Religion Exam One

The 5 Pointers

1. Religions have to do with unseen powers, ultimate values, and the promise of salvation

2. Religions are multidimensional and thus complex

3. Religions may be similar, but they are not the same

4. Religions interact, in history & on the street, they aren’t sealed off from each other

5. Religions can be studied from the inside or the outside

Smart’s 7 Dimensions (Pointer 2)

Practical & Ritual

Experiential & Emotional

Narrative or Mythic

Doctrinal & Philosophical

Ethical & Legal

Social & Institutional 

Material

Religious Difference leads to

Religious Pluralism

Inter-Religious

Interactions between different religions

Intra-Religious

Interactions within religions

Demarcation

focusing on differences

Assimilation

Borrowed and Influenced by

Religious Studies

Outsider

Descriptive not prescriptive

Religions historical phenomena

no devotional or apologetic goals

Academic

Theology

Insider

Descriptive and Prescriptive

Historical and divine

Devotional and apologetic goals

Academic

Pilgrim Principle

(Core beliefs/practices): What makes Christianity united or singular

Indigenizing principle

(Core beliefs expressed in diversity): what makes Christianity diverse/plural

Four Sources of Christian Theology

1. Revelation/ Scripture

2. Tradition

3. Experience

4. Reason

Twin Goals of Christian theology

Faithfulness (Pilgrim)
Relevance (Indigenizing)

Trialogue of Christian Theology

Situation → Scripture → Tradition (Churches long held understandings)

Reason Inspired by Faith

→ Faithful Relevant Response

Mission is the mother of theology, how?

Mission guides our situations and therefore the trialogue of Christian theology

The bible is the story of…

The mission of God

Election in the bible

Chosen for mission: humanity, Israel, Christ, the church

Election is responsibility and privilege

Scripture comes from

Written by man, inspired by God

Hermeneutics: Descriptive

describes what happened but not to be followed

Hermeneutics: Prescriptive

Commands or actions to follow

Progressive Revelation

where are we in the story? you learn more about God reading foreward in the story

Indicatives and Imperatives

Imperative (Command) flows from indicatives (fact/reality)

El and Yahweh

Abraham knows God as El which is a vaguer term for God. Yahweh’s name is introduced later, progressive revelation

Lev 19

Law forbidding certain religious practices (sorcery, other gods), followed by treating non-Israelites (aliens with kindness)

Ruth 1

a non-Israelite is accepted as a good gentile. She comes to believe in Israel’s God

1 King’s 18

Power encounter of who is the true god

supremacy of Yahweh over Baal (rain)

Internal critique (Israelites were the Baal prophets)

2 Kings 5

A gentile (Namaan) comes to know Yahweh as God, yet is allowed to enter temple of god Rimmon

Jonah

Yahweh cares about other nations, if they repent, they can be forgiven

Yahweh’s concerns extend beyond Israel to a place like Nineveh

Internal Critique in OT

Yahweh is much harsher on his own people, than other nations (external critique), holds Israel to a higher standard