Salvation History and Heresies

PPE SKELE

Acronym for the 8 periods of salvation history

Primeval history

First period of salvation history

Ex nihilo

Out of nothing; how God created everything that exists out of nothing

Primeval history

Stories of things that happened before recorded history

Primeval History

Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, Tower of Babel

Patriarchs and matriarchs

Second period of salvation history

Patriarchs and matriarchs

Covenant with Abraham and Sarah because most of humanity does not recognize the REAL God; descendants will inherit a Promised Land

Patriarchs and matriarchs

Abraham and Sarah experience famine, war, Sarah’s barrenness

Patriarchs and matriarchs

Abraham’s children and grandchildren, repeating crisis and faith in God

Egypt and the exodus

Third period of salvation history

Freeing of the Israelites from slavery

Egypt and the exodus

Pharaoh is hard of heart, there is a war between the gods, God (Yahweh) sends terrible plagues upon the Egyptians

Egypt and the exodus

God extends the covenant he made with Abraham to all the Israelites. Gives them the law they must keep as a sign of their commitment

Settling the promised land

Fourth period of salvation history

Settling the promised land

Moses dies before the Israelites enter the promised land. Joshua leads them into the promised land and they have to conquer many in order to get there

Settling the promised land

Israel has no earthly king and new invaders try to capture the land; a pattern develops: Israelites forget about God but then suffer at the hands of their invaders and cry to God for help; endless cycle

Kingdoms of Judah and Israel

Fifth period of salvation history

Kingdoms of Judah and Israel

Israelites want their own king; Samuel anoints Saul to be the first king of Israel

Kingdoms of Judah and Israel

Saul is killed in battle and David follows and is a mighty warrior who unites all tribes into one kingdom; his son is Solomon and Solomon builds a temple in Jerusalem, the capital city

Kingdoms of Judah and Israel

Solomon dies and there is disagreement between the tribes and so the kingdom splits into two: the kings of Israel and Judah worship many foreign gods and prophets like amos, Hosea, and Isaiah

Exile and Return

Sixth period of salvation history

Exile and Return

Israel and Judah keep turning away from the covenant and God allows their kingdoms to be conquered

Exile and Return

Assyrians conquer Israel, the Babylonians conquer Judah, and many Israelites are taken into captivity

Exile and Return

During the 50 years in exile, the Israelites rewrite much of the Scriptures. They understand their special relationship with God as not being a nation with a king, but as a people in a covenant relationship with him who offer ritual sacrifice in the temple

Exile and Return

Alexander the Great comes along and the Greeks rule over Israel; one of the governors tries to establish Greek culture in Israel and puts statues of Greek gods in their temple

Exile and Return

During this time, there is great hope for a Messiah or Savior that will make them great again

Exile and Return

Essenes, Pharisees, and the Sadducees emerge during this time and emphasize a different approach to living the Jewish faith

Life of Jesus Christ

Seventh period of salvation history

Life of Jesus Christ

When Jesus is born, the Romans rule Israel; many are hoping for a mighty warrior like David

Life of Jesus Christ

Simon Peter is designated to be the leader of the apostles

Early Christian Church

Eight period of salvation history

Early Christian Church

Concerns with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, gives the apostles the courage to tell others about Jesus

Early Christian Church

Apostles are persecuted by Jews who see them as blasphemers of the Jewish faith

Early Christian Church

Paul, one of the persecutors, has a vision and realizes that Christ came for all people and begins to preach to Gentile communities

Heresy

Belief or doctrine that is erroneous and in conflict with the truths of the Christian faith that were revealed through Sacred Scripture and Tradition

Adoptionism

Denies the preexistence of Christ; 2nd century; taught Jesus was a man, tested by God, who passes the test and was given supernatural powers and adopted by God at his baptism; Jesus was rewarded for his perfect character with his resurrection and being accepted into the godhead

Adoptionism

Theodotus of Byzantium; corrector: Pope Victor

Docetism

Coined from Greek word “dokesis” meaning “to seem”; it taught that Jesus only seemed to have a human body and appear incarnate; second century; all matter is inherently evil, and God could not take on human flesh; Jesus’ death on the cross, and resurrection is denied

Docetism

Gnostics and Gospel of Peter; corrected by Ignatius of Antioch, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, condemned at Chalcedon in 451

Apollonarianism

Denied the true and complete humanity of Jesus; fourth century; taught that he did not have a human mind, but rather, a mind that was completely divine; the heresy lessened Jesus’ humanity, in order to reconcile how he could be both human and divine

Apollonarianism

Apollonarianism, Bishop of Laodicea; corrector: council of Constantinople in 381

Arianism

Taught that Jesus was a creature, begotten of the father; only God, the father, is un-begotten and truly divine; he was too pure and perfect to appear on earth, and so created the son as his first creature, the son created the universe, God, the father then adopted the son; Jesus is worshiped because of his preeminence as the first of creation; 4th century

Arianism

Arius of Alexandria; corrected by council of Nicea in 325

Nestorianism

Taught that Mary only gave birth to Jesus as human nature; fifth century; Mary could only be called Christotokos, not theotokos; maintained Jesus was really two separate persons: only the human Jesus was born in the womb and therefore, Jesus was not incarnate in the womb of Mary

Nestorianism

Nestorius of Antioch; corrected by council of Ephesus

Monophysitism

Taught that Jesus’ humanity was absorbed by his divinity; fifth century; derived from the Greek words, mono meaning one and physis meaning nature; Jesus had only one nature, neither human or divine, but a blend of the two

Monophysitism

Eutyches of Constantinople; corrected by council of Chalcedon

Monothelitism

In response to Monophysitism, taught that Jesus had two natures, but only one will; 7th century; instead of having two cooperative wills (human and divine) Monothelitism taught that Jesus had one divine-human energia

Monothelitism

Patriarch Sergius I; corrected by 3rd council of Constantinople in 680

Words and deeds of Jesus in history

First stage of Gospel tradition

Sayings, parables, use of “Abba” in prayer

Example of first stage of Gospel Tradition

Oral preaching of the early Christian communities

Second stage of Gospel Tradition

Oral Preaching of the early Christian communities

Circulating in the community for more than 30 years before the first Gospel, Mark was composed and included hymns, liturgical formulas, doxologies, Christological Titles (son of God, son of Man, Messiah, Emmanuel, Lord)

Actual writing by evangelists

Third stage of Gospel Tradition

The Gospels come from the church, not the church from the Gospels

Important point of Gospel Tradition