Theology

What is Catholic Theology?

faith seeking understanding

when was the bible written?

between 900 BC and 90 AD

What are the two parts of the Christian Bible?

old and new testaments

What languages was the old testament written in?

Greek and hebrew

Is the old testament the sacred text of the jewish people today?

no, the words are the same but the context makes the books very different

What are the three sections of the Hebrew Bible?

1. law - torah/ Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
2. prophets - Nevi’im (includes history books like 1 samuel because they are written by prophets)
3. writings - ketuvim (eg. proverbs, pslams)

OVERALL: TaNaKh

What books are in the writings?

psalms, job, proverbs, ruth, daniel, chronicles

What books make up the Pentateuch?

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Numbers

What is a midrash?

Jewish word for interpretation of a scripture, plural=midrashim

What is the New Testament of a midrash of?

the old testament

What section of the old testament can Psalms be found in?

writings

What makes up the New Testament?

Gospels, Letters (Paul’s and others), Book of Revelation

Which three gospels are the synoptic gospels?

Matthew, Mark, Luke (60-70 AD)

Why are the called synoptic gospels?

meant to be seen together

what are the Johannine writtings?

John’s gospel, letters and the book of revelation (90 AD)

which were the last new testament writings to be written down?

Johannine

Which were the first Christian writings?

Paul’s letters (30s-50s)

Why are there four gospels?

we need all four perspectives


1. Matthew - very jewish
2. Mark - Jesus very secretive, does not announce that he is the Messiah
3. Luke - scholarly, academic
4. John - completely unique

What is a canon?

a group of writings that defines a religion

when a new book is added to the canon, a new religon is formed.

it is an interpretative key which operates as a principle of selection for Scripture.

What Gospel writer refers to their writing as a gospel?

Mark

What does ‘gospel mean as a literary genre? Is it unique?

it is usually a historical narrative or biography, but it is a distinct type.

What does Canonical mean?

related or according to a rule/law in the church

What happens when we add new books to a religious canon of scripture?

it changes the canon and makes a new religon

What are the three parts of the Hebrew Bible?

Torah (law), Nevi’im (prophets), Ketuvim (writings)

What does King Josiah’s reform (described in 2 KINGS 22) tell us about the dates of the canonization of the Hebrew Bible?

(need answer)

What is the date of the Babylonian exile?

597 BC

What happened to Israelite religion during the Babylonian exile and why?

It became canonized as the temple was destroyed so religion moved more towards the home as they focused on following things such as the food laws.

Persian King Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem in 538 BC. What epoch of Judaism followed after this?

s…. t….. J…..

By what date was the whole Hebrew Bible Canonical scripture?

?

What were the Qumran scrolls?

Hebrew manuscripts that were discovered between 1940 in caves. (add more what is the answer?)

What do the Qumran scrolls tell us about the existence of the Hebrew bible?

that the old testament was written by at least the 40 AD’s

What is the difference between prophecy and apocalyptic?

?

How did the Origen the great matter for biblical interpretation.

he set up tables comparing six different septugent bibles to hebrew (not that different)

\
the ot has many layers you can read it many ways.

What did Saint Jerome give Christianity?

translation of the bible into latin in the 5 century AD

What was the most sacred space for the ancient Sumerians?

the sky

What are the four key areas in Sumerian cosmology?

heaven, earth, air, and sea

What does ‘incipient monotheism’ mean?

beginning to get a hunch that there is just one god

What does monolatry theism mean?

worshipping only one god

what does monotheism mean?

believing only one God exists

When was the Gilgamesh epic written? Who is the hero? Where is it set?

written in 2100 BC (middle of the third millennium, hero = king of Uruk, set in the ancient city of Uruk. (!!)

What was the weirdest feature of the Gilgamesh epic?

Crying over the dead body till a worm falls out of his nose.

What advice does the Ale Wife give Gilgamesh?

To fully live, i.e. love of invention and admiration for those who are unabashedly competitive.

What advice does Utnaphishtim give Gilgamesh?

that there is no life after death.

How is the Gilgamesh epic different from the bible?

In Gilgamesh there is a central theme that is not at all even thought of in the bible: fertility.

What does the Christian canon look like?

OLD TESTAMENT

1\.) Genesis - numbers (torah/pentateuch) - creation and the covenant

2\.)history of israel from after the exodus to the fall of jerusalem

3\.) prophecy

NEW TESTAMENT

4\.) four gospels

5\.) paul’s letters

6\.) john’s letters and the apocalypse = the end of the world

who was Origen the great?

a scripture scholar. he wrote ‘hexapla’ = six versions of the Hebrew bible laid alongside one another, it is reader friendly comparison of different versions of the Hebrew Bible.

reading ‘according to the spirit’ means looking for its?

prophetic, symbolical, apocalyptical

What is Jerome’s bible called?

The Vulgate - the common, vulgar bible

What did we learn from Thomas Cahill about the flood story?

?

Before they used the terms ‘Old Testament’ and ‘new testament’ what did the early Christians church call them?

old covenant and new covenant

What is new with Abraham (3 novelties)

1\.) faith is possible and actually necessary because this God is the initiator, and he is unpredictable.

2\.)everything is sacred and everything is profane

3\.) since time is no longer cyclical but one way and irreversible, personal history is now possible and an individual life can have value.

What is the first covenant?

Noachic covenant with all humanity

What is the second covenant

Abrahamic covenant” god promises Abraham land descendants blessings/ shielding

Why does Exodus matter for Christians?

What does YHMH mean?

1\.) ‘i am that i am’

2\.)

3\.)

Where does the Pentateuch fit into ‘law, prophets, writings’?

?

In what way does Exodus feel different from Genesis?

?

What does Exodus tell us about the character of God?

Does Moses feel real to you, or like a sterotype?

what does Exodus tell us about good and evil?

Why did the early church imagine Jesus as a lamb?

Why was the Messiah crucified?

Martin Buber v Thoman Dozamann’s view on the Exodus story?

Dozemann: says Exodus story is a liturge

Buber:

What is the last book in the Christian bible?

‘The Johannine Writings’ which are composed of The Gospel of John, The Letters of John, Revelation (aka apocalypse)

Who did not get to enter the Promised land?

? (moses)

Explain the samuel-saul, david triangle?

Israel asks for a king ‘to be like other nation’

Saul is chosen. Samuel anoints Saul. Saul makes errors.

Prophet Samuel withdraws Saul’s mandate.

Prophet Samuel secretly anoints David.

David kills Goliath.

Saul becomes jealous of David - David the dandit, on the run from Saul.

Saul is overthrown by philistines, and David becomes King of Israel.

What parts of the bible is David traditionally responsible for?

Psalms

What does David initiate in Israel - what is David’s gift to the world?

Dynasty and succession. Innner life (gift)

Who prophesied the fall of the northern kingdom?

Amos

What is new in Amos and Hosea? Why?

Early ones who prophesized fall of north. Ezeckiel later south

What question does Judaism pose through the figure of Job?

Job becomes a symbol representation the mystery of innocents suffering the book of Job seems to question why God allows innocent suffering.

\
Job is innocent and good

god and ‘The Satan’ take a bet on Job

Job suffers

Job complains about God

Job;s friends appear

God appears: He commends Job - not the friends - for speaking well of him.

What three things made the ‘old testament’ old?

1\.) It got ‘old’ because Jesus interpreted his actions by reference to Hebrew scriptures.

2\.) Jesus is understood by the primitive Christian community as the fulfillment of scriptures.

3\.) The primitive church and early Christianity go back and finds more and more clues leading to Jesus in the Hebrew scriptures

What were some symbolic gestures

dressing like exile, walking naked for three years, marrying a prostitute.

when did Jerusalem fall?

587 fall of Jerusalem

Is entering heaven easy?

only with god, not man.

What prophetic action does jesus perform in Matthew 21?

Was jesus death inevitable

def on midterm both sides are valid just argue

what is the problem with using human words to talk about god?

Why do people hate jews?

was jesus’ death inevitable?

what does YHWH mean and what is the best translation?

what is new with abraham? Which of the three

difference of canonical and gnostic gospels?

gnostic= jesus wasnt the son

apocryphal = over the top catholic gospels; legends

Why did god create the universe according to ratzinger?

he wanted to love us

What does the fact that human beings are made from the earth imply about all human beings according to ratzinger?

we are all made from the same earth

what is the foundational of human difinity

god breathes his spirit and makes his image in us

IS the world dragons lair?

no, because it is not inevitable bad?

what is language is the ot written in

greek (septuegent 4th bc called this because it was written by 7 guys in 70 days) and hebrew (find more to say)

What was the diatessaron?

merger of the four synoptic gospel

who wrote it?

when was it written 140

it was not a success

what is henotheism

worshiping one god above other gods

what is the main criteria for the inclusion of any writting within the new testament canon?

how are we living? which books are we actaully living by? which are being used in the temple? so you know through your way of life of which books are canonized

\
was the author in a position to know jesus? (apstoles) ex mark knew peter. Matthew is matthew. Luke knew paul. John is the beloved disciple. thats how they get in. “not what you are but who you know” (eye witteness sources)

what happens when someone adds new scripture to a fixed canon of scripture

it forms into a new religon (new testament when from jewish to chrsitanity)

What tradition tellls us that mark’s gospel was written by mark and that mark knew peter in rome?

an elder told popius whose words are recordef by esedus in the 4 century AD/

how does jesus refer to the whole of scripture?

(!) road to ecumouse… after the crusification why the scriptures lead to the crusification.

other than Exodus who says YWTH

jesus

what do the

What is the most sacred space for summerians

the sky

languages in order

the covenants in order

noah (flood), abraham(jersaluem), moses(they promise to keep the comandments)

what is the new covenant

jesus dying on the cross