Perspectives Midterm #2

In what way did Hebrew thinking differ from Greek thinking? Give two examples of this from the Old Testament.

Greek suffering vs Jewish Suffering

Greek fate vs. Jewish creating own path

Greek Many gods vs. Jews one god

Greek believe world no beginning vs, Jews radical beginning

Greek stories with important truths done in abstract concepts vs. Jewish stories told through narratives teach lessons

What is the teaching of Genesis about the nature and value of the physical universe?

About the nature and value of humanity?

About the place of human history within creation?

About the "knowledge of good and evil" that Adam and Eve come to have?

About the consequences of this knowledge?

- God created the universe and each object is created by god. Each object is a creature.

- Humanity has a unique pace in history and creation, shown in the creation of stories where man is made up of earth. Humans have a likeness to God which is our creative freedom and ability to create that other animals don't have

- Evil predate the fall of humanity. We did not create evil. Intelligences that are not human are capable of evil

- knowledge continues through history. Genesis has a weird marital and other problems such as murder envy, etc.

What is Job's predicament?

What is the opinion of his 'friends' about his predicament?

What threat do Job and his predicament pose to them?

How is the Book of Job a critique of the religion of ancient Israel?

In what ways does God show himself to be on Job's side?

And what is God's own answer to the question: Why do the innocent suffer?

- Wealthy man who ended up losing everything including wealth, children and servants even tho he didn't do any injustice

- He mustve done some evil or something against the religious law that made God take everything away

- Poses threat that their whole religious faith is wrong through his insistence that he is innocent

- God says that Job is a just man. Cured Job of his illness, gives him more kids, and more wealth than he had before

- No one knows why innocent suffers. Only god knows but he does not explain.

In what way do the Prophets develop notions of God's providence over all creatures and of His loving willingness to forgive? Give examples from three of the Prophets studied.

- Israelites had not been following the law, yet God wanted to and was willing to forgive them
- prophets explain to Israelites they they need to repent and return to fidelity towards the law

In what way is the Sermon on the Mount a development of the law of the Old Testament? Give specific examples.

- Sermon begins with the Gospel of Matthew with a presentation of the law consistent with the Old Testament
- difference: reconsiders question "why do innocent suffer" as shown in Book of Job. Beatitudes actually show how God is actually with those who suffer

- Unlike old testament, it presents ideas of Interiority (interior life has to be in accordance with gods rules) and universality (laws apply to everyone, not just one group)

- This is developmental of the afterlife, we are allotted more years than we are given on Earth, not an idea stressed in the old testament.

How do some people attempt to demonstrate that Jesus really did rise from the dead?

People demonstrate that Jesus really did rise from the dead by proving people who do not believe he rose from the dead wrong.

- Was a myth: apostles were myth makers. (writing style of Gospels is significantly different than myths. To many eyewitnesses to account for Jesus)

- Was a conspiracy: Apostles were deceivers. (many were killed for their faith and genuinely believed in Jesus resurrection, why would they die over a lie. To make story up would have to have a creator greater than Shakespeare, but they were commoners with no education)

- Hallucination: Jesus didn't rise and apostles were deceives (To many witnesses saw the resurrect Jesus aside from the apostles. Hallucination can't occur on mass scale. Also with empty ton not hallucination because than Romans would have produced Jesus dead body)

- Was a swoon: didn't actually die (There is no surviving crucifixion, Romans were professional killers, his legs weren't broke so they were sure he died, otherwise they would have broken legs to speed up death)

______________

Jesus Rose and Christianity is true (by disproving the others, christianity is the only plausible option)

In his letter to the Ephesians, how does St Paul view the place of Jesus in the history of Israel?

- At the beginning, he places jesus right into salvation History (God who revealed himself in the old testament has given people something they can understand more and more clarity)

- Jesus is the fullness of what began in first testament. (St. Paul says that with the coming of Jesus, the kind of hostility between Israelites and gentiles should break down. Gentiles shouldn't be considered as dirty, bad, evil and can make peace)

- Jesus = Bridge for peace. (Radical equality is for all people even though St. Paul says those things knowing those social structure will remain in place for a long time, but will eventually be overcome with the idea of equality.)