Christian History Exam 1

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, historical figures, sects, and concepts from Roman religion, Jewish history, and early Christian development based on the lecture transcript.

Civic Religion

A form of religion in the Roman Empire where cities honored patron deities, centered activities around major temples, and demonstrated love for the city through festival participation.

Imperial Religion

A Roman religious system where the emperor played a central religious role, including the deification of Caesar in 42 BCE after his 44 BCE assassination.

Pax Romana

The peace, security, prosperity, and justice brought to the world under Augustus, who was described as the son of a god and commemorated through temples and festivals.

Cult (Latin)

The types of religious worship practiced in the Roman Empire, which included prayers, hymns, sacrifices, feasts, purifications, initiations, and philosophical schools.

Mystery Traditions

Exclusive, secretive, initiation-based traditions in the Roman Empire that required personal devotion and intense commitment, such as the guidance and rebirth offered by Isis.

Covenant

A binding agreement between two parties of unequal power, serving as the standard form of governance in the ancient Near East and as Judeans' exclusive allegiance to worship one God.

Jacob

A biblical figure whose name means "to wrestle with God" and who is associated with the 12 tribes of Israel.

Torah

The first five books of the Hebrew Bible, compiled from oral traditions after the Judeans attributed their exile to being unfaithful to their covenant with YHWH.

Hellenization

The historical process of spreading Greek language and culture across regions conquered by Alexander the Great.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes

A ruler who advocated complete Jewish assimilation to Greek culture, outlawed Sabbath observation and circumcision under pain of death, prohibited Mosaic Law, and desecrated the Jerusalem Temple with a statue of Zeus and pork sacrifices.

Maccabean Revolt

A Jewish resistance movement led by Judah "the Maccabee" and his brothers against Antiochus IV Epiphanes's decrees, resulting in retaking, cleansing, and rededicating the Jerusalem Temple in 164 BCE.

Hanukkah

An annual Jewish celebration marking the military victory and the retaking and cleansing of the Jerusalem Temple by the Maccabees in 164 BCE.

King Herod

A surrogate ruler of Judea for Rome who made substantial Roman-influenced expansions to the Jerusalem Temple, where daily sacrifices were offered to YHWH on behalf of the emperor.

Sadducees

A Jewish party from the Temple aristocracy that accommodated Roman rule, held a conservative literal interpretation of the written Torah, and rejected belief in an immortal soul or afterlife.

Scribes

Jerusalem Temple officials who collaborated with Rome, collected tithes, and encouraged pilgrimage to the Temple.

Pharisees

A Jewish group that believed in the immortal soul, resurrection, afterlife, and angels, while strictly adhering to both oral and written Torah and applying purity standards to daily life.

Essenes

A Jewish group in Qumran that withdrew from society, rejected the Temple priesthood as corrupt, shared property, practiced apocalyptic expectations, and authored the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Zealots

An organized Jewish group that launched violent revolts against Roman rule, predominantly triggered by taxation.

First Jewish Revolt (66-70 CE)

An open uprising triggered when Jewish priests suspended sacrifices for the Roman emperor in 66 CE, leading to the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE.

Simon Bar Kokhba

A figure hailed by some Jewish authorities as the messiah who led a revolt against Rome before being killed in battle when the uprising was crushed.

Synoptic Gospels

The Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke, which exhibit such strong similarity in language, style, and narrative order that they share a literary relationship ("see together").

Saul/Paul

A Jewish Pharisee and former persecutor of Christ-followers who experienced a revelation of the Risen Christ and received a prophetic call to preach Jesus as Messiah to Gentile nations.

Paul's Apocalypticism

The theological stance that the end of time is imminent through Christ's death and resurrection, allowing Gentiles to turn to the God of Israel without adopting Mosaic Law.

Valentinus

An educated Christian leader in Rome, original from Alexandria, who authored the Gospel of Truth.

Marcion

A Christian teacher who claimed to continue Paul's legacy but completely severed Christian teachings from Jewish traditions.

Justin

A Christian apologist who advocated Logos Christology, expected a future bodily resurrection followed by a 1,000-year reign of Christ in Jerusalem, and claimed inheritance from both Greco-Roman and Jewish traditions.

Sacramentum

A term borrowed from Roman legal/military oaths and mystery traditions, adapted by early Christians as a binding allegiance to Christ and initiation into sacred mysteries.

Ekklesia

The Greek term translated as church, referring to the community gathered together for rituals rather than a physical building structure.

Catechumen

A person undergoing instruction, moral interrogation, and preparations prior to receiving Christian baptism.

Eucharist

A central Christian ritual of thanksgiving (from Greek eucharistein), celebrated as a sacred meal, memorial of the Last Supper, and sacrifice.

Superstition (Roman Perspective)

In 2nd-century Roman view, disruptive practices based on ignorance, fear, or fraud; applied to Christians because they refused to participate in civic and imperial religious rituals.

Martyr

A believer who chooses death rather than breaking covenant or renouncing faith, such as Ignatius of Antioch or Perpetua.