Christianity, Ethics, and Theological Traditions Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering major theological concepts, historical events, virtues, and models of science and religion from the lecture review notes.

Fides et Ratio

Papal teaching stating that faith and reason are like two wings by which the human spirit rises towards contemplation of truth.

Imago Dei

The belief that human beings are made in the image and likeness of God, which grounds inherent human dignity.

Catholic Intellectual Tradition

An approach that is open to truth wherever it is found and does not treat faith and reason as enemies.

The Beatitudes

Jesus' opening teachings in Matthew 5:1–12, presenting the ethics of the Kingdom of God and reversing conventional values of power and honour.

Poor in Spirit

A Beatitude quality emphasising dependence on God and grace rather than pride and self-sufficiency.

Meekness (Beatitudes)

Strength under control and gentleness, rather than weakness or cowardice.

Peacemaking (Christian Lecture Meaning)

Peace that is actively made through reconciliation rather than simply imposed through force.

Tom Holland's Central Argument in Dominion

Christianity had a disruptive and enduring influence on the moral assumptions of the Western world.

Crucifixion (in Tom Holland's Account)

A revolutionary event presenting God in humiliation and suffering, overturning conventional ideas of power, honour, and glory.

Didache

An anonymous early Christian guide for churches and individuals, generally dated to the late first or early second century.

The Two Ways (Didache)

The Way of Life and the Way of Death.

Pliny's Letter 10.96–97

A historical document recording a Roman official's questioning of Christians, providing evidence of Roman responses to early Christian practice.

Battle of the Milvian Bridge

A 312 CE battle in which Constantine defeated Maxentius, associated in Christian tradition with Constantine's vision of the cross or Chi-Rho.

Chi-Rho

A Christian symbol formed from the Greek letters Chi and Rho, the first two letters of Christos, meaning Christ.

Council of Nicaea

A council convened in 325 CE by Constantine that addressed theological controversy and produced the Nicene Creed.

Edict of Milan

A 313 CE document granting toleration to Christians and providing for the restoration of confiscated property, without making Christianity the official religion.

Edict of Thessalonica

A 380 CE edict issued by Theodosius I that established Nicene Christianity as the Empire's official religious norm.

Caesaropapism

A system in which a political ruler exercises strong control over the Church in their territory.

Basic (Primordial) Faith

Confidence in the value and meaningfulness of life and existence.

Religious Faith

Faith directed towards God, understood as immanent and transcendent and as the ground and horizon of existence.

Code, Creed, and Cult

Three dimensions of religion where code refers to ethical living, creed refers to belief, and cult refers to worship.

Pistis

A Greek term associated with faith, trust, and entrusting oneself to another.

Conflict Model (Barbour)

A model of science and religion where the two are presented as incompatible or competing explanations.

Independence Model (Barbour)

A model of science and religion asserting that each answers different kinds of questions and should be kept separate.

Dialogue Model (Barbour)

A model of science and religion where both can engage where their questions, methods, or implications overlap.

Integration Model (Barbour)

An attempt to develop a more unified or mutually informing account of science and religion.

Fideism

An approach that treats faith as belief without the need for reason; rejected by Catholic thought.

Transcendence

God's existence beyond and exceeding creation.

Immanence

God's presence and activity within creation.

Sacramentality

The concept that the created world can disclose or communicate divine presence.

Inculturation

A form of Christian mission that recognises and respects the presence of truth or 'seeds of the Word' within cultures while discerning them critically.

Integral Ecology

Pope Francis' concept that the created world and its environmental, social, and human dimensions are interconnected.

Technocratic Mindset (Laudato Si')

Treating technological progress as the overriding priority without adequately considering its effects on people and the natural world.

The Dreaming as 'Everywhen'

The understanding that the Dreaming is not only a past event, but an ongoing reality and source of meaning, order, and creative power.

Anamnesis

Remembrance that makes an event present; connected in the lecture with Eucharistic remembrance.

Symmetria

Proportion, measure, harmony, and ordered relationship, discussed as a feature of beauty.

Aquinas' Three Conditions of Beauty

Integrity, harmony, and clarity.

Selem and Demut

Hebrew terms relating to humanity's creation: selem means image or representation; demut means likeness or resemblance.

Virtue

A stable habit or disposition that helps a person choose and do what is good, developed through practice and repeated cultivation of good habits.

Theological Virtues

Faith, hope, and charity (love).

Cardinal Virtues

Prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.

Eros

Passionate or romantic love.

Philia

Friendship and affection between friends or community members.

Storge

Familial love, such as the love between parents and children.

Agape

Self-giving love associated with God's love and Christian ethics; translated into Latin as caritas or charity.

Love (Aquinas)

To will the good of the other.

Right-Ordered Love

Love ordered towards God first, while also loving oneself and neighbours as beloved by God.

Soteria

A Greek term for salvation meaning deliverance from danger or captivity, or healing from serious illness.

Soteriology

The theological study of salvation.

Evil (Privation)

An absence or lack of good.

Sin (Hebrew Meaning)

Explained in Hebrew thought as 'missing the mark'.

Substitutionary Atonement

An account associated with St Anselm in which Christ's death is understood in relation to sin and atonement.

Horizontal Beam of the Cross

Represents Jesus' life before the cross: his commitment to God's Kingdom, openness to God, trust in divine life, and hunger for righteousness.

Vertical Beam of the Cross

Represents Jesus' risen life beyond the cross, indicating that crucified love is not defeated or contained by death.

Cruciform Shape of Salvation

Salvation understood through the unity of Jesus' life, crucifixion, and resurrection, revealing divine love and confronting evil.

Labarum

The imperial battle standard associated with Constantine, which used the cross/Chi-Rho as a sign of victory.

Christus Patiens

The suffering Christ; associated with growing prominence in thirteenth-century Western crucifix imagery such as Giunta Pisano.