Christian theology Final exam

The role of Cyprian and Augustine in the development of soteriology (theology of salvation)

-Cyprian: Salvation is wholly a gift of God and at the same time wholly a matter of human repentance and faith. EMPHASIZED WORKS. -Augustine: Affirmed the paradox of salvation as gif and task. EMPHASIZED GRACE.

How is God the initiator of mission and how is mission an attribute of God? (Lee)

-Initiator: We are called simply to be part of God's mission as we follow Jesus who said, 'As the Father has sent me, so I send you' (John 20:21). It's not the church of God that has a mission, but the God of mission who has a church. -Attribute: God is a missionary God. He desires that everyone knows him so he sends the church out as a result of this.

How does Robinson understand discipleship in light of his discussion of church as membership club and the progress/process distinction?

-Membership club: People in a church that is like a membership club come to think the church offers staff, services and programs for its members. Changing this idea to focus on discipleship will allow to church to actually focus on spreading the word of God. -Progress/process: A program church is too complex and traditional, a process church is simple and focuses on spiritual growth.

The two unique features of Origen's eschatology and Augustine's rejection of Origen's position (M 15)

-Origen 1. He believed in ultimate, universal reconciliation of all things with each other and with God as an essential component of the future kingdom of God and consummation of God's plan in a new heaven and new earth 2. He portrayed the dawning of the consummation as gradual and progressive rather than sudden and catastrophic -Augustine Rejected ultimate, universal reconciliation. Said that after the resurrection there will be two cities still: Christ's and the devil's. They will both go on for eternity.

Transubstantiation (Catholic)

-The substance of the bread and wine are actually transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ -Eucharist as the means of grace: sacramental realism -Sacerdotalism- must be administered by an ordained priest of the Roman Catholic Church

Consubstantiation (Lutheran)

-The substances of both Christ's body and blood AND the bread and the wine are present. -Christ's presence can be ubiquitous. -Luther affirmed sacramental realism, but the subjective attitude of faith is necessary for the sacrament's effect.

Six relationships negatively affected by sin

1. God and humanity 2. Self 3. Serpent and humanity 4. Woman and child 5. Woman and man 6. Humanity and creation

The five general images of humanity

1.A machine 2.An animal 3.A pawn of the universe 4.A free being 5.A social being

The threefold theological meaning of baptism

1.Baptism symbolizes our appropriating the atonement of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins 2.Thus baptism represents a significant moment in the relationship between the believer and Jesus Christ. 3.It is also the outward identification of a person with the community of faith.

The various features of the 3 stages of discipleship in the early Christian communities

1.Becoming a disciple: the discipline of being in a covenant with God -Catechesis (learning) -Personal attachment -Total committment 2.Being held accountable as a disciple by others -Disciples, by definition, were committed to intentional community 3.Making disciples -Discipling in the mentoring, encouraging and teaching of an individual who is learning to follow Christ -The biblical origin of discipleship: •Is found in Matthew 28:19-20 and the call to imitate Christ •Is at the heart of what it meant to be the church

Various positions on what should happen to the body after death (Essay 2)

1.Burial- the dominant perspective in the Christian tradition 2.Cremation- in biblical times (a) it was associated with paganism or (b) typically done as punishment. Yet, cremation as practiced today is not prohibited in the Bible. MY VIEW: No opinion

What are the seven aspects of following Jesus according to Dau?

1.Call to discipleship 2.Continuous and unceasing carrying of the cross as we follow him on the road of obedience 3.Surrendering our "heart affection, life's conduct and personal possessions." 4.Loving one another as a direct result of the love He has shown us. 5.Continual adjustment 6.A relationship 7.A change process

Promises in the Bible concerning death (Essay 2)

1.Christ has victory over death 2.It no longer should be feared 3.It will not always be inevitable

The characteristics of the second coming of Christ

1.It will be personal 2.It will be physical 3.It will be visible 4.It will be unexpected

Biblical definitions of death (Essay 2)

1.Physical death: the end of our mortal life 2.Spiritual death: the state of separation between God and humanity 3.Eternal death: combining physical death and spiritual death

Various positions on what happens to the human after death (Essay 2)

1.Soul-sleep: suspension of both soul and body, unconscious existence or temporary cessation of the soul 2.Purgatory: a place where individuals go who, although in a state of grace, are not yet spiritually perfect 3.Instantaneous Resurrection: immediately upon death, the believer receives the resurrection of the body that has been promised *NOT BIBLICAL 4.Disembodied Personal Existence: for the believer, the soul/spirit immediately enters into a holy place (paradise) MY VIEW: Disembodied personal existence

The two views on baptism

1.The Believers Baptism View (Baptism and Christian Discipleship)- baptism is intended for people old enough to make a decision to believe in and obey Jesus Christ 2.The Infant Baptism View (Covenanting with the community of God)- infants should be baptized as they are part of the family unit

Three reasons why the recovery of the Bible as one story is important (Goheen)

1.The Bible contains divine authority and it must shape our lives. 2.Enables us to understand our identity as God's people as we see our role in the story. 3.Understanding our missional identity, our role to embody God's purpose for the world, will mean that we are not to "be conformed to this world."

Three views of the Atonement

1.The Penal Substitution View- Christ died in our place 2.The Christus Victor View- Christ destroyed Satan and his works 3.The Moral Government View- Christ displayed God's wrath against sin

The four views concerning "The Destiny of the Unevangelized Debate" (A)

1.The Restrictivist View ("No other name") -Salvation is restricted to those who have heard the gospel and have made a conscious decision to accept it. Those who never hear the gospel are judged on the basis of what they know or should have known. What they should have known is enough to condemn them because of God's general revelation. 2.The Universal Opportunity View ("God does all He can do") -If a person is willing to accept Christ as Lord, the all-powerful God will find a way to gie that person the opportunity to do so 3.The Postmortem Evangelism View ("Hope beyond the grave") -People are given a chance to accept or reject Christ after their death 4.The Inclusivist View ("He has not left himself without a witness") -Jesus us the only savior, but people can be saved apart from KNOWING they are saved by Jesus

The two views on the Lord's Supper

1.The Spiritual Presence View ("This is my body")- Christ is uniquely present in the communion elements, but this presence doesn't result in a physical change in the elements 2.The Memorial View ("In remembrance of me")- Symbolizes/commemorates Christ's death, a sign of the New Covenant, Christ is present but not in a different sense

The three views of the imago Dei (A)

1.The Substantial View- The image of God is the soul -The spiritual substance of humans sets them apart from all other animals as beings who are uniquely created in the imago Dei, humans alone have souls 2. The Functional View- The image of God is our God-given authority -The essence of our divine image is in what we are called to do: be loving lords of the entire earth 3. The Relational View- The image of God is our relationality -Humans are created in the image of the Triune God and this are meant to find their essence and destiny in community with one another and with God

Two things we know about heaven

1.The presence of God 2.There will be worship, rest and service

What are the two elements of justification?

1.The remission of sins 2.Christ's righteousness is imputed to us

Three histories of the term mission (Essay 1)

1.The trinity and mission a.The Father sending the Son b.The Father and the Son sending the Spirit 2.Modern Missions Movement a.The problematic relationship of political and ecclesial powers in colonialism b.The mission of God degraded into the mission of the church 3.Missional Move: challenge the idea of the church possessing and directing its own missions a.Development of missional theology

Five marks of mission (Essay 1)

1.To PROCLAIM the good news of the kingdom 2.To TEACH, baptize and nurture new believers 3.To RESPOND to human need by loving service 4.To SEEK to transform unjust structures of society 5.To strive to SAFEGUARD the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth

The three views of hell

1.Traditional view- eternal conscious punishment 2.Annihilationism- the wicked eventually lose their very existence forever 3.Universalism- Hell is used as remedial punishment until everyone there repents and understands the truth about who God is

What are the potential pitfalls in embracing discipleship

1.We have an incorrect definition of discipleship 2.Mass communication has engulfed one-on-one interactions 3.The church tends to focus on making converts instead of making disciples 4.Discipleship is not modeled or promoted by most church leadership 5.We are often wary of commitment.

Why do we need justification?

1.We're sinful and unable to follow God's requirement of righteousness 2.God requires his people to be righteous

Original sin

A 'cosmic power' which holds unredeemed humanity in bondage- RADICAL, UNIVERSAL

schism, and what happened in the episcopal church

A split or division between strongly opposed sections or parties, caused by differences in opinion or belief. Issues over gender and sexuality.

Parousia (M 15)

A term that refers to the future return of Christ.

What is the atonement?

Amends or reparation made for a wrong.

What is cheap grace? What is costly grace?

Cheap Grace: the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ Costly Grace: costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. It is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him

The Protestant belief in disembodied souls (M 14) vs. "soul sleep (M 14)

Disembodied souls: for the believer, the soul/spirit immediately enters into a holy place (paradise) Soul sleep: suspension of both soul and body, the state of the soul: unconscious existence or temporary cessation

embodied will

Embodied will is where impulsive or reflective will has settled into your body to such an extent that you automatically do what they dictate Could either be good or bad depending on which will has taken over.

flesh, desire, and the relationship between flesh and desire

Flesh: the natural human abilities, unaided by divine assistance and direction. Not necessarily bad or sinful, it is a good creation of God Desire: the impulse toward possession or experience of its object. Cares for nothing else but its own satisfaction. Inherently chaotic and deceitful

Universalism

Hell is used as remedial punishment until everyone repents and understands the truth about who God is

how is demonology/supernatural evil understood in southern Christianity?

In the worlds of a African church leader, "we are all here in this church because we have found healing here. But for this church the great majority of us here would not be alive today."

Objective Immortality (M 14)

Individual entities such as persons survive biological death only in their continuing contributions to the whole networks of which they were parts and in God's memory, which preserves all values. Thus, objective immortality excludes personal, subjective, conscious existence after bodily death. The soul now exists in the environment and mind of God.

How is the Bible read differently in Southern Christianity?

Instead of the bible just being historical fact, it is a relevant instruction manual for daily covenant. For many American Christians, OT stories come from a utterly different social and economic setting with little relevance to a modern society. For African and Asian christians the OT is very relevant.

What are the differences between "Northern" and "Southern" Christianities? (Jenkins)

Northern- N. America and Europe; liberal Southern- Latin America, Asia, Africa; traditional; spiritual power; biblical faith

The definition of a disciple

One who assumes the closest of bonds and spends a great deal of time with a teacher while furthering the practical implications of the teachings learned

Purgatory - past and present descriptions (M 14)

Past- very much like hell, but temporary, eventually purified and admitted to paradise Present- momentary cleansing that the soul experiences in a "flash" after death

Pelagianism/Semi-Pelagianism

Pelagianism: People have the capacity to seek God apart from any movement of God or the Holy Spirit and therefore salvation is affected by their own efforts. Denies the absolute necessity of grace as well as original sin, man can choose to be good or evil Semi-Pelagianism: God works with people if they so choose to be good. Salvation is still not earned by grace. God merely helps humans on their way to salvation

The polarities concerning the identification of the Kingdom of God: "radically realized eschatology" and "extreme adventism and millennialism" (M 15)

Radically realized eschatology: Any view of universal eschatology that claims the paousia, kingdom of God, and new heaven and new earth have already been realized. Extreme Adventism and millennialism: Identifies the kingdom of God- God's rule and reign- as exclusively future and pits that future when Christ returns in catastrophic mode against the past and present which are viewed as devoid of God's kingdom.

The definition of salvation

Salvation is the divine act by which God rescues human beings FROM their most basic predicament TO their highest purpose.

The significance of salvation as "gift and task"

Salvation is wholly a gift of grace - not at all deserved or earned - and at the same time received by persons through grateful reception by repentance and faith.

Reincarnation (M 14)

Souls depart the dying bodies and eventually enter new ones.

Spiritualism (M 14)

Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living.

two vies on Charismatic Gifts debate

The Continuationist View: Charismatic gifts are meant for the present day as much as any other gift mentioned in the new testament. The Cessationist View: charismatic gifts were given to help lay the foundation and provide divine guidance to the early church. The NT is now complete; therefore Christians do not need supernatural gifts to guide them.

two views on eternal security

The Eternal Security View: The gift of salvation is unconditional. Once a person has been saved, God will not let that person permanently fall away from the faith. The Conditional Security View (arminian view: Salvation is conditioned on the ongoing willingness of the believer to remain in relationship with God. Salvation is not an unconditional gift and therefore not eternally secure.

How was mission first understood? (Essay 1)

The Father sent the Son to earth, the Son sent the Spirit, and the Spirit sends the church

The definition of sanctification

The continuing work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer in which he or she is being made holy

The historical significance of the bodily resurrection of believers (M 14)

The future bodily resurrection of the dead is the blessed hope of all who are in Christ Jesus by faith

Eschatology

The study of the last things or the end-times.

Actual sins

The violation of the will of God that brings us under guilt- ACTIVE AND PASSIVE

impulsive will

a willing that is outwardly directed and moved by and moving toward things that simply are attractive

simul justus et pecator

at the same time, righteous and sinner

missio Dei (Lee)

divine missionary activity, mission of God

reflective will

reflective will is oriented toward what is good for the person as a whole, in their communal setting, not merely what is desired impulsive will must give way to reflective will

spiritual formation

the process through which disciple or apprentices of Jesus take on the qualities or characteristics of christ himself

Be familiar with Phan's overall argument about the history of the church/missions and contemporary assumptions about Christianity as a "western" religion (e.g., what was the significance of Rome; where were many of the early church theologians located; etc.)

•Christianity was more of a "southern and eastern" religion, many centers in Asia and Africa •Many early church theologians were African •Significance of Rome: the goal of missions

The definition of and four aspects of regeneration

•Definition: The beginning of the Holy Spirit's work in us. •Four aspects 1.The sole work of the Holy Spirit 2.It is mysterious 3.Necessary because we are sinful 4.Instantaneous, but not an end in and of itself

What is dehellenization and inculturation? (Phan lecture)

•Dehellenization: the disillusionment with Greek Philosophy stemming from the Hellenistic Period and the use of reason in particular, usually committed by a religion or faith-based system. Strictly, it means an undoing of Hellenization: the spread of Greek culture and philosophy. It was coined by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 during his speech entitled "Faith, Reason, and the University: Memories and Reflections," in order to refer to the attempt of some recent scholars to separate Christianity from Greek philosophical thought •Inculturation: a term used in Christianity, especially in the Roman Catholic Church, referring to the adaptation of the way Church teachings are presented to non-Christian cultures, and to the influence of those cultures on the evolution of these teachings.

The description and definition of election (salvation) according to Calvinism

•Description: Five points (TULIP) 1.T- total depravity 2.U-unconditional election 3. L-limited atonement 4.I-irresistible grace 5.P-perseverance of the saints •Definition: In his exhaustive divine sovereignty, God unconditionally elects particular individuals to salvation.

The description and definition of election according to Arminianism

•Description: -God desires ALL people to be saved -Jesus Christ was elected to bring salvation to humanity -"In Christ," God has corporately elected a "chosen community" for salvation -Human beings must respond to God's free offer of salvation •Definition -God unconditionally elects a community of people and then invites individuals into that community -God often "elects" individuals for service

What should the attitude of Christians be toward death? (Essay 2)

•Grief •Hope- In the face of death, our confidence lies in the resurrected Jesus Christ •Humility- in our knowledge of God's ways •Discontentment- in this present world, that allows for a pure and holy longing for the next •Assurance- learning from those who have gone before us

How did the modern mission movement limit the meaning of mission? (Essay 1)

•It was conceived mainly in geographical terms, with the purpose of taking the gospel from the Christian West to the mission fields of the non-Christian world. Trans-cultural in nature. •The purpose was to save souls and to plant churches mainly in foreign countries, by means of the preaching of the gospel. •The agents of mission were principally missionaries and the agencies that sent them.

The significance of the three tenses of the Lord's Supper

•Past: a remembrance Significance of Jewish Passover A sign: a visible reminder of a new covenant •Present: an acknowledgment of our identity (Corporately) a communion (Individually) a holistic proclamation •Future: an anticipation

The three examples of God's original intention for humanity

•Pre-fall Adam •Pre-fall Eve •Jesus Christ

Various aspects of missional theology (Essay 1)

•The genesis/ purpose/completion of mission rest solely in the Trinity -Evidenced throughout the biblical text: incarnation and Pentecost •The disciples are first the recipients of God's mission •Mission is fundamentally communal in nature. -In addition to being recipients, the Disciples (and thus the Church) are also participants in God's mission: -Definition of mission for the church: The work of God to transform God's people, who are then also sent/called to participate in and point to God's activity in the world. •Participating in God's mission is everyone's calling all the time. -Distinguishing mission (all of life) and commission (changes) •Embracing mission requires openness. 1.The Holy Spirit is already working in the world 2.God speaks to non-Christians 3.Participation in God's mission is an opportunity for all parties to be changed 4.Missional activity is intrinsically cross experimental 5.To participate in God's mission requires us to listen to other voices