Christian Beliefs and History Midterm

The main focus of the Athanasian Creed is…

The faith of Christians in a single God who exists in three distinct persons

The Greek word ekklesia means…

A gathering of persons, and also the place within which they gathered; A civic association with a specific focus

Baptism (in addition to the symbolism of death and resurrection) in the early church was understood to represent…

The people that could enter life in the spiritual kingdom by faith in Jesus as Lord and witness to that faith by baptism

Of the three creeds read in this class, this was the first creed to be widely recognized in the church…

the Apostles creed

A disciple in the biblical context is…

a follower of a Rabbi who is seeking transformation into the image of the master

The Apostles’ Creed supported which doctrine of the Chruch?

The doctrine of the trinity, while also summarizing the core beliefs of the early church.

What were the different sects of the Jews in Palestine during the time of Jesus?

Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, and Essenes

Jesus’ specially elected disciples (as distinguished from his followers) would eventually be given the title “apostle”. What does that mean?

An apostle means “sent one”, but also implies that the one being sent carries the authority of the one who sends them

What is the document clause of the new covenant in Christ’s blood?

communion/Lord’s Supper/Eucharist

what was the focus of the first messages of Jesus’ early ministry?

the Kingdom of God

What is an apologetic?

Providing a defense of the truthfulness of the Christian faith for the purpose of convincing unbelievers

In the ancient world, what did the word “Testament” mean?

covenant

Systematic theology is…

any study that answers the question, “what does the whole Bible teach us today about any given topic.”

What is the apocrypha?

non-cannon books, uninspired books

The employment of human reason must be avoided when studying scripture

false

What is a presupposition?

an assumption that is a preconceived notion about what you’re going to find

Philosophical theology is?

Studying theological topics, largely without the use of the Bible, but using the tools and methods of philosophical reasoning and what can be known about God from observing the universe

What is a doctrine?

what the whole Bible says about a specific topic

Historical theology is?

a historical study of how Christians across time have understood various theological topics

What is allegorical interpretation, and who is the most famous ancient proponent of this method?

a story that has deeper meaning (the Holy Spirit will take you through a deeper understanding) - Origen

What is meant in the Apostle’s creed by the term, “the holy catholic Church”

universal church

What is scripture?

the old and new testament together within a single Bible

By Paul writing to Timothy that, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” Paul is affirming that Scripture claims…

to be God breathed, literally the word of God

What is the typical, Evangelical understanding of the “Authority of Scripture”?

it’s authoritative, meaning to disobey or disbelieve scripture is to disobey or disbelieve God

What is neo-orthodoxy, as it is attributed to Karl Barth?

Karl Barth believed that people came to know God through scripture, and scripture is authoritative, this it was not inherently words of God. They became the words of God through its relational power

What does the inerrancy of Scripture mean?

doesn’t affirm anything that isn’t true (the meaning of the context, not grammar related)

What does pluralism teach?

a postmodern view that asserts that one cannot know any absolute truth

Why can the self-attesting authority of scripture (which is a circular argument) be an acceptable position?

because is the scriptures claim to be the word of God, then they can attest to themselves. This can be a legitimate claim because Jesus claims “The Father who sent me bears witness about me.”

Does the fact that Scripture is authoritative mean that God dictated every word to the writers in a word-for-word manner?

No, it just means the scriptures are divinely inspired. He allowed them to use their own words, style, and personality

What does Grudem mean when he says that Scripture is necessary?

he means it’s necessary for the knowledge of the Gospel, maintaining spiritual life, and certainty of God’s will

The clarity of scripture means that scripture…

the average person can understand it, but there are caveats. Willingness to obey and the Holy Spirit help the process

What does universalism teach?

all people that have ever lived will be saved and make it into Heaven

General revelation is…

The knowledge of God’s existence, character, and moral law which comes through creation to all humanity

Special revelation

God’s word addressed to specific people about specific circumstances

What is Postmortem Evangelism?

after you die, you can have people evangelize to you, and you get another chance to be saved

What does it mean that scripture is sufficient?

there was never a time where people didn’t have enough scripture

Christians are to add nothing to scripture, and we are to consider no other writings or teachings equal to scripture

true

The will of God is most often revealed through scripture

true

What is omnipresence?

everywhere all at once

What two groups of leaders did the apostle Paul set in place at the churches he planted during his missionary journeys?

Elders and Deacons

What are communicable attributes?

the character traits of God that humans can share or reflect in some way

This doctrine, more than any other teaching, is responsible for many Christians branding Origen as a heretic

his allegorical interpretation of Scripture

What does perfection mean when it is attributed to God? What does it mean when it is called for by God within humanity?

God is sinless, Holy, incapable of having flaws, wholly fulfills all of his traits

Perfection for humanity is becoming what we were intended to be

Can one say they know God even if they do not know him exhaustively?

Yes. We as humans will never be able to fully understand God or know God. There are some things He keeps intentionally hidden from us.

These two early Christian teachers began to engage the philosophy of the pagan world, and show that the true philosophy was to be found within Christianity…

Origen and Clement of Alexandria

What are incommunicable attributes?

cannot be fully communicated or understood (God withholds or only partially shares about his character)

What is omnipotence?

all-powerful

The practice of elevating a single leader within a church to the title of Bishop who was supported by a group of elders and a group of deacons did not begin until the second century, with Alexandria not implementing the system until roughly 180 A.D.

true

What is immutability?

Immutability means incapable of changing or being changed. Also known as unchangeableness

These two Church leaders in Rome argued about whether or not to remain faithful to the old tradition of refusing the forgiveness of certain sins or choosing to forgive them from within a sacramental rite called penance

Cornelius and Novatian

Origen believed there were three levels of meaning in scripture

literal sense, allegorical, moral sense

How does infinity differ from eternity?

Eternity has a start point but no end point. Infinity has always been, with not starting point and no end point.

What is omniscience?

all-knowing

This theologian was the first to put forth “the whole intellectual framework of the Christian faith.” What would we call this systematic theology?

Origen: Systematic theology

What is aseity?

the free nature of God, he is completely independent of everything

The early church held that these three sins could not be forgiven within the church, though God could choose to forgive them Himself. If guilty of these sins, the sinner must be placed outside the Church (excommunicated), and could not participate in the Lord’s supper.

Adultery, murder, and apostacy

How can God be present in Hell?

through justice and judgement 

The acceptance of Christianity by this Roman Emperor marked the end of “catholic Christianity”, and began the era of “Christian Empire”, or “Christendom”

Constantine

What is pantheism?

the belief that the universe is God or parts of God

What is meant by “only begotten” if both the New testament and Tanakh references are taken into consideration?

unique, and one of a kind

To the early church, the word “person” did not mean a distinct human being, but a mask, worn, not to hide the individual, but to show their true character

true

What does homoiousios mean?

Greek word meaning “of similar nature”, which was used by Arius in the 4th century to affirm that Christ was a supernatural heavenly being, but not of the same nature as God the Father

What is creation ex nihilo?

creation from nothing

What is tritheism?

the belief that there are three distinct gods

What is materialism?

matter is all that there is

In theological terms, what is meant by subordination?

A heretical teaching that the Son was inferior or subordinate in being to God the Father. Also called ontological subordination

What does homoousios mean?

A Greek word meaning “of the same nature”, which was included in Nicene Creed to teach that Christ was of the exact same nature as God the Father and, therefore, was fully divine as well as fully human

What is macroevolution?

The “general theory of evolution”, or the view that non-living substance gave rise to the first living material, which then reproduced and diversified to produce all living things that now exist or ever existed in the past

What is modalism?

one person thats does three jobs (three different modes)

What is theistic evolution?

The theory that God used the process of evolution to bring about all the life forms on earth

Natural selection is…

survival of the fittest (you’re not gonna make it if you don’t fit your environment).

What is Arianism?

The erroneous doctrine of Arius that denies the full deity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit

Deism is…

the belief that God created everything but doesn’t interact with us

What is microevolution?

The view that small developments occur within individual species without creating any new species

What is the teleological argument?

the entire universe is too perfect for there not to be a creator (fine-tuning argument)

What is the ontological argument?

The argument for the existence of God that is based upon reason rather than on observation. It assumes a designer who is greater than any created being can fully perceive

What is Calvinism?

Created by John Calvin, the idea that God predetermines all things that are to come to pass

What is prayer?

personal communication with God

What is free will from the high calvinist tradition?

humans can make choices, but they are fully predetermined beforehand

What is free will from within the Arminian tradition?

The God-given ability to choose for or against Him

Who is the mediator from within a Christian context?

Jesus

What is compatibilism?

Grudem calls it “Reformed view of Providence”. The notion that a wholly determined existence can still render a person free because they are free to choose what is consistent with their nature as it is created. They are free to be what they are, and to choose what they desire

What is Arminianism?

a theological tradition that states God has rendered a person capable of making a decision to follow him

What is Supralapsarianism

A theological doctrine that states that God chose to elect some people for salvation and some people for reprobation before the creation of the world, and that He preordained the fall to happen as part of his plan

What is molinism?

the viewpoint that future choices of people are not directly determined by God, but God knows them anyway, because he knows how each free creature would respond in any set of circumstances that might occur. Also called middle knowledge.

What are the reasons Grudem gives for prayer?

shows our trust in God, share in His work, obey His commands, and grow closer to Him

How does Grudem describe what it means to be Reformed?

calvinist

What is a more historically accurate description of the label “reformed” than the one provided by Grudem?

anyone that adheres to the teachings of Augustine in some form

Is it wrong to pray to Jesus and the Holy Spirit instead of God the Father?

you can pray to anyone in the trinity

What is meditative prayer?

communication with God on a specific topic with the intention of seeking understanding and a depth of wisdom and knowledge

What does it mean to pray “in Jesus’ name”?

pray according to his authority, character, and in his presence

What are counterfactuals?

statements about what would happen is something that didn’t happen were true

Regarding prayer, these are considerations that need to be taken into account

heart attitude, faith, motives, alignment with God’s will, persistence, and dependence on the Holy Spirit

Does God leave some prayers unanswered?

Some traditions interpret responses that are not fulfillments as being non-answers. Other traditions interpret all responses (such as “wait”, “you don’t need to know”, etc.) as answers.

What is contemplative prayer?

silence, waiting for the Holy Spirit to speak

What is infralapsarianism?

The doctrine that God foresaw and permitted the fall of humanity and that after the fall he then decreed election as a means of saving some of the human race

What is a religious icon according to the Orthodox Church?

religious images meant to represent a likeness, not to represent substance of the image (not meant to be worshipped)

Define Complementarian

Men and women have complementary roles

According to Grudem, what is the Image of God? (Imago Dei)

The nature of humanity, such that we are like God and represent him

What Pope intensified the focus in the western Church on penance, the intercession of the saints, and the use of holy relics?

Gregory the Great