RLST 1 Exam 4 Christianity

Three reasons for the split: 1. The Western Church was Latin based while the Eastern Church was Greek based. 2. The Eastern Church rejected the idea of the Pope leading the entire Christian Church. 3. The Western Church stated that the holy spirit comes from God the Father and God the Son (Jesus). The Eastern Church stated that the holy spirit comes from God the Father alone.

what are the 3 reasons for the split between the Western Church called the Roman Catholics centered in Rome headed by the Pope and the Eastern Church called the Eastern Orthodox located in Constantinople headed by the Patriarch in the time of Middle Ages?

The 4 Gospels: Mark (70 C.E.), Matthew (85 C.E.), Luke (90 C.E.), John (95 C.E.) Mathew, Mark, Luke and John is the order the books are in though

what are the 4 gospels in the New Testament?

1. Christian History Before Constantine to 312 C.E. (the first 1500 years of Christianity, from the death of jesus to 312 C.E.) 2. Late Roman Empire (313-1000 C. E.) 3. Middle Ages (1000 C.E. - 1517 C.E.) next 500 years (1,500 years after death of jesus) 4. Protestant Reformation (1517 C.E.)

what are the 4 time periods known to christianity in order with the time period?

1. The Nature of the Christian Church 2. Major Christian Thinker 3. Ideal Christian 4. View of Christ

what are the Four categories to keep in mind when studying history of christianity in the 4 time spans of it?

They thought world was coming to an end right away, so these people left the cities (like Jerusalem) they went to the dessert to spiritually ready themselves for the world to end.

what did the Essenes think was going to happen with the world they viewed?

That original act of sin committed by adam & eve has been passed onto future generation Not limited to them, spiritually connected and all humans now suffer from being born with that sin and suffer that consequence of that sin - death

what did the sin of A&E cause?

We don't know much about his early years until age 30 He is a Teacher and a Healer -Told that at 30 ye was a teacher and a healer -Seen as Jewish prophet who wanders around ancient Palestine teaching and healing

what do we know about Jesus?

Outside of eden the connection between humans and God has been severed, therefor humans are cut off from that higher dimension due to the act of sin from eating from the tree of Knowledge of good and evil

what is the Christian understanding of the story of Eden with Adam and Eve?

The holy community -The last meal prior to his execution of the meal

what is the Eucharist?

All of past time is rendered meaningful by virtue, OF birth of Jesus It's looked at that everything that happens in lme is given meaning bc those events are leading up to that singular moment In this horizontal dimension, past and future time becomes meaningful by that one moment of the birth of Jesus

what is the Horizontal aspect: time and history?

the death of Jesus on the cross put an end to the consequence of sin/death that was occurred by the act of disobedience of the consequence of sin by A&E, putting an end to death. That's the death that puts an end to all death.

what is the Impact of Jesus death on human race?

1. Horizontal aspect: time and history. 2. Vertical aspect: what is the relationship of God with humans?

what're the 2 ways that the birth of jesus gives meaning to unify everything?

The first component of the new covenant included a communal mean. The second component included baptism. The third component of the new covenant included the arrival and death of a teacher of righteousness.

what're the 3 components of the new covenant?

3. The New Testament, as a collection of 27 books, did not exist during the lifetime of Jesus. So there were many different books in existence after the death of Jesus. There were different Christian communities with their own writings. It wasn't until 367 CE that the Bishop of Alexandria suggested the 27 books that are in the New Testament today. Some books were included, others were excluded. There were over fifty different gospels, and only four gospels made it into the New Testament. The Gnostic Gospels were excluded, and were ordered to be destroyed. The Gnostic Gospels were not destroyed but instead buried.

did the new testament exist during time of jesus?

Essenes

group that had a more direct influence on the origins of Christianity.

There were about 800 scrolls found and ¼ of them contained copies of the books of the Hebrew Bible (oldest existing copes of Hebrew Bible we have, but not the original). This discovery is important because of that for Judaism as well. The other ¾ of these writings contained the world view of the Essenes - how they view the world.

how many scrolls were there? what is it known as?

Reconciliation between God and humans.

what does the covenant bring?

They were written to either convert you to the faith or confirm your belief Believers approach new testament of faith and devotion But if you're an outside, you read it from a literary and historical perspective

why were the gospels written?

The scrolls are so important for the origins of christianity because they give insight of how people were thinking about the world at that time and place when Christianity was just beginning.

why're the scrolls so important?

1. Sadducees 2. Pharisees 3. Essenes

Prior to and during the time from which Christianity arose there were three main Jewish groups in existence. what're they?

In 1947, there was a young shepherd out by the Dead Sea. He was taking care of his sheep by the Dead Sea when he noticed that some of his sheep were missing. The shepherd thought that some of the sheep must have wandered inside of the caves in the hills; so he starts searching the caves for his lost sheep. While he is in the cave, he accidentally comes upon some containers containing written scrolls in an ancient language he could not read. Eventually, the scrolls got into the hands of religious scholars who could read and translate the ancient language. These scrolls came to be known as the "Dead Sea Scrolls.

What is the story of the dead sea scrolls?

the single event of the birth of Jesus

What is the thing that holds it all together is the center of of the Christian worldview?

The Dead Sea Scrolls

what is the story of the Essenes?

Pharisees

group believed in the Oral Torah as well as the Written Torah and believed in an afterlife. They were more interested in the study of the Torah than in temple practice; this group evolved into the rabbis of Rabbinic Judaism.

Sadducees

group that were the temple priests and didn't believe in Oral Torah, only believed in the Written Torah. They do not believe in any resurrection or afterlife

you have to understand them in their historical-cultural context. The believer wants to know what the books have for them, the scholar looks for the meaning during the time period.

how do you understand what the books of the new testament mean?

There's 5,000 manuscripts in Greek, partial or complete and there's thousands of differences among them but they're minute and insignificant However there are some where we will never know what the original said A greek has to sort through them, and based off evidence, blank is probably the closest to original

how many manuscripts are there and what is the original language?

Major thinker was Saint Thomas Aquinas who practiced in Scholasticism — the application of classical Greek Philosophy to Christian Theology. He tried to bring about a synthesis between faith and reason. He said that reason could prove the existence of God but faith was needed for salvation. The ideal way to be a Christian was to be a friar. Saint Francis of Assisi was the most important friar. Friars were very much like monks but they would return to society each day to work and help others. Christ was viewed as someone who did good deeds in the world — was a model for the friars.

what else happened during Middle Ages?

The ideas were already in existence before the beginning of Christianity Christianity took these ideas and reinterpreted them and gave them a new/different meaning Just like Buddhism took ideas from Hinduism and reinterpreted it, Christianity did the same with Judaism. Everything is shaped by the time and place it was in. Jesus was born, lived and died as a Jew. Jesus was Jewish, and so were his early followers. There was no such thing as a separate religion called Christianity in the lifetime of Jesus. Christianity was just another sect of Judaism.

what else influenced the Essenes on formation of early Christianity?

With 12 of his closest friends he had a meal, one of the followers betrayed jesus and Jesus was taken into captivity by the Romans and tried by them. Executed by the Romans by being nailed to a cross; typical execution style by Romans Body was then taken to a tomb - Good Friday Tomb was empty and body was God then Jesus appeared to his followers He was resurrected from the dead The death of jesus that's the sacrifice/symbol of the new covenant - that last supper before taken into captivity, that's the sacred meal of the new covenant. Ritually reenacted by Christians in the Eucharist.

what happened during the last supper with Jesus' disciples?

Started in Germany, the basic issue of the reformation concerned the role of the church in bringing about salvation. The reformation was a movement from mediated salvation by the church to unmediated salvation of the individual directly with God. The catholic church had 7 rituals called sacraments, examples of sacraments include: baptism, confession, eucharist, and more. Sacraments are administered by the church and reconciliation with God (salvation) is achieved through participation in these sacraments. This reformation cut the Church out of the equation, salvation is a direct relationship — unmediated. It's an association of like-minded people seeking salvation with God, not a means of salvation like the previous models. Major thinker was Martin Luther who started the reformation. In order to understand Luther's actions, we must understand certain theological concepts. Purgatory is an option between heaven and hell; while heaven and hell are permanent, purgatory is temporary. When you commit a sin, two things must be done: confession to a priest and atonement for the sin. Atonement is the behavioral counterpart to confession — a positive action for the negative action.

what happened during the last time period of the Protestant Reformation?

the complete set of the manuscripts

what happened in 350 C.E.?

God reconfirms the covenant with Moses & brings the Law, Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai The same 5 books, but christians don't refer to it as the Torah

what happens after corruption of world and saving only Noah's family and god appearing to Abraham with the covenant?

when you die you will be immortal, have eternal life b/c something survives 1st view of afterlife: first die it's like you're sleeping and waiting and when Jesus returns you'll be resurrected 2nd: something survives the physical body: soul. At death the soul leaves the body b/c the soul is immortal

what happens after you've been reconciled?

you will spend eternity separated from God's divine presence for eternity: Hell -Eternity in God's divine presence: Heaven

what happens if you haven't been reconciled?

If sins are confessed but not atoned before death, one is sent to purgatory where sins are cleansed or purged. Once those sins have been purged, one can enter heaven. Church could issue indulgences, those are earned by doing good deeds for the Church, the indulgence states that all of one's sins are atoned for. The issue arose when the church began selling indulgences. The church expelled Luther; however, the German church sided with him and broke off from Rome — this created the Protestant Church. Luther said the central message of the Bible was faith alone, that is how to be a good Christian. Luther said the death of Jesus made the gift of salvation possible, which would be accepted by faith.

what happens when sins are confessed but not atoned before death?

This religion originated in ancient Persia (modern Iran) at least 600 years before the common era and around 400 years before the Essenes. They believed that there were good and evil forces in the world and that a cosmic battle between good and evil would take place. At the end of this cosmic battle, good prevails and the old corrupt world would end, and a new purified world would begin. At the end of the battle, all of the dead would be resurrected and there would be divine judgment where some would go to heaven and some would go to hell.

what is Zoroastrianism?

a state or condition of alienation between you and God. -Sin is considered egocentric and self-centered; one's own self is the center of life now You sin because you are a sinner by birth & nature - that's why you do the wrong things; can't help but do the wrong things bc of original act of sin by A&E Vs Judaism: you're a sinner, because you sin. Not born a sinner, not your nature

what is a sin in Christianity? why do Christians sin?

Committing a sin is like planting a bad seed in the ground. Confession is digging up the seed and removing it. Atonement is replacing the bad seed with a good one.

what is committing a sin compared to?

a deeply held belief on which you're willing to risk your life

what is faith?

To be reconciled with God through Jesus is known as Salvation - the ultimate concern

what is salvation?

In holy community, you start out with ordinary bread and wine. The priest then performs rituals and the ordinary bread and wine, it now is now transformed to the body and blood of jesus. Christians then partake in it, eat a little bread and drink a little wine. And by so doing, they experience something of the divine sacred nature of Jesus. That's the great, Christian mystery. The world is a visible expression of the invisible reality - God. it serves as a conduit to transmit to and through that higher power/reality/connection.

what is the Catholic Christian interpretation of the tradition?

Salvation

what is the ultimate concern of Christianity?

Every monotheistic religion tries to answer that question According to Christian theology, God, timeless formless spaceless, incarnated (took on human form) in the person of Jesus and entered into time space physical reality Jesus is the image of the invisible God Jesus has 2 distinct natures in one person Since jesus is a manifestation of God, Jesus is fully God and fully human 2 natures: human and divine united together into that one - Jesus has one foot in each higher and lower power. This dual nature creates the link, he is the bridge, to connect the 2 different dimensions of reality.

what is the Vertical aspect: what is the relationship of God with humans?

What we learn about Jesus we learn from early Christian community; not looking at historical Jesus; looking at how he was viewed by early followers from their writings Jesus wrote nothing himself Christian Myth - a myth is a story upon which a story is based

what is the center of Christian map of reality in regards to the life of Jesus?

an ethical and behavioral problem (ethical problem is behavior)

what is the central problem of human existence that causes conflict and suffering?

Theologically understood, salvation refers to living in obedience to God's will Salvation cancels out the alienation Psychologically understood, salvation is understood as an inner transformation from ego-centric to a greater self How do you achieve salvation? You don't, it's impossible. It's a gift you receive, not an object you achieve You receive it through Faith

what is the deeper understanding of salvation and how do you achieve it?

Paul in around 50 C.E. but he did not know Jesus when he was alive

what is the earliest writing?

-The person of Jesus - the great miracle because the higher dimension breaks through this barrier breaking the higher and the lower, and enters into the lower. -Christian theology says the death of Jesus has an impact on the entire human race. -According to Christian theology, God became a person, entered into time space reality, was then crucified, killed on the cross, and all of that happened in order to put an end to the consequence of sin.

what is the fundamental divine miracle?

1. garden of eden 2. sin, disobedience and death 3. corruption and Noah 4. Abraham and the covenant 5. Moses and the law 6. Jesus 7. Salvation and faith 8. Immortality, heaven and hell

what is the order of theology for Christianity?

Judaism

what is the primary historical-cultural context that shaped Christianity?

demonstrate the development and evolution of Christianity, and how and when the different forms of Christianity came into existence.

what is the reason for the study of the history of christianity?

Much of the writings of the Essenes comes from Zoroastrianism. From the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Essenes saw themselves as children of light and goodness that were going to battle the forces of evil. According to the Essenes, the end of the cosmic battle would bring a new covenant in place of the old.

what is the relation between Zoroastrianism and the Essenes?

Jesus didn't write anything After Jesus died in 30 C.E. there was a break for 40 years, everything was memorized and passed on from memory and word of mouth. So nothing was written in that period. In 70 C.E., something is written down in first Gospel in Mark. wrote it down and edited into a story

what is the relation between the Greek manuscripts and Jesus?

The hierarchical development of the church. Going from Priest, Bishop, Archbishop, Cardinal, to Pope. The institution of the Church was viewed as God's permanent representative on earth; the Church is the substitute for Jesus. The Church became the manager of salvation (humans being reconciled with God). If one wanted salvation, one had to participate in the rituals administered by the Church. It's during this period the first major division occurs; the split was between the Western Church called the Roman Catholics centered in Rome headed by the Pope and the Eastern Church called the Eastern Orthodox located in Constantinople headed by the Patriarch. This split is still in existence today.

what is the story during the time of Middle Ages?

imagine you owe someone 1 million and no matter how long and hard you work you may not be able to pay off your debt, you'll still be in debt. Now imagine a stranger goes to your bank and deposits $1M in your bank account, and enough to pay off your debt completely, waiting in your name. But, when the bank calls you at home and says someone deposited that and it's enough, you have to have enough of faith to go down and claim your gift. If you don't have the faith it's in your account, it won't pay off your debt. But it's there, waiting, in your name. Jesus' death is like the person putting the deposit.

what is the story example of the $1 million to show what Jesus' death is like?

The Roman Emperor declared tolerance for Christianity. In 380 CE, Theodosius declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Major Thinker was Saint Augustine, a Christian bishop from Africa, who developed two important ideas: original sin and salvation is possible because of God's grace. Wrote two important books: City of God and Confessions. Idea way to be a Christian was to be a monk or a nun; this was the beginning of Christian mysticism. You have Christian men and women, leaving society, going out into the mountains or wilderness and they live in solitude and practice meditation and prayer. Eventually, they formed religious communities where they lived together while still maintaining solitude. They were focusing on the eternal rule of Christ (1000 CE). The model shifts from waiting for Jesus to come back to immediately going to heaven after death.

what is the story in the next time period of the Late Roman Empire?

The Church was a missionary group of followers spreading the Christian message; they wanted to get out the word of the life and teachings of Jesus. During this period, Christians were seen as a disloyal, anti-roman cult. This led to persecution by the Romans. Paul was the major Christian thinker. He was initially a Jew who persecuted Christians until one day where he was walking on the road from the city of Jerusalem to Damascus. While he was walking on the road, he had a vision of Jesus, and became a Christian. He travels to places like Greece and Rome to spread the Christian message. He believed that you did not have to follow the laws of Torah in order to be a Christian. The ideal way to be a Christian is to be a martyr — someone who dies for his or her beliefs. The early Christians were killed for their beliefs by the Romans and became martyrs. Were waiting for Christ to return (312 CE). Christ was seen as someone who suffered in the world, was persecuted, and died for his beliefs — a martyr.

what is the story of Christian History before Constantine?

st point in common: both see world ending 2nd point in common: teacher of righteousness of guilt - Jesus (in Christianity) 3rd point: in sacred christianity there is the sacred communal meal 4th point: in early in Christianity you have the practice of Baptism just like with the Essenes 5th point in common: both Essenes and early Christianity saw themselves establishing a new covenant in replace of the old one

what're the 4 points of the influences of Essenes on formation of early Christianity?

Jesus was born in ancient Palestine (Canaan/Israel) in the city of Bethlehem. He had a so called miraculous birth, a virgin birth

where was Jesus born?

in Qumran

where were the Dead Sea Scrolls found?

Jesus is the person that humans reconciles through to God Dual nature that he can bring together the two different dimensions

who is Jesus?