Hagood Midterm

This set of books contains stories of prehistory and of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Pentateuch

1 and 2 Samuel

Historical Books

These books address the ways that God works in individuals' everyday lives.

Wisdom Book

Genesis

Prophetic

This set of books includes, generally, reminders to the Chosen People to change their behavior when they strayed from the covenant with God.

Prophetic

Isaiah

Prophetic Books

These books describe how God remained faithful to the covenant and how the Israelites struggled to live according to the Law through time.

Historical

This set of books contains the story of the Exodus and the Law.

Pentateuch

Proverbs

wisdom

These books contain the words that God sent to his people through particular chosen messengers.

prophetic

This set of books is our principal source for the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Gospels

Secularism

An indifference to religion and a belief that religion should be excluded from civic affairs and public education.

Theist

Someone who believes in God

atheist

A person who denies the existence of God

agnostic

one who believes that the existence of a god can be neither proven nor disproven

Natural Revelation

The process by which God makes himself known to human reason through the created world.

Bible

The holy book of Christians.

Doctor of the Church

A church writer of great learning and holiness whose works the church has highly recommended for studying and living the faith.

Holy Trinity

The central mystery of the Christian faith; there are Three Divine Persons in one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Salvation History

The story of God's saving action in human history

Polytheism

belief in more than one god

Monotheism

Belief in one God

Idolatry

excessive or blind adoration; worship of an object or idol

Covenant

A solemn agreement between human beings or between God and a human being in which mutual commitments are made.

Incarnation

a person who embodies in the flesh a deity, spirit, or abstract quality.

christ

Anointed one

Messiah

Ressurection

The rising of Jesus from the dead on the third day after his Death on the cross. Jesus was able to conquer death because he is God.

Pentecost

The fiftieth day following Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the early Apostles and disciples.

Deposit of Faith

The heritage of faith contained in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition

Sacred Scripture

The inspired Word of God; the written record of God's Revelation.

Sacred Tradition

The living transmission of the Church's Gospel message found in the Church's teaching, life, and worship

New Testament

The second part of the Christian Bible, containing descriptions of the life and teachings of Jesus and of his early followers

Bishop

A church official who leads a large group of Christians in a particular region

Magisterium

The official teaching authority of the church

Faith

Belief in God

Vulgate

St. Jerome's fifth-century Latin translation of the Bible into the common language of the people of his day

Dead Sea Scrolls

writings by Jews who lived about 2,000 years ago

Canon

The official list of inspired books of the Bible

Septuagint

Greek translation of the Old Testament

Apocrypha

A word that means "hidden." The term describes the extra section of Protestant Bibles where the additional Old Testament books of the Greek Septuagint from Catholic Bibles are placed.

Second Vatican Council

A conference of bishops from around the world called by St. John XXIII to consider the Church in the modern world. It took place from 1962 to 1965.

exegesis

The process used by scholars to discover the meaning of the biblical text

literary genre

A type of writing that has a particular form, style, or content

Literal Sense

A form of biblical interpretation that considers the explicit meaning of the text. It lays the foundation for all other senses of the Scriptures.

oral tradition

Literature that passes by word of mouth from one generation to the next.

Parable

A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson

Ark of the Covenant

A sacred chest that housed the tablets of the Ten Commandments. It was placed within the sanctuary where God would come and dwell.

scribe

A professional writer

Evangelist

one who proclaims in word and deed the Good News of Jesus Christ

Gentile

Non-Jew

Exodus

A mass departure

Sacrament

one of the Christian ceremonies in which God's grace is transmitted to people

Liturgy of the Hours

Also known as the Divine Office, the official, public, daily prayer of the Catholic Church. The Divine Office provides standard prayers, Scripture readings, and reflections at regular hours throughout the day.

Liturgy

the official public worship of the Church

Lectio Divina

Divine reading

Church Fathers

Teachers and writers in the early Church, many of whom were bishops, whose teachings are a witness to the Apostolic Tradition.

Law

A body of enforceable rules governing relationships among individuals and between individuals and their society.

apocalyptic

prophetic; pertaining to revelations especially of disaster; N. apocalypse

gospel

Means "good news"

galilee

A large region in the north of the modern nation of Israel, north of Samaria at the time of Jesus.

Kerygma

A form of preaching used in the early Church that presumed an audience of unbelievers

didache

A word that means "teaching" that described oral teaching to those who had already accepted Jesus.

epistle

a letter or literary composition in letter form

Catholic

universal

YHWH

A name for God that God himself revealed to Moses and the Chosen People on Mount Sinai. The word means "I Am Who Am" and led to Israel's understanding that God is the one, living, and true God.

Elohim

A common Semitic word for God used in the Bible.

Original Holiness and Justice

the state of man and woman before sin

devil

The name for a fallen angel who refused to accept God or his Kingdom

free will

God's gift to human beings of the freedom and ability to choose what to do

Original Sin

The first sin committed by the first human beings

fall

the shortened term for the fall of humans from original holiness and justice

Provangelium

first gospel

Patriarch

the male head of a family or tribe

Circumcision

The surgical removal of the male foreskin; it was the physical sign of the covenant between God and Abraham.

Hebrews

Early group of people who lived in lands between Mesopotamia and Egypt. They developed the religion Judaism.

Jews

The term for people who lived or were born in ancient Judea.

Adonai

Hebrew name for God

Passover

twelve The night the Lord passed over the houses of the Israelites marked by the blood of the lamb, and spared the firstborn sons from death. It also is the feast that celebrates the deliverance of the Chosen People from bondage in Egypt and the Exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land.

Twelve Tribes of Israel

The name for the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob

Sinai Covenant

The covenant God made with his Chosen People through Moses on Mount Sinai

Ten Commandments

A set of laws for responsible behavior, which, according to the Bible, were given to Moses by God.

Tabernacle

The portable sanctuary in which the Jews carried the Ark of the Covenant throughout their travels in the desert.

Messiah

Anointed one

Kingdom of Judah

The name of the southern kingdom after the splitting of the monarchy. It included the territory originally belonging to just two of the twelve tribes, Judah and Benjamin.

kingdom of israel

The name of the northern kingdom that split with Judah after the death of Solomon

Lost Tribes of Israel

The ten tribes of the northern kingdom who disappeared from history after being enslaved and exiled by the Assyrians.

sabbath

a holy day for rest and worship

Synagogue

Jewish house of worship

Samaritans

Descendants of a mixed population of Israelites who survived the Assyrian deportations and various pagan settlers imported after the northern kingdom fell.

Rabbi

A highly respected teacher of Jewish law or theology

hellenism

the diffusion of Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean world after the conquest of Alexander the Great

Hanukkah

(Judaism) an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem in 165 BC

Hasmonean Dynasty

Descendants of the Maccabees who ruled in Judea after the ousting of the last of the Syrians in 141 BC until the establishment of Roman authority in 63 BC.

Religion

the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.

Divine Revelation

God making himself known to us

Logos

an appeal based on logic or reason

Apostolic Tradition

The passing on of the Faith of the Apostles to each generation.

Dogmas

Central truths of Revelation that Catholics are obliged to believe

catechism

a summary of the principles of Christian religion in the form of questions and answers, used for the instruction of Christians