Theology exam #1

old testament

Hebrew bible, primarily written in Hebrew and is sacred to Hebrew people

scripture

The bible, or christian scriptures, is a body of text that christian recognize as sacred; two primary parts- old testament and new testament

Why did the Christian creed develop?

a growing need to provide convenience and inform summary and declaration of religious faith

Thomas Aquinas (c.1225-1274)

assumed that christian faith is fundamentally rational and thus can be supported and explored by reason; lived during the high middle ages- wrote summa theologica

gospels

basically means "good news" and includes gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

Earlier Judaism henotheism; Christianity's Jewish cultural roots

belief in and worship of one god above other gods; perhaps a form of monotheism; does not deny existence of other gods, but rather devotion to one God above others

Athanasius

circulated a letter that identified 27 canonical books that are now known as the new testament

Saint Ignatius of Loyola

co-founded the society of Jesus (jesuits) took a pilgrimage to bethalham and prayed a lot

New testament

consists of 27 books with the gospels; ends with the book of revelation, which represents a vision of the end of history in which the writer professes to have been allowed to see heaven

moral sense

defining ethical guidance for christian conduct

covenant relationship

diede owes protection to the tribe while the tribe must be loyal to the diede

Irenaeus

early christian period and helped shape christianity

literal sense

the text was taken at face value

patristics

usually understood to mean the branch of theological study which deals with the study of the "the fathers"

the patristic period

vaguely defined entity which is often taken to be the period from the closing of the New Testament writings near the end of the early christian period to the fall of Rome

St. Francis of Assisi

very wealthy while growing up; went to prison and became ill which is where his conversion began. had 3 main orders; big focus on animals and environment- had visions and stigmata

creed

(from credo) is a formal definition or summary of the Christian faith, held in common by all Christians

God is found in the events of Jewish history

-migration of Abraham -escape from Egypt -conquest of canaan

conversion of the Roman emperor Constantine to Christianity (306-337)

1. gives the church newfound freedom from persecution and increased social influence throughout the empire 2. offers Sunday a public holiday 3. Christianity moves from secret house churches to public worship and debate 4. encourages consolidation of the theological thought and consensus among churches on those issues

Christian Monasticism (monks)

5th century; monks like in monestaries; 3 major vows, chastity, poverty, and obediance

Where does the term theology come from?

From two Greek words, Theos meaning God and logos meaning word. literally discourse about God.

Immanence (ex. of theological aspects in tension)

God dwells within all God creates; creation is an expression of the creator (a painting embodies something of the artist

Transcendence (ex. of theological aspects in tension)

God separate from and above creation; cannot be coerced by ritual magic; picture and statues have no power, not divine

Yahweh

Judaism monotheistic expression denies all other gods except one

canon

a rule, a fixed reference point

fixing of the creeds

apostles creed Nicene creed creeds have evolution and debate

Justin Martyr

argues that traces of christian truth can be found in the great pagan writings; insisted that new testament writing be read with the same authority as old testament writings

canonical scripture

evolutionary development and was not generally closed until the 5th century

experience

experiences can act as foundation resources for christian theology

early middle ages

fall of rome; population declines and social turbulence across europe

Pentateuch

first five books of the old testament; also called the five books of the law

St. Cathrine of Sienna

had visions from a very early age; mystical marriage to Jesus Christ; known aesthetic fasting- declared a saint

the "canon" of scripture

indicates limits that have been set by the consensus of the christian community to the texts that may be regarded as "scriptural"

Saint Augustine of Hippo

most influential theologian in the latin Church for 1000 years; ordained in priesthood; help settle many controversies

why did christianity spread so rapidly

it adapted to Greek and roman cultural outlooks

pastoral and catholic epistles

letters

4 standard method of biblical interpretation

literal, allegorical, moral, anagogical

rational approach of interpreting the bible

looks to scripture as a source of universal truth

high middle ages

many great European universities are founded ; religious order established; includes work of Thomas Aquinas

Joan of Arc

middle ages; women fighter in the military; had visions from God: iconic feminist for her work became a saint

anselm of canterbury

monk, monologion or ontological argument,

apostles creed (western Christians)

outlines core christian beliefs

late middle ages

period sees black d earth sweeps across europe; lasts until the 1500s

anagogical sense

pointing to that which Christians may hope for in fulfillment of divine promises

Augustine

resisted teachings of Manichean, donates, etc

nicene creed

responded to the controversies; concerning the divinity of Christ; affirms Christ's unity with God, Christ is regarded as fully divine and fully human

liberative hermeneutics approach of interpreting the bible

scripture through the lens of the poor- interpreting it as politico- social text

Sources

scripture, tradition, reason, experience

literary approach of interpreting the bible

scriptures as narrative accounts or stories

historical approach of interpreting the bible

scriptures teach as an account of origins

allegorical sense

storytelling (aesop's fables), which interpreted otherwise obscure passages for statements of doctrine

minor prophets

the 12 remaining prophetic writing of the old testament

major prophets

the first 4 prophetic writing of the old testament

synoptic gospels

the first three gospels, the 4th gospel of john is set apart for literary and character reasons

theology in an academic world

theology is the systematic study of the ideas of a religion, including their sources, historical development, mutual relationship and applications

gnostics

traditions in christian worship (liturgy) very controversional

sociological appraoch of interpreting the bible

treats Christianity as a religion and social phenomenon