Religion 9 ch9

1. What is the difference between doctrine and Dogma? Why are they good thing?

i. All we believe as Christians that is defined and taught by the magisterium are called doctrines. Dogmas have been divinely revealed to us. They help us know with whom we are invited to have a relationship, and they help us recognize ideas that are not compatible with who we know God to be.

1. What is an idol, and historically, why have some people made them?

i. An idol is a representation of a false god. People have made idols in nan attempt to make a god that was more manageable, mysterious or remote, or did not ask too much of them. More specifically, people created idols to make a god they could define and control on their own terms.

1. What is Heresy?

i. Heresy is a denial of some truth which Catholics must believe as a part of their faith. Heresy cuts out the parts of our Faith that are difficult to understand or to practice. In short, heresy fractures our relationship with God.

1. Why does the church take such forceful stance against heresy?

i. The church takes a strong stance against heresy to preserve our relationship with the true God and safe guard us from worshipping an idol-something that is not God.

1. In what way has the church primarily respond to heresy?

i. By holding ecumenical councils, where all of the bishops of the world would gather to clearly express the truth of Faith and refute heresy.

1. How did the church respond to heresies about the one-ness of God?

i. The bishops of the early Church affirm the scriptural teaching that God is one and that everything God makes is good, including the material world.

1. How does the church respond to heresies about the three persons of the trinity?

i. There is a real distinction of unique persons in the Trinity that are absolutely united in their divine nature.

1. In what three categories can we define the early Christological heresies?

i. The early Christological heresies fall humanity, denial of Jesus' full divinity, and a separation of Jesus' humanity and divinity

1. What is the proper response to the heresies questioning Christ's humanity?

i. Jesus is fully human. He has a complete human nature and it is precisely as a human being that He is our representative before God.

1. What was the most influential of the ancient Christological heresies and what did it claim?

i. The most influential of the ancient Christological heresies was Arianism which held that Jesus did not always exist with God; at a certain moment before time began he was created by God and therefore he did not share in the full divinity of God the Father.

1. How did the Council of Nicaea respond to the Arian heresy?

i. The council of Nicaea responded to this Heresy by providing clear and precise wording about Christ's Divinity. It formulated the wording into the Nicene creed.

1. How did the early Church transform the threat of heretical preaching into an opportunity for Catholic teaching?

i. The heretical preaching stimulated the Church to formulate the precise language needed to preach the truth about god with greater clarity, thereby deepening our understanding of the beliefs of our Faith and permitting us to receive a closer relationship with God.

1. How does the gift of infallibility given by Jesus to the church help us have confidence in the truth of the Church's Teaching?

i. The gift of infallibility ensures that the Church is preserved from error in her teaching about faith and morals. Thus, we can be assured that the genuine teaching of Jesus is communicated to is through the church.

1. How did St. Gregory of Nyssa help people understand the truth about Christianity?

i. He traveled to Christian communities ad settled disputes, corrected mistakes, and helped early Christianity clarify and define some of the most important teachings about God. Specifically, Gregory is the one who devised the phrase "the essence in the 3 divine Persons"

Doctrine

Something we believe as Christians that is defined and taught by the magisterium of the Catholic church

Dogma

A doctrine of the church that has been divinely revealed to us.

Idol

A representation of a false god

Heresy

The obstinate denial after Baptism of a truth which must be believed with divine and Catholic Faith.

Idolatry

The worship of false gods

Ecumenical Council

A meeting of all the world's bishops together in union with the pope

Church Fathers

The bishops and teachers of the early church

Orthodox

Correct teaching about the Christian faith. Not to be confused with a member of the Eastern Orthodox church.

Gnosticism

The name given to a heresy of the early Church that taught, among other things, that jesus was not fully human, the material world was evil, and salvation was achieved through secret knowledge, or gnosis.

Christological heresies

The collective name for the various heresies of the early Church about the divine and human natures of Jesus Christ

Hypostatic Union

The union of the divine and human natures in the one divine person of the son of god, jesus christ

Arianism

An influential heresy of the early church that taught that jesus, the sin of god, was created by god the father, and therefore not truly equal to him or of the same substance

Homoousios

Greek for "of the same being" or "of the same substance" the latin word for consubstantialitas is a translation of this word.