Church History Midterm

what is the irony of church history

most people are unaware of the main thing that God is doing in history, which is bringing people together to worship him for all of eternity

Where does our primary information about the life of Jesus come from?

the four gospels

Why do scholars dismiss the 4 gospels are the evidence of the life of Jesus

they are clearly-faith based

Who considered the father of church history?

Eusebius of Caesarea

hagiography

talking about people without admitting their fault

What is the status of the church history today in respect to issues of providence?

Gods providence is left out of most scholarly discourse

Are confessional historians welcome in secular academic settings today?

No, which restricts their influence on culture

In what ways was Jesus' life presented in the Gospels as the fulfillment of God's promises to the Jewish people?

1. Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies

2. The message of Jesus announced the arrival of the Kingdom of God

3. Jesus did miracles that only God could perofm and promised forgiveness of sin

In what ways was Christianity designed to traverse the globe?

The church & christianity were designed to be global- Jews were Gods people but God loves ALL people

In what ways did Christians value their Jewish heritage?

They continued attending synagogues, following the teachings of the OT and continued in their patten of worship

What set Christians apart form Jews?

Jesus was the promised Messiah, baptism and the Lords supper

What three episodes led to the formal separation between Jews and Christians?

The death of James, the destruction of the temple, faith in christ is sufficient

what do the most reliable traditions tell us about the ministry and death of the apostle's?

Peter, John and Thomas

Who was the most unlikely apostle?

Paul who was jewish, fluent in greek and a roman citizen

Who carried out the most mission work in the ealry church?

ordinary christians who used their marketable gifts

According to bruce shelly what were the four reasons the gospel spread?

1. christians believe Jesus rose from the dead

2. they shared stories with others

3. gospel met the needs of people who wondered if God cared for them

4. Christians often stood firm in times of public persecution

In what ways In what ways was Christianity mis-understood by non Christians in the early church?

sexual immorality, cannibals, paganism, guilty of treason, theologically absurd

Persecution of christians in the early church

Christians were persecuted all the time but more severely and gruesomely in different locations and time periods based off of leadership- persecution remained sporadic throughout history

In what ways were Christians fearless in times of persecution and in what areas were they not?

Some Christians were fearless and got martyred as a result but others denied the faith and engaged in other religions practices to save themselves

How did the church address "lapsed" Christians

Cyprian approach was what level did they reject their faith and only bishops were qualified to admit christians back into the church

What did Cyprian mean by "without the church as the mother, one cannot have God as the father"

there is one church and there is penance for restoration (in the roman catholic church penance is a practice)

what is an apologist?

a person who defends and explains faith using reason, evidence, and Scripture

Who was the most famous apologist?

Justin Martyr who dismissed the argument that christians were immortal & Christians are not against philosophy

What event led to the conversion of Constantine

His victory as emperor led to him embracing christianity, he made christianity the legal religion and created a council to help resolve questions concerning the deity of God

In what ways was Christianity transformed as it became accepted in the Roman Empire?

1. New Rome: became a center for christianity for over 1000 years

2. churches had influence in public

3. martyrs were prized and honored

4. renewed intrest in the holy land

Which emperor attempted to return Rome to pagan again

Emperor Julian

Which emperor is responsible for making Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire?

Theodosius

What was gnosticism?

belief that matter is evil, thus explaining why there is evil in the world

Which gnostic beliefs were incompatible with Christian orthodoxy

1. A bad God created a bad world

2. The body is evil and unimportant

3. Jesus was sent but had no body because it was evil

How did christians use creeds to combat heresy?

they were standardized statements for all to believe

What was the role of bishops?

they filled the void of the absence of the apostles & maintain the the doctrine passed onto them and determined who did and did not belong to the church

What was Marcion's view of the OT & why did the church determine his view was incompatible?

his gnostic tendencies led to him leaving out the OT in his "thin bible" and compiled a list of abbreviated version of Scriptures

Montanus's extended bible

Montanus believed he was the mouthpiece of the holy spirit and spoke for God and could not be determined if these teachings were valid

What was Diatesseron?

put all four gospels into one work- was rejected due to each gospels integrity

What books were disputed but later included in the NT?

Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2-3 John & Jude

What books were disputed and not included in the NT?

Didache, Letter of Barabus, Shepherd of Hermas

What was the significance of Anthanasuis's Easter Letter?

It sealitified the NT, the first list that matches the current NT canon

What historical idea did the early church to recognize the canon or non-canon

apostolic authorship, orthodoxy, practicality

In what ways does the NT depict the deity of Jesus?

Jesus the one who does work only God can do

Who was the first theologian to use the word trinity?

Tretullian

What was wrong with the teachings of Arius, Apollinarius, Nestorius & Eutyches with respect to Jesus?

They did not believe in his fullness of God and Human nature

Arius: belives jesus is less because he is the son ad he was created by god

Apollinarius: he is fully god so he cannot be fully human

Nestorius: Jesus became God after birth

Eutyches: he was mutant because of his divine nature

What was the outcome of each ecumencial council?

monophysitism (one nature)

what did the councils conclude is the proper way to speak of Jesus?

Jesus is fully God, fully man, one person with two natures (Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, Chalcedon)

what creeds emerged from the first four councils?

The Nicene Creed

What was origen's view of greek philosophy as it relates to Christianity

Christianity is superior to Greek philosophy but not all points contradicts

"Spoils of the Egyptians"

taking form another worldview to strengthen your own

What levels of meaning did Origen find in scripture?

Corporeal, Soulish, Spiritual

What is the significance of "On First Principals"

First systematic theology, trinity, universalism, preexistence of souls

What was the scriptural rational behind monasticism?

To flee the world and devote yourslef to Christ

What were three renunciations that characterized monasticism?

1. renouncing the flesh

2. renouncing the world

3. renouncing the will

Antony's contributions to monasticism

tried to isolate himself as a monk and instead created influence and a following

Simeon's contributions to monasticism

built a multi story platform to isolate himself

Pachomius contributions to monasticism

communal monasticism under the leadership of abbots

Basil the Great's contributions to monasticism

rules that eastern monks still observe today. and put monks under bishops orders