopian Eunuch was a Gentile that was a believer. He is important because he is what first raises the issue of if it is required for Gentiles to become Jews to be believers(he is castrated, so he is not allowed in places of worship despite being a believer). Paul travels across the region, going to Gentile regions to spread the Gospel. He starts in Jerusalem before he goes to cities like Corinth, Thessalonica, Galatia and ending in the heart of Rome. Antioch-the city where Christ followers are first called Christians. There is now a new term for those who believe in Jesus(leading to anybody being able to be a Christian) instead of it just being a small sect under Judaism, this now signifies a sort of separation from the old religion. Jerusalem council-meeting of the church to decide the rules. They were trying to answer the question: do gentile shave to become Jews to be Christian? AKA do Gentiles have to be circumcised? The discussion:Paul, Peter, and Barnabas The Solution: Gentiles do not have to be circumcised but have to follow other basic rules. An example of a law they have to follow is the Jewish food laws- can't eat blood (life and soul is in blood), no strangulated animals, no fornification, and no idolatry. These rules mean that Gentiles and Jews can have fellowship together. It serves as a comfort for those who want to become Christians but were not circumcised. Now all they have to do is believe, be baptised, and follow very basic laws from the Jewish bible. Need to use Acts and the letters- Paul writes letters to the during and after his travels to these Gentile cities. He is working to quickly teach about Jesus and convert as many Gentiles as possible. He has a sense of eschatological urgency because he believes that the death and resurrection of Jesus signify the beginning of the end and the beginning of time for the inclusion of the Gentiles. There is not a lot of time for Gentiles to be converted before Jesus comes again, so Paul is working as fast as possible. In his letters, Paul leads Gentiles with the proper teachings and answers their questions about problematic behavior in their cities. Paul refutes Judaizers many times about their exclusionary behavior that makes circumcision a requirement. He works to make it as simple as possible for Gentiles to become believers and be children of God. letters//Galatians and romans In Galatians, Paul says, it is a betrayal of the gospel if a Gentile gets circumcised. If you get circumcised, you are trying to earn God's blessings rather than believing God is giving it to you by faith. They should not be circumcised. Christ is the one offspring of Abraham. In baptism, gentiles become one with Christ. There is no longer any separation, you are one in Christ Jesus. Romans is the more rational letter. He says that Abraham believed and then he was circumcised later. That means that Abraham is the father of the uncircumcised and the circumcised that believe. It comes down to faith. Have the same faith that Abraham had, believe in the rising of the dead (abraham's body is dead and he was able to have a child, and we believe that jesus rose from the dead)

Ethiopian Eunuch

aligned with Judaism but couldn't enter the temple or where the other Jewish men were because he was not circumcised. This Eunuch was castrated and a Gentile. The Holy Spirit is sent to him. First recorded African Christian.

problems in the jerusalem commune

annais and sapphira lied about selling land (they hid the profit they had got from the land because they did not want to get rid of their selfish worldly possessions) Peter gets mad at them for lying. Another issue was widows complaints. They did not think the food in the commune was portioned fairly. To fix this, 7 men were to be picked to fairly distribute food. These men would later become the idea of deacons.

Lawless one/ Restrainer

discussed in 2 Thessalonians. Confusing explanation that Paul gives for signs of the second coming.*** "and then the Lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will sweep away with the tempest of His anger, and utterly overwhelm by the awful splendour of His Coming."Many say that the lawless one is the antichrist, satan, or a roman emperor who will try and convince people to believe the wickedness of his lie. Jesus is going to come with fire and wrath to destroy the wicked lawless one.

eschatological urgency

focus in 1 Corinthians and a main focus of Paul overall. If Jesus is coming back at any time, christians need to be focused on working hard and serving the Lord, not living lamely and lazily waiting for him to come again.

Onesimus

from the letter to Philemon. He is a slave that ran away from his owner Philemon. Paul asks in his letter to him that Philemon forgives his slave for his crimes

stephen

martyrdom of stephen- leads to transition to judea and samaria. This is because Jewish followers are being persecuted And have to leave Jerusalem 9dispersing the Jerusalem commune).

Jerusalem Council

meeting of the church to decide the rules. They were trying to answer the question: do gentile shave to become Jews to be Christian? AKA do Gentiles have to be circumcised? The discussion:Paul, Peter, and Barnabas The Solution: Gentiles do not have to be circumcised but have to follow other basic rules. An example of a law they have to follow is the Jewish food laws- can't eat blood (life and soul is in blood), no strangulated animals, no fornification, and no idolatry. These rules mean that Gentiles and Jews can have fellowship together.

Paul/Saul

missionary to the Gentiles. His names are used interchangeably. Saul is used in Jewish areas. Saul is Jewish, studied in Jerusalem, and is a Pharisee. Paul is born in Tarsus, Roman citizen who speaks Greek. Paul was there when Stephen got stoned. He was very much a Jewish believer before he got converted. Conversion on the road to Damascus(Acts 9,27,26) author mentions this multiple times because they think that it is very important. Paul learns through this conversion that he has a mission to help the Gentiles.

Glossolalia

speaking in tongues

Parousia (second coming)

the anticipated and prophesied return of Jesus Christ to judge humanity at the end of the world. another term for the second coming. It is what followers in Corinth were waiting for when Paul told them to live life normally so that they aren't sitting around waiting for something that is not coming immediately.

Ascension

the departure of Jesus from the Earth. He physically departed from the earth by rising to heaven. 40 day period between resurrection and ascension. Jesus is going away and not coming back for some time. He is lifted into the clouds and going to remain there. The disciples remain because they are left in wonderment at the scene and 2 men in robes, assumed to be angels, inform the people that Jesus is gone.

Cornelius

the first Gentile convert. He was a god fearer, meaning he believed in some higher power. Because of his conversion, Jewish believers have to determine if the Jewish rules apply to Gentiles. He is already a devout man, which is why he was chosen. 1. Cornelius knew about Peter because of his vision of an angel, which came from God. 2. Peter's vision of animals- sheep come down with animals that are considered unclean. Voice says to cook these dirty animals(Peter says that the animals are unclean and unfit to be eaten and the holy spirit tells him that it is clean under God). This dream happens three times. 3. The Holy Spirit falls on all who have gathered so that they speak in tongues.

James

the leader of the Jerusalem church. He is considered to be the brother of Jesus.

barnabas

the man that vouches for Paul with the leaders in the Jerusalem church. Defended Gentiles against the Judaizers. He was kind of a mentor/peer/co-worker to Paul, but he was eventually overshadowed by Paul. Paul went on his first missionary trip with Barnabas(Acts 13).

Xenolalia

the miraculous ability to speak in other human languages

Acts

was written by the same person that wrote the book of Luke. The audience was theophilus, or lover of God. also meant for other gentile christians.

apologetic history

writing of history to defend a group's beliefs, practices, and way of life. Defends Christians and God. It is possible to look at the shift and say God gave up on Jews and went to the gentiles. However, gentiles are not low hanging fruit or plan b. The idea that the mission to gentiles is God's plan and Jews were meant to send the message of God out.

Philemon

A Roman leader of a house church. A letter is written to him from paul asking him to forgive one of his slaves that has wronged him. Relates to the idea that Paul owes him a favor and that Christians should view others as their brother in Christ, despite their socioeconomic status.

2 Thessalonians

Disputed Jesus is coming back in flaming fire. Relates to the idea of vengeance. Jesus is going to punish those who have persecuted the Christians. He is going to set things right, bring hope from those who are being persecuted for their beliefs. The lawless one/restrainer-serves to set up signs before Jesus returns. Restrainer is holding them in check the coming of Jesus is going to take a while. People think Jesus has returned, or they are waiting for Jesus to return, the author gives them signs to wait for that will reveal the second coming of Jesus.

1 Timothy

Disputed a part of the pastoral epistles. Written to individuals that are pastors of churches. Paul gives info to them about how to conduct the church. Woman and church leaders. Women are to be silent and subservient in the church. They are to be silent and learn in full submission. Women need to dress modestly as well so that they can be saved in child bearing. Church leaders-requirements for pastors and deacons. They need to be married, their kids should be well-behaved, they shouldn't be drunkards. Leaders need to be respectable.

Ephesians

Disputed they are using the household codes. People often emphasize the lower person and not the mutual responsibilities and hold the leader accountable. The mystery- the union of jews and gentiles into one church. Christ has come and broke down the dividing wall between the two so that they can join together. Paul was trying to limit the power of those in charge

what happens in Acts

During the pentecost event, Peter gives a speech that explains that the holy ghost has entered these disciples. The crowd repents, believes and gets baptised(crowd starts with 120 and grows to 3,000). All of these people who are converted give up their old lives and live in a commune in Jerusalem (where they came for the Shavuot). They now financially share everything, and break bread together(sell all property).

God Fearer

Gentiles who believed and practiced some but not all Jewish rules. Peter is criticized by Jewish believers because he eats with Gentile believers, but he relates it back to his dream and says that the holy ghost has declared them worthy. This statement is huge, and many Jewish believers did not like this (who you eat with is very important). Because gentiles and Jews can eat in the same place, it also means that Gentiles and Jews can worship in the same place.

From the authentic letters of paul, give one example of how Paul may be seen as insisting on the subordinate status of women and one example where Paul supports the equality of women (1 corinthians->head wrappings?)

In 1 Corinthians, Paul provides examples of supporting the equality of women and examples of strongly opposing it. An example of him insisting the subordinate status of women in 1 Corinthians is when Paul says that women should be silent in churches, and if they have any questions they should ask their husband later on.Paul says that women should wear head coverings to be respected and holy, and that while men are a reflection of God, women are a reflection of men. He contrastingly states that women can pray and prophecy and he gives equal responsibilities to both men and women in their relationship with one another.

compare/contrast how paul deals with the covenant with Abraham in Galatians and Romans

In Galatians, Paul is speaking to a mainly Gentile audience. He is angrily trying to explain his point to these people who doubt his teachings, so some of his explanations are not great. Paul explains the covenant with Abraham (circumcision) that being a Gentile and becoming circumcised is a betrayal of the gospel. He says that you are trying to earn God's protection and love instead of understanding that he has given it to you despite your sins. He STRONGLY advises against getting circumcised. He says that Jesus is the only son of Abraham, and because we are all one in Christ(when you become a Christian), we are Abraham's children through faith alone (and therefore, already included in the covenant). He gives this argument because opponents, Judaizers, would desecrate any other argument. In Romans, Paul tells followers(a mixed audience that he doesn't know) that Gentiles should not be circumcised because Abraham believed and was then circumcised later. He explains that circumcision is not necessary to believe and be accepted in God's eyes. The Letter to the Romans uses justification by faith. Paul explains to the Romans that Abraham is the father of those circumcised and uncircumcised. If you believe in the rising of the dead you are a christian (Abraham's body was dead and he was able to have a child, and Jesus was able to rise from the dead).

Antioch

It is the place where believers are first called Christians. City where the church was. Apokalypsis- revelation/ unveiling of the risen christ. It is Paul's experience with Christ that makes him believe and convert to Christianity.

cephas/peter

Jewish Christian mentioned in 1 Corinthians. One of the issues that Paul addresses in his letter.

Judaizers

Jewish Christian missionaries. They are people who push for Gentiles to have to follow Jewish laws in order to be considered Christians. YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THE HEBREW BIBLE TO BE A CHRISTIAN.

simon magus

Mysterious figure first named in Acts 8 (called there simply "Simon") who was able to perform magical deeds (hence the sobriquet "Magus") and who was thought to be in competition with the apostles for followers. Later Christians insisted that Simon Magus tried to wrest converts from the apostles by doing magical deeds to convince them of his own power. One later noncanonical text, the Acts of Peter, narrates a series of miracle-working contests between Peter and Simon Magus (Peter, of course, wins). Starting in the second century, Christian heresy-hunters claimed that Simon Magus was the first Gnostic. The first heretic. The book of Acts tells his story and describes how other people had better powers than him. He tries to use money to unfairly gain these powers. He tries to buy power and use power for his own personal gain. He was converted by Phillip but clashed with Peter because he was trying to buy apostleship (Acts 8). Also known as Simon the Magician, he claimed that he was an apostle and was feeding false information about christianity.

household codes

Peter and paul wrote these codes for Christians in different domestic and civil structures in society. The codes give instructions about what each part of a relation is supposed to do. Slave and master, wife and husband, child and adult.

phillip

Preaching in Samaria. He is the one of 7 that is guided to Samaria by the Holy Spirit to spread the message of Christ.

What are the four parts of the grecoroman letter what does paul include in each of these sections

Salutation- grace/peace(shalom) recipient greetings Thanksgiving- thanks to God. Paul puts his thesis in this section. Long verses dedicated to explaining his reasoning for the letter he is sending Body-doctrine and practical- theology and explaining how recipients should act and behave. Closing- travel plans, doxology/benediction-> praise to God and letting the grace of God be with you.

Pentecost

Shavuot festival- is 50 days after passover. It celebrates the law at Mount Sinai. Jews are gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate this holiday and during this time they learn of Jesus and the holy ghost and are converted/ want to live in communes and be right with God(even happens where disciples are able to spread the message of God through multiple languages because the holy ghost enters the disciples). christian holiday celebrating the descent of the holy ghost on the disciples after the ascension.(held on 7th Sunday after Easter)

What is Paul's view of history?(I did this on a timeline but you have to explain it in words)

The beginning of the end is the death and resurrection of Jesus. Paul feels a sense of eschatological urgency because he thinks he is living in the end times. Paul is in a rush to fulfill his duty and convert as many Gentiles to Christianity as possible (because THE END IS NEAR). The end of the end is the second coming of Jesus(all the dead will be risen), which Paul believes is coming at any moment. The end times are the time for the inclusion for the Gentiles.

Name and briefly explain four key themes in paul's theology(discussed under galatians)

The centrality of Jesus-death, resurrection, and second coming. Freedom in Christ 1:3, 5:1-15-free from death, sin, and the law. Justification by Faith 2:16- not required to be circumcised because you are one under Christ and God has given you forgiveness and eternal life/love. Justification by Faith rather than by being Jew or descendant of Abraham. Union with Christ 2:19-20- all believers are one under God. They are all saved and there are no separations in the Church. Everyone can fellowship together.

What are the three events that Paul emphasized in the story of Jesus?

The death, resurrection, and second coming of jesus.

What issue was resolved at the Jerusalem council? What are gentile believers required to do? What do they not have to do?

The issue solved at the Jerusalem council is whether or not Gentiles are required to become circumcised to be considered believers of God (saved by God). Gentiles are not required to be circumcised, as decided by the Jerusalem council, but they are required to not commit fornification, commit idolatry, and to not eat blood or strangulated animals.