west trad exam 2

Oral Torah:

a supplement or interpretation of the written Torah that goes alongside it, meant to encourage vigorous study of the written Torah

-       Important figures: Moses (given to him by God on mount Sinai)

-       Textual context: Exodus

-       Historical timeline/context: God “gave” Moses 2 Torah’s (written and oral)-->> the most Rabbinic Doctrine

-       Conceptual/Themes:

o   Rabbis: were the ones who vigorously studied the Written Torah in order to interpret them and make them Oral Torah

Supersessionism

a term scholars assign to the emergent belief that Christians have replaced Jews as the chosen people. The Old Testament is only accepted as scripture for pointing to the coming of Jesus and the laws described in the Torah are rejected an no longer followed.

Synagogue:

emerges in the 2^nd temple period in the land of Israel and the Diaspora serving many functions; was a place for the reading, interpretation, and teaching of Torah, could have house courts and judicial functions, communal meals and social gatherings f

-       Important figures:

-       Textual context:

-       Historical timeline/context: some places in the diaspora in the 3^rd and 2^nd centuries were called “synagogues” were “temples” where sacrifices were performed

Resurrection/Afterlife

Jesus was crucified, died,  buried, but then was resurrected (brought back to life) and showed Himself to His disciples; the bad things will happen to God’s people in the present world, but they will be rewarded in the afterlife (so suffering is guaranteed), but a reward will be given to those who endure.

-       Important figures: JESUS!

-       Textual context: John

-       Historical timeline/context: During Jesus’ time, after His crucifixion was dead for 3 days but then was resurrected

-       Conceptual/Themes:

o   Islam: did not believe that Jesus was resurrected, only believe that He was taken to heaven

o   His death is to atone for humanity’s sins and His resurrection anticipates humanity’s resurrection at the day of judgement

Rabbis

elevated the Torah in the Bible who replaced the priests as religious figures

-       Important figures:

-       Textual context: Torah (1^st five books of Bible)

-       Historical timeline/context: One of the 2 different groups (other is other Christians) who grew out of second temple Judaism and took different things or beliefs out of it  caused separation amongst them

o   Destruction of second temple gives rise to the Rabbis movement because they found different ways to express their devotion to God even though the temple, their central place of worship, was destroyed

-       Conceptual/Themes:

o   Talmud: document that tells us who they are and are going to become through the Hebrew Bible

o   Torah (Old Testament): instructions on how to participate in God’s covenant; Talmud (New Testament): 

o   Crisis of Continuity: builds on development already underway in the 2^nd temple they were already other ways for them to express their devotion to God without being in the temple

o   New form of worship: scriptural worship as service of the heart by taking key scriptures

o   Doctrine of “Dual Revelation” : on Mount Sinai, God gave Moses both a written and oral torah : encourages vigorous study of written Torah in order to make Oral Torah.

 

Quran

the revelations given to Muhammad were collected the holy book of Muslims, central teachings are the existence of a single god (Allah) without division or associates and complete opposition to idolatry or any form of representation.

-       Important figures:

-       Textual context: Surah’s

-       Historical timeline/context re-writes the stories of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament supplanting both for me.

o   114 Surah’s ordered from longest to shortest

o   Biblical characters are scattered throughout the Quran, often to serve as “reminders”

-       Conceptual/Themes:

o   People of the book: What Christians and Jews are called

o   Muhammad: wrote all his revelations in the book

o   Does not believe that Jesus is the Son of God

o   Said Jesus was not crucified but was taken straight to heaven

o   Refused to speak of the trinity they said only to worship god.

o   Supersessionism: Muslims have displaced Jews and Christians as those who rightly worship their god.

o   Monotheistic: belief that there is only one god

o   Heresy: assumes a clearly knowable truth; everything else is a falsehood deliberately invented to confused ppl

Pliny/Letter to Trajan

the Governor of the Roman province of Pontus and Bithynia, 247 of his letters survive in which half of them are letters between him and the Roman emperor (Trajan). Writes letters seeking guidance on how to deal with Christians in his jurisdiction as Governor (because it was his first time dealing with a Christian trial)

-       Important figures:

o   Trajan: the Roman emperor from 98-117 CE, he oversaw the expansion of the Roman Empire to its largest territorial extent; was concerned about rebellion and banned most POLITICAL ASSOSICATIONS from meeting such being the gatherings of Christians

-       Textual context: it was Pliny’s first trial dealing with Chrisitan’s, and so he sought the counsel and advice of Trajan, the Roman Emperor, on what to do. The Christian’s were on trial because they met on a certain day before dawn, sang hymns to Christ as God, and ate “ordinary and innocent” food. Was worried because the temples that were once deserted were now being filled (Church is receiving more people)

o   Felt that if they met yp in smaller groups, they would make violence

-       Historical timeline/context: 3^rd Century  ban on Christian assemblies

-       Conceptual/Themes:

o   Martyr (witness at trial): because the assemblies of Christians were banned in the 3^rd centuries, Christians who still met faced the possibility of getting arrested, imprisoned, and executed

o   Martyr: martyr is arrested, tried, and has a vision that confirms that they must die, they are then subject to execution, and are miraculously protected for a time before they actually die deaths are compared to Jesus’ death  

o   “contagious superstition”: lots of ppl were becoming Christian and he was scared of God

o   Economic and religious consequences: ppl weren’t buying sacrificial animals anymore and loss of divine protection since the gods weren’t being worshipped anymore

-       Synthesis: talk about Pliny’s position as governor and Trajan as Roman emperor, move onto context and historical timeline, then conceptual themes to tie tg.

Perpetua/Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas

the earliest Christian text written by a woman, a diary which journals of vision she receives (her first vision was climbing up a ladder to heaven where she receives a drink of milk takes place in the Garden of Eden, and the ritual drink of milk signifies the eucharist/communion (milk and honey instead of bread and wine)

-       Important figures: Perpetua, dad, brother who’s health is restored bc of “her sacrifice”

-       Textual context: Christian woman who is put into prison because she claims to be a Chrisitan and refuses to renounce her faith (though her father tells her to renounce bc he is scared of her being killed).

-       Historical timeline/context:

-       Conceptual/Themes:

o   Eucharist/communion: Perpetua takes a ritual drink of milk in her journal with milk and honey is relates the bread and wine taken for the communion that Christian’s partake in.

o   Martyr: she becomes a martyr and dies because of her bold faith and declaration in Christ. She is “called” to be a martyr and is protected because of this. Because of the sacrifice she makes, she has the potential to intercede for her brother and other in the earth to improve his conditions in being sick (brother is restored to health). Saw being a martyr as something positive because she believed that it was a blessing for her to die for Christ as it allowed her to partake in the sufferings of Christ and she believed that God never left nor forsake her.

-       Synthesis: talk about introduction, textual context, than conceptual themes

Nicene Creed

a statement of belief or a CREED that explains the relationship of God the Father and God the Son. It preserves the belief in ONE God while asserting distinction between Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit

-       Important figures: Emperor Constantine (the one who organized/brought the ppltg to talk about the questions and what to do) AND Athanasius (later in his life, he modifies and made longer the Creed and adopted it at a council in 381.

-       Textual context: The Nicene Creed

-       Historical timeline/context: Christians first gathered at the behest of emperor Constantine in 325 (remember date) in Nicaea to resolve questions of how God is 3 in 1 and questions they had. So, they produce a statement of belief or a CREED that explains the relationship of God the Father and God the Son.

-       Conceptual/Themes:

o   Monotheism: belief in One God

o   Consubstantial: God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit three different entities of the same divine nature

o   God the Son begotten  imagery of parenthood

o   THE TRINITY: God is 3 in 1!

Muhammad:

prophet who was born in ~570 CE and claims to begin receiving revelations from the angel Gabriel in 610 CE, he is from the city of Mecca in the Arabian peninsula which is south of the fronts of the Roman Persian war. He’s from a merchant tribe Quraysh, which controlled the city of Mecca and trade in the central peninsula.

-       Important figures: Angel Gabriel

-       Textual context: Surahs in Islam

o   He is the “seal of the prophets”, Jesus, Abraham, and Moses were recognized

o   He is NOT divine but customary in Islamic practice to say “peace be upon him” after saying his name

-       Historical timeline/context: The beginning of the Roman-Persia war in 602

-       Conceptual/Themes:

o   Ka’aba: a stone building which was a common way to represent deities; was built by Abraham and Ishmael

Martyr/Martyrdom

people who are called by God to sacrifice their lives for their faith in Christ, and they are protected because of the sacrifice they are making for the kingdom of God. Martyrs make this sacrifice because they have the potential to intercede for ppl in the earth or afterlife and improve their conditions. They are “set apart” or holy and Chrisitan’s see martyrdom as something positive because they are suffering for a good reason the sake of the gospel and get to share in the sufferings of Christ. Martyrology (martyr tale) is the literary genre for the stories of trials and deaths of martyrs

-       Important figures: Perpetua (her story of being a martyr), Pliny and Trajan how he aimed to persecute Christians who weren’t renouncing their faith

-       Textual context: Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas, and Letter to Trajan

-       Historical timeline/context: talk about times during perpetua

-       Conceptual/Themes:

o   Specific formula in which martyr was arrested, tried, has vision affirming they must die, and then is subject to execution in which they are miraculously protected for a time before finally dying

o   Resurrection of Jesus  

Incarnation/Athanasius, On the Incarnation:

said that all humanity was corrupted by Adam and Eve eating the fruit in the garden of Eden bc God promised death for eating the fruit, all humans deserve to go to hell, so only a SACRIFICIAL DEATH can erase the original sentence that was placed on us, A HUMAN ONE. So, Jesus imputed the sins of humanity upon himself, God the Word takes on a human body, to reveal God and fulfill the sacrifice

-       Important figures: JESUS! Athanasius (who writes it)

-       Textual context: On the Incarnation book

-       Historical timeline/context:

-       Conceptual/Themes:

o   Original sin: bc of the first act of evil in Adam and Eve, only Jesus could make the atonement of sacrifice for us humans.

o   Jesus is fully God and fully Human

-       Synthesis: give introduction to it and meaning of the word incarnation (God in human form), important ppl (JESUS), historical timeline (after Jesus), and conceptual themes

Heresy:

a category of teachings that are disagreed upon; a zero-sum model of difference that presumes there is ONLY right and wrong; insists on not only singular truth, but a self-evident trust so that those who teach do so with intentionality and malice

-       Important figures and Historical timeline: Irenaeus was born a century after Jesus’ death, born and raised in Greek city of Smyrna (turkey), moves to. Modern day France and becomes a presbyter than a bishop made “Against the Heresies” treatise

-       Textual evidence: “Against the Heresies” book

-       Conceptual/Themes:

o   Christianity

o   Islam

o   Heresy: assumes a clearly knowable truth; everything else is a falsehood deliberately invented to confused ppl

Gospel:

the early sources of the Jesus movement; Matthew and Like begin with narratives of Jesus’ birth (but in different times), the main narrative takes place over the course of a year it Jesus first establishing himself as a teacher and calling His followers (disciples), He travels to different cities in Galilee and performs miracles preaching the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

-       Important figures:

-       Textual context: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

o   Mark: the earliest book written in 70 CE which was 40 years after Jesus

o   Mark, Matthew, and Luke all share the same narrative structure and are called the SYNOPTIC GOSPELS

o   John takes place over a much larger span of time and includes many stories that are not included in the synoptic gospels

-       Historical timeline/context:

-       Conceptual/Themes:

o   JESUS!!: He will establish a new KINGDOM OF GOD/HEAVEN and will rule from David’s throne; and it begins to be present in His teachings and miracles

Diaspora

communities that arise outside the land of Israel, especially in Egypt

-       Important figures:

-       Textual context:

-       Historical timeline/context: happened during the second temple period which was between the time in which Jews return from exile and rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple to the destruction of the temple by the romans.

-       Conceptual/Themes:

o   In result, there were new literary genres introduced (apocalypse, synagogue, and resurrection/afterlife)

o   Synagogues: helped with observation of religious identity, law, and social welfare helped them keep their faith in which they could participate in communal prayer, worship, and scriptural readings

 Church

also known as the “ekklesia” which translates to assembly. It’s the whole movement of Christ-believers spread throughout the world, a local community of Christians in a a particular city/region, and a separate institution from the synagogue. There is communal prayer and prophecy, reading and exposition of Scripture (sermon/homily), and communal meal in memory of the last supper Jesus shares with his disciples before death

-       Important figures:

o   Bishop/overseer (episkopos): oversees the churches in a certain geographic area (so like a general overseer)

o   Presbyter/elder (presbuteros): leaders of an single church community under the oversight of a bishop (so like a pastor)

o   Diocese: a defined/certain geographic region of multiple churches which are all overseen by a bishop

-       Textual context: gatherings on SUNDAY because it was the day of Jesus’ resurrection, also to accommodate attendance at the synagogue on Sabbath/Saturday.

-       Historical timeline/context:

-       Conceptual/Themes:

o   House churches: became closely linked with one another and was led by an elder or priest under the authority of a bishop in the homes of wealthy people

o   Eucharist: the consecration of break and wine that represents the body and blood of Jesus; a communal mean in memory of the last supper Jesus shares with his disciples before death

o   Charismatic authority (Paul): in the 1^st and 2^nd centuries you got authority by claiming it for yourself and convincing others you had it too

Apostle Paul

wrote 13 letters in the New Testament which were all specific to churches (in Rome, Galatia, Ephesus, Corinth) on specific issues. Didn’t reference the words or events of life concerning Jesus.

-       Important figures: Paul who is an apostle (means messenger) commissioned by Jesus to teach (but wasn’t in Jesus’s inner circle), writings as a PHARISEE, claims to receive direct revelation from Jesus after the resurrection

-       Textual context: Acts, Romans, Galatians (talks a lot about circumcision and how it is not needed for the Gentiles, but they should focus of the work of Christ done for them), 1 & 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians

o   Jesus as the Son of God

o   Emphasis on death and resurrection of Jesus  death was to atone for humanity’s sins and His resurrection at the day of judgement when Jesus returns

-       Historical timeline/context: after Jesus’s death and resurrection.

-       Conceptual/Themes:

o   An apostle of Jesus Christ: messenger set apart for the gospel of God

• charasmatic authority: self-proclaimed authority and leading others to believe that it is yours

o   Itinerant teacher: moves from place to place

o   Galatians: conflict between Paul and Peter over Torah observance; says that Gentiles who follow Jesus DO NOT have to observe the ritual and dietary laws and become circumcised  says his authority on direct revelation comes from Jesus —> Supersestionalism: Christians have replaced the laws and practices of Jews, demonstrating that they are God’s chosen people

o   Imminent eschatology: end times, says that we will not die but will all be changed and also that the end of the world is coming SOON

o   Gentiles don’t need to become Jews

-       Synthesis: info on who he is, books he writes and why (for the specific issues of the church),divine revelations he gets, historical timeline, and conceptual themes

 

Sacrifice

various forms of worship and surrender to God through atonement, thanksgiving, and more. Was performed by Priests in which the people would bring meats and grains to offer as a sacrifice

-       Important figures:

-       Textual context:

-       Historical timeline/context: during second temple periodf

-       Conceptual/Themes:

o   Synagogue: where the sacrifices are performed

o   Priests: must be from the tribe of Levi and must be direct descendants of Aaron (Moses’ brother)