Intro to Theology

Prophets

Isaiah through Malachi

God and suffering

It is thought that God lies beyond suffering

Wellhausen's Documentary Hypothesis

JEDP J= the yahwist E= the elohist D= deuteronomistic history P= priestly sources

Catholic source of authority

The church's scriptures, tradition, and teaching authority.

Reason

a rational discipline, using rational methods to extend what is known by revelation

Spirituality theology

aspects of the devotional practices of a religion, and especially the interior individual experiences of believers

The doctrine of God

beliefs, teachings, and principles of God

Biblical theology

biblical author or a certain portion of scripture

Types of formal theology

biblical, systematic, historical, philosophical, and practical

Scripture

body of text which is recognized as having authority for Christian tradition (bible)

Pastoral theology

critical reflection upon the actions of the church in the light of the gospel and the christian tradition

Historical theology

development of Christian beliefs throughout history

Neviim

the prophets

Historical-critical method

the use of historical and literary techniques in order to investigate the composition and the context of the writing of the biblical text Goals: discover genre, original authors, editors, sources of the original sources, and relationship to historical events

Ketuvim

the writings

South Kingdom (timeline)

Ca 930-588 BC Judah to Babylonians 588 to Exile 587-537

North Kingdom (timeline)

Ca 930-722 BC Israel to Assyrians 722

McGrath's definition of theology

"the systematic study of the ideas of a religion," including their sources, historical development, mutual relationship, and their application to life.

Faith (rationalist answer)

A belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.

Faith (religious answer)

A relational trust in that which one has found to be true about the divine.

Genesis 12-24

Abram and his nephew, he has kid with Hagar (Ishmael), Abram becoming Abraham, Sarah has Isaac, sacrifice of Isaac

Gospels and Acts

Acts are the texts of the apostles whom Jesus called to spread the Gospel about salvation

The architecture of theology

Biblical studies, systematic theology, philosophical theology, historical theology, pastoral theology, and spirituality or mystical theology

United Kingdom (Saul, David, Solomon) timeline

Ca 1000-930 BC

Moses and Exodus (timeline)

Ca 1250 BC

Abraham (timeline)

Ca 1800 BC

Darwinism and humanity

Charles Darwin whose theory of natural selection led to significant theological debates over the interpretation of the Bible, the age of the universe, and the origins and status of humanity.

God as personal

Christianity has given God attributes such as love, trustworthiness, and purpose The doctrine of the Trinity speaks of God as "three persons"

Anselm's definition of theology

Faith seeking understanding.

God as Creator

Found in the Old Testament, sustainer of the world, everything that exists was created good by a good God

Omnipotent

God cannot do anything logically impossible

Genesis 1-3

God creates through the world, rests on seventh day, adam and eve

Divine special revelation

God's self-disclosure through special people, writings, and events

Divine general revelation

God's self-disclosure through the created world and human events

Theos

God, god, divine

New Testament Canon

Gospels and Acts, Paul's Epistles, Pastoral/Other Epistles, and Revelation

Wisdom Literature

Job through Song or Songs through Sirach

Historical books

Joshua through Esther or 2 Maccabees

Logos

Logic, reason, inner understanding, word, expression of understanding of the divine

Tradition

Passing on christian teachings

Old Testament Canon

Pentateuch, Historical books, Wisdom Literature, and prophets

Gender

No gender Both Old and New Testaments use male languages about God Female imagery used to express aspects of God's character

Genesis 4-11

Noah's ark, tower of babel

Classical Protestant source of authority

Scripture alone.

Theology and doctrine

The doctrine is the core teachings of religious communities.

Theodicies

The problem of evil. God is good A good God wouldn't permit suffering or evil Yet suffering and evil are observed in the world Therefore, a good God doesn't exist

Faith (instructor's definition)

The revisable lens through which "we live and move and have our being"

Theology and religion

Theology is the principle that God is known only through self-revelation and religion is the human response to those understandings.

Hebrew scriptures

Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim (Tanakh)

Wesley's source of authority

Tradition, scripture, reason, and experience.

God in OT; Yahweh, Elohim and Yahweh Elohim as names

YHWH--I am who i am, I will be who i will be Elohim--grammatical plural but is the majestic plural. Jews believed in one God but name is plural.

Deuterocanonical books/ Apocrypha

additional seven books added to Catholic scriptures and not to Jewish and Protestant

Experience

an accumulated body of knowledge, arising through first-hand encounter with life

Practical theology

application of Christian beliefs to Christian living and the church

Pentateuch

first five books, same as Torah

E (the Elohist)

focuses on the stories of the patriarchs, God is presented as awesome and transcendent

Systematic theology

interrelates the entirety of Christian belief

J (the yahwist)

it almost exclusively uses Yahweh as the name for God it traces Israel's history from its patriarchal beginnings to its preparation for entering canaan

D (deuteronomistic history)

it covers the book of Deuteronomy in Torah, Themes are fear and love of God, obedience to divine commands, and care and love for the poor

Inspiration

literally means breathed forth

Canon

literally means rule or law

Philosophical theology

logical and critical analysis of Christian beliefs

Bible vs. scriptures

scripture literally means writings bible literally means book

Sources of theology

scripture, tradition, reason, experience

Theological Interpretation

seeks to interpret the text to discern what God is speaking in the text, both in its original context through its human authors and how it speaks to us today Goals: to hear Gods revelation through the biblical text for forming beliefs, ethics, and practices

P (priestly sources)

sources of Israel linked with their history with God, tells us who we are in relationship to God

Torah

teaching or the law

Scriptures as revelation

to unveil, it is a disclosure of knowledge