Intro to Christian Theo Exam 1

What are Elizabeth Johnson's Ground Rules for the study of theology?

1."The reality of the living God is an ineffable mystery beyond telling" 2."No expression for God can be taken literally" 3.Aquinas' rule: "we see the necessity of giving God many names" Matter because rules are deeply rooted in truth of living God and frees our imagination from standard of modernism.

The Start of the "Quest for the Historical Jesus"

Enlightenment -people obsessed with reason and classical studies -what we know surpasses what we feel

How does N.T Wright argue that the resurrection of Jesus ought to be understood?

N.T. Wright argues that you are not being a good historian if you do not believe that this could have happened as there are many accounts as to people recalling that it did. Even though it is something that is unimaginable, that does not mean it is false

Who was Paul, and why did he matter? What is his mission in Acts?

Saul → Paul -Originally a sinner, fighting the apostles works, persecutions -Gets converted by Jesus's light and becomes biggest faith apostle -His mission in acts is to convert the gentiles

Acts of the Apostles

The book of the New Testament that tells the story of the early Christian community

Camp 1

William Wrede -we can't really know and every generation needs to look at it for their own time, looking through biases -"... argued for consistent skepticism: we cannot know very much about Jesus, he certainly did not think of himself as the Messiah or the Son of God, and the Gospels are basically theological fiction." -Jesus Seminar

Describe the events of the Ascension

"When had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." "

What does Rudolf Otto's definition of the holy mean and why does it matter?

"Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans": three overlapping elements that characterize every human encounter with the Holy -People who belong to a religion are initiated into a particular living tradition of encounter with the Holy -By engaging in the life of the community, believers discover the sense of the Holy handed on by their forebears. In turn, their own seeking, finding, and "practicing" this earth-shaking and fascinating mystery in the stresses of their own era keep the process going for generations still to come -Taken as a whole, the changing phenomenon of the world's religions displays the character of an enormous quest, an ongoing search for what is ultimate and whole.

Describe the events of Pentecost

"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability." -They were able to talk to a crowd and each person heard them in their own native language -Peter tells the crowd the story of Jesus: his acts, death, and rise

What is Rahner's "turn to the subject"?

-"Focusing on the person not as a mere object but as a human subject with interiority, a thinking mind, and freedom to choose" (pg 31) -Greater, but also at our center. Draw within. Incarnation and grace → christian understanding of God and how He interacts. -Idea of transcendence and immanence (God is near and far at the same time) -She established what she believes is the problem right off the bat, so she can continue in her explanation on how to fix it.

What did the kingdom of God mean for Jesus?

-Not specific place or "heaven" -Rule of God being "brought to bear" in the present world through Israel -In Jesus's time, did not refer to a specific place, or "heaven" -Question in Jesus' day was: when, and how, and through whom?

Trasncendence

-"Hence, to think rightly of God we must give up the drive to intellectual mastery and open up to the Whither of our spirit's hungry orientation. 'The concept 'God' is not a grasp of God by which a person masters the mystery; but it is the means by which one lets oneself be grasped by the mystery which is present yet ever distant" (Johnson 36) -Refers to the aspect of a deity's nature and power that is wholly independent of the material universe, beyond all known physical laws. -We let ourselves be blessed/grasped with this mystery -We can't know everything so we must let ourselves be awed -"Or the otherness of God beyond all imagination, is cut short by bringing the divine within the system of coordinates of the world as we know it; making all claims about the divine answerable to rational argument assures that in the end there is no lasting surprise or mystery" (Johnson 15)

"Transcendental philosophy"

-"This philosophy explores the human subject in our typical behaviors and asks: what is the condition for the possibility of human beings acting this way" (33) -Rahner uses this thinking style to analyze the process of inquiry that asks what makes human curiosity possible

Jesus Seminar

-(late 1900s) group of scholars whose investigations into the historical Jesus were skeptical of the historical value of the canonical Gospels, but elevated the value of non-canonical sources such as the Gospel of Thomas -portrays Jesus as a Jewish Cynic or "traveling wise sage who dapples in the wisdom tradition" -Problem with it is that historians brings their preconceptions to the table and miss key elements of the ancient biographies of Jesus

Jesus's Historical Context

-1st century Jew -Election: the creator God chose Israel to be the means through which the problems were fixed and creation was redeemed -Eschatology: Jesus believed that this vocation would be accomplished through Israel being saved and God bringing love and justice to bear upon the world -lived under roman captivity/occupation -It's not JUST that these occupying powers were socially oppressing the Jewish people: It's that they were PAGANS (Not necessarily only social, but also religious oppression) -If Israel was truly God's people, then why were they being ruled by people who didn't believe in one true God? -Theological rather than geographic exile

What role do the prophets play in Scripture?

-A prophet is a spokesperson for God. The prophet admonishes, warns, directs, encourages, intercedes, teaches and counsels. They bring the word of God to the people of God and call the people to respond. -Hebrew: nābî = "One who is called"; Speaking God's truth -NOT divination -Major vs. minor prophets Isaiah: Major Prophet Hosea and Amos: Minor Prophets Amount of work we have → length of material

Job Theme/ Summary

-Friends speeches: Open with Job questions God asking him why he has become the target of suffering. Eliphaz says his kids must have been bad to get killed. Bildad says Job should repent, must have done something wrong. Zophar says he should have gotten much worse for his words. (retributive justice). Zophar says wicked will be punished. He is not providing comfort, is innocent and has a right to question what he's struggling has a lot to do with friends' responses. These Cause Job confusion. -theological shift: At first begins with questioning own situation, but now questioning why do good things happen to bad people and vice versa. Why reward the wicked, poor are punished? Job is realizing these questions are greater than just his suffering -Elihu's speech: Mad at Job's friends because they haven't answered Job or Job's question so he answers with God is speaking to him through his suffering → suffering serves a teaching, going to make a person more righteous. Suffering is purifying, message to not sin. Can't just have faith when things are good, need faith in dark -God's speech: Part 1: Chapter 38-40, plan of God work in creation, Critique of Job and friends bc They were acting like they know as much as god Part 2: chapter 40-41 God recognizes that there is chaos but he has control of it. He holds the suffering

Immanence

-God is immanent to God's people in the Holy spirit and Jesus Christ and Grace -Transcendence is contrasted with immanence, where a god is said to be fully present in the physical world and thus accessible to creatures in various ways. -"Or the nearness of God beyond all imagination, gets lost in the univocal stress on divine difference; emphasizing the high position of the divine in the hierarchy of the world allows little room for indwelling presence. The Enlightenment goal of a clear and distinct idea of God, although worked for with good apologetic intent, led theology to miss the mark" (Johnson 15-6)

Exodus

-Larger narrative: A history of the "exodus" of the Israelite people from slavery in Egypt under Moses -Say about God: Fulfills his promises to those that maintain his faith; Teaching those to fear him; Retributive justice means he gives humans a way out/a chance to prove themselves -Say about humanity: They have fallen from God's grace; Create fear of God through consequences for actions -Their relationship: If humans show love, then God will bless them -Themes: Retributive justice, Exodus 3:14 "I am who I am", Being vs being

Genesis

-Larger narrative: Creation of the universe and the first sin of mankind -Say about God: very repetitive to show God's power; God created everything so it is all good -Say about humanity: 2 different creation accounts; Man and woman created in his image together or Man created, then woman out of man -Their relationship: First sin; Challenge between people's decision and God's will; Human choose created good over God's good; Mankind wants to be like God -Theological context: Genesis 1:1 - 2:4 Walter Brueggemann: "It served as a refutation of Babylonian theological claims [...] To despairing exiles, it is declared that the God of Israel is the Lord of all life. Such a judgment means that this text is not an abstract statement about the origin of the universe. Rather, it is a theological and pastoral statement addressed to a real historical problem"; Genesis 2:4b - 3:24 Yahwistic material from Israel's early theological tradition, maybe Solomonic; New emergence of a "royal consciousness", so that the main issues of concern for the (J) authors are power and freedom -Historical context: Genesis 1:1-2:4 "Likely dated to the sixth century BC and addressed to exiles" Priestly tradition; Genesis 2:4b-3:24 Yahwistic material -Themes: Challenge between human will and God's will through first sin

Job

-Larger narrative: Illustrates God's sovereignty and faithfulness during a time of great suffering -Say about God: God cannot be limited by human standards; God recognizes that there is chaos but he has control of it -Say about humanity: Friends->Humanity tries to put God in a box but cannot; Job is example of faithfulness as he loses everything important to him yet remains faithful to God -Their relationship: As long as one remains full of faith in God, he will be there for you; Humanity continues to try to understand and question God despite his repeated insistence that he has control of all the chaos -Theological context: Is God just? The problem of Evil and the question of theodicy; ex.) Steven Fry video -Historical context: Question where Uz was in ancient world (where Job from); Job from pre-Israel/Abraham time--very early; One of the oldest questions and stories Ezekiel 14:14 and 14:20

Isaiah

-Larger narrative: Major prophet so tells a lot of prophecies like call God's nation back to faithfulness and to declare the coming Messiah "immanuel" -Say about God: Prophesied about Jesus -Say about humanity: People turned their back on God and worshipped other idols; Isaiah 1:16-17, 1:23 Israelites are not honoring neighbor -Their relationship: Calling people back to God -Theological context: Identification of multiple units; 1st: ch 1-39 Points out sins and declares punishments and contains Prophecy of coming savior; 2nd: ch 40-66 captivity; 3rd: ch 56-66 New heavens and earth for those that trust and obey God, Hope for the afflicted and judgement for evil; Bible was written by humans as God's message by humans (Scriptor vs Author) -Historical context: Active for ~40 years, possibly 734-701 BC; Extremely complex as Scholars have a hard time putting it together thematically -Themes: God's Judgement Against Israel; Political context -> An ideal king Isaiah 9:1-7, 11:1-9, Jesus → christmas story, Supersessionism is Understand context is both jewish and christian; Hope in The promise of an ideal king (Isaiah 40)

Amos

-Larger narrative: Minor prophet; Announce God's holy judgment on Israel, call them to repent, and to turn from sin -Say about God: Shows great mercy -Say about humanity: Israel's primary sin is social injustice -Historical context: Amos was prophesying in about the time of King Jeroboam (785-745 B.C.E.); he was a Shepherd from the Southern Kingdom of Judah, "A freelancer not beholden to the King", Prophesied the destruction of the Northern Kingdom Which did happen: in 722 B.C.E. the Assyrians took out the Samarians -Themes: Social injustice; critique of the cult, Israelites are not following commandments so God will not accept their sacrifices, For Amos, "to serve God is to practice justice"

Hosea

-Larger narrative: Minor prophet; Illustrate spiritual adultery of Israel and God's boundless love for His sinful people -Say about God: Does God behave like a jealous husband? Hosea 2:14-23 Reverse of initial behavior and becomes the doting husband; Hosea 11:1-9 God is mother and father; Hosea 14 Merciful God -Say about humanity: Humanity does not appreciate God's love -Their relationship: Israel's primary sin against God is Baal worship -Historical context: Hosea was a younger contemporary of Amos who also was prophesying in about the time of King Jeroboam (785-745 B.C.E.), but his period can be extended beyond that -Themes: Hosea and Gomer -> God tells Hosea to marry a prostitute ->Prostitute cheats on Hosea; Children's names are Lo-ruhamah: "not loved" and Lo-ammi: "not my people"; Story parallels what Israelites are doing to God where God is husband and Israelites are wife and Israelites are cheating on God with Baal worship

Deuteronomy

-Larger narrative: Moses brings the Israelites out of the desert after 40 years -Say about God: He is willing to forgive over and over again if the people are willing to remain faithful to him -Say about humanity: God's promised people, even from the very moment when God makes a covenant with them through the Decalogue, fail to keep the covenant -Their relationship: The Decalogue: 1st 4 have to do with God and how to keep a relationship with God 1.You shall have no other gods before me. 2.You shall not make for yourself an idol. 3.You shall not use the Lord's name in vain. 4.Remember the Sabbath Day, and keep it holy. Other 6 have to do with the community 5. You shall honor your father and mother. 6. You shall not murder. 7. You shall not commit adultery. 8. You shall not steal. 9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 10. You shall not covet. Deuteronomy 9:6-10:10: The Israelites make an idol so Moses gets so mad he breaks the stone tablets of commandments in half and has to go back up the mountain again; God's promised people, even from the very moment when God makes a covenant with them through the Decalogue, fail to keep the covenant.; The people fail God but then God gives them another chance -Historical context: Written around 621 BCE under King Josiah's reforms; Deuteros nomos: "a copy of the law"; 1st person: Moses's perspective; Written in the style of both a series of sermons and in treaties

1 John

-Letter written by John to warn about the increasing threat of false teachings and to reassure christians of their faith and love in jesus christ -Combat false teachings that had to do with the denial that jesus had a genuine human body -Writes to give true test of a true christian -John wanted all believers to know 100%, that because of their faith and trust in Jesus Christ they would spend all of eternity with Him. -Historical context: Some scholars speculate that 1 John was written by same John as Gospel -Themes: Seems to be a continuation of same themes from Gospel abiding, Christ's divinity, light vs. darkness, the theme of love; John 3:10 Ties to gospel of john through Jesus's farewell speech; We are christians because we love one another; Love neighbors and enemies equally; God shows Grace through lens of love; Eye of clarity

How do Matthew and John present Jesus? In what ways are they similar representations? In what ways are they different? What are some identifying characteristics of each Gospel, and how do they shape our understanding of the text, of Jesus' life, and of Christianity?

-Matthew's presentation of Jesus: We see more of Jesus's humanity; Great Commandment is Loving God is loving your neighbor -John's presentation of Jesus: More talk about Jesus' divinity; Tone is describing how Jesus has been sent by God; John more historical, foreshadowed; Temple language; More detail, longer narratives, each story gets full explanation ; Different order; Pilate does not want to kill Jesus (Ch. 18:37); New Command is Must love one another

What does she mean by the "Winter" of our Faith (Karl Rahner)?

-Not an easy time for theological studies -To be a Christian requires a personal decision, not just social convention or inherited custom (Difficult to do so) -Church sermons are too superficial and naive -The basic beliefs and acts of early Christianity have fallen away like the fruit and leaves that usually bear a tree falling away in winter -Modern Christianity is more like agnosticism which knows it doesn't know

Job Literary Structure

-Poetic; Starts with challenge to God from Satan; Could be viewed as a test for Satan -Narrative Framework: Intro (What does the opening tell you about God?), Speeches between Job and friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, Elihu's Speech, God's Speech, Job is satisfied/conclusion -Context in which this coming from -- monotheistic and poly framing a question for us -What does Job tell us in answering this question about the one good God in comparison to many -If sin is going to come into world and destroy it, why create anything?

What is modern theism, and why does Elizabeth Johnson present it as a point of departure for studying theology?

-Point of departure -Where modern humanity began to veer from classical beliefs about God and Christianity -adopting philosophical methods of thinking that sought objective knowledge about the universe on a rational basis to shape "clear and distinct ideas" about the divine -Starting with the natural world, they reasoned to the existence of God using a process of inference, thereby God appears as the highest component in an intellectual system -while God is above other powers in the world, he remains a member of the larger house of reality. -His attributes are deduced by a reasoning process that contrasts what is infinite with the limitations of the finite -It compromises both the transcendence and immanence of God as honed in classical Christian theology

What does Paul say about the resurrected body in 1 Corinthians 15? How does N.T. Wright interpret this passage?

-Soma psychilcon: Souled body; The present body is a physical body animated by soul -Soma pneumatikon: Spirited body; "The future body is transformed physical body animated by God's spirit -Eventually everyone's bodies will be raised in the same way

How are the Old and New Testaments related? What common stories and themes run throughout them both?

-The New Testament is a continuation of the story told in the Old Testament -The Old Testament: Man's creation, fall into disobedience, and God's promise to save them; Contains the founding of Israel; Pattern of covenant broken and covenant renewed; Texts full of wisdom -The New Testament: God's promise to be saved being fulfilled; Story of jesus; Establishment of church; Early letters written to church; Revelation

"Human self-transcendence"

-The freedom to transcend that which might predetermine who we are -We experience these moments of personal existentialism but underneath is a drive for something more that we can never reach -We experience a never-ending dynamism of desire to seek and receive that propels the spirit forward

What is N.T. Wright's approach to the problem of the historical Jesus?

-camp 3 -takes historical sources seriously but also with faith -"If we really believe in any sense in the incarnation of the Word, we are bound to take seriously the flesh that the Word became. And since that flesh was first-century Jewish flesh, we should rejoice in any and every advance in our understanding of first-century Judaism and seek to apply those insights to the readings of the Gospels... This historian will often see not necessarily that the Gospels need to be rejected or replaced but that they did not in fact mean what subsequent Christian tradition thought."

Galatians

-larger narrative: pauline epistle where Paul writes to deal with the problem of circumcision and jewish legalism toward gentile believers -historical context: Undisputed letter of Paul; Galatians are A community of Christians established by Paul, who were 1st Gentiles -themes: After Paul left, another group of itinerant evangelists came and tried to teach them a different way. Jewish christians who preached that God reaches out to non-Jews through the law and not apart from it. Paul says No more Jewish Law before Jesus 1. Justification (Galatians 2:15-21) First remarks of protestant faith; Saved by faith alone vs catholicism is faith and works; Jesus saves us, not the law -The purpose of Law (Galatians 19-21) -Christian Freedom (Galatians 5:2-26) The spirit is in us and guiding our actions and so we will automatically follow the law and thus follow God

Whither

-the horizon -see but won't be there -the point we face our questions towards -the point of arrival

What are the challenges presented to the study of theology according to Elizabeth Johnson at the beginning of Chapter 2?

1. Scientific challenges -Discoveries lead to pragmatic mentality instead of supernatural causes -Technology lead to control over nature -Science doesn't always lead to good things -Cannot answer all questions → what is good, what does it mean to be human 2. Intellectual challenges -Atheist ideas, some say humans created -God to make us feel good -Measured adequacy of idea of God vs what benefit it would bring to humans 3. Political challenges -People have more control and freedom over their lives -Leads to more ideas spreading around faster and more critical thinking

What did they think would happen when the Messiah showed up?

1. Separation from the world (modern day monk) 2. Compromise: Herod let the Jewish people build a temple, but they still were subject to Roman Rule; Submit to roman authorities 3. Be a zealot: fight for your own victory and bring about the kingdom, fight the occupation, fight own victor

What is the documentary hypothesis?

4 Different sources with different emphasis -1735: Jean Astruc noticed that in some passages in the Pentateuch, God is called "Elohim," and in others, he is called "Yahweh" -Over the years, this led to the identification of four separate sources that were woven together to create the Pentateuch: (J) Yahwistic (E) Elohistic (D) Deuteronomic (P) Priestly (mainly represented by Leviticus)

Camp 3

Albert Schweitzer -"...argued for consistent eschatology: Jesus shared the first-century apocalyptic expectation of the end of all things, and though he died without it having come about, he started the eschatological movement that became Christianity." (p. 28) -The "moderates": Ben Meyer, E.P. Sanders, and N.T. Wright

How does documentary thesis impact our reading of Genesis?

Genesis 1:1-2:4 -Commonly assigned to the (P) Priestly tradition -Walter Brueggemann: "Likely dated to the sixth century B.C. and addressed to exiles. It served as a refutation of Babylonian theological claims [...] To despairing exiles, it is declared that the God of Israel is the Lord of all life. Such a judgment means that this text is not an abstract statement about the origin of the universe. Rather, it is a theological and pastoral statement addressed to a real historical problem." -It is a PROCLAMATION -- neither history nor myth -Doxology Genesis 2:4b-3:24 -Probably taken from the (J) Yahwistic material -Context: from Israel's early theological tradition, maybe Solomonic -New emergence of a "royal consciousness", so that the main issues of concern for the (J) authors are power and freedom

Challenge by Reimarus

Hermann Samuel Reimarus (1694-1768): "...challenged unthinking would-be Christian dogma about the eternal son of God and his establishment of the oppressive system called "Christianity." Reimarus challenged it in the name of history - the same weapon that the reformers had used against Roman Catholicism. Go back to the beginning, he said, and you will discover that Christianity is based on a mistake. Jesus was, after all, another in a long line of failed Jewish revolutionaries." (Wright, p. 20)

How does the portrait of Jesus as presented in the Gospels we read challenge these assumptions?

Jesus does not fit into categories -"Only when we put Jesus into this context do we realize how striking, how dramatic, was his own vocation and agenda. He was neither a quietest nor a compromiser nor a zealot. Out of his deep awareness, in loving faith and prayer, of the one he called "Abba, Father," he went back to Israel's Scriptures and found there another kingdom-model, equally Jewish if not more so ... The kingdom of God, he said, is at hand. In other words, God was now unveiling his age-old plan, bringing his sovereignty to bear on Israel and the world as he had always intended, bringing justice and mercy to Israel and the world. And he was doing so, apparently, through Jesus. What could this mean?

Camp 2

Martin Kahler -Historical Jesus doesn't mean anything, purely for faith -"...argued that the quest for a purely historical Jesus was based on a mistake since the real figure at the heart of Christianity was the preached and believed Christ of the church's faith, not some figment of the historian's imagination" (p. 28) -Luke Timothy Johnson today

What is the problem of the historical Jesus according to N.T. Wright?

What distinguishes Jesus from all other revolutionaries? Who was Jesus really? What did he accomplish?

Tremendum

denotes the awesome character of this mystery beyond our control. We cannot domesticate the power of the Holy. This gives rise to a feeling of reverence akin to fear, an earthshaking dread: we are so small in the face of this majesty.

Mysterium

refers to the hidden character of the Holy, beyond imagination not just because of our own intellectual limits but because of the very nature of the subject; laced with the promise of plenitude

Fascinans

expresses the attractive character of this mystery. Experienced as love, mercy, and comfort, the Holy makes us blissful.

Matthew

first gospel story of Jesus

John

last gospel most theological telling of story of jesus