Christology and Ignatian Spirituality Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes on Christology and Ignatian Spirituality.

Hellenism

Greek philosophical and cultural traditions that dominated the Mediterranean world after Alexander the Great (332 BCE).

Late Second Temple Judaism

Jewish religious context until the temple’s destruction in 70 CE.

Cosmic Christ

The early church’s understanding that the historical Jesus of Nazareth is identical to the divine Christ who created and sustains the universe.

Christological Hymns

Early Christian songs embedded in New Testament texts that predate the writings themselves. These hymns reveal that within 20 years of Jesus’ death, Christians already believed in his divinity.

Pre-existence Christology

The theological position that Christ existed before his incarnation as Jesus of Nazareth.

Logos/Dabar

Represents God’s rationality, order, and philosophical concept (Greek). God’s active, powerful word that accomplishes divine purposes (Hebrew).

Lady Wisdom (Sophia/Hokmah)

In Hebrew wisdom literature, God’s wisdom is portrayed as a feminine figure present at creation.

School of Alexandria (High Christology)

Emphasized Jesus’ divinity and divine nature; Focused on the Logos as divine wisdom entering human flesh; Stressed God becoming human (descending Christology).

School of Antioch (Low Christology)

Emphasized Jesus’ full humanity; Focused on two distinct natures: human and divine; Stressed human becoming divine (ascending Christology).

Greek Dualism

Clear distinction between material and spiritual realms; Spiritual/non-physical considered superior to material/physical; Immutable (unchanging) superior to mutable (changing).

Hebrew Holism

Human beings understood as whole persons; Radical sense of the goodness of God’s creation; Material world as realm where God is revealed and present.

Gnosticism

Heresy: Highly dualistic: material world is evil, spiritual world is good; Human beings have divine spark trapped in evil matter; Logos as mediator between God and humans, but lesser than God.

Docetism

Heresy: Jesus was not human—only appeared to be human; 100% God, 0% human; Based on principle of divine impassibility (God cannot suffer).

Adoptionism

Heresy: Jesus born fully human, not divine; God adopted Jesus at some point to carry out redemptive work; Jesus gains authority from God, not from divine nature.

Modalism

Heresy: One God that does three different things; God the Creator, God the Redeemer, God the Spirit; Not Orthodox Trinity: Trinity is one God in eternal union of three persons.

Arianism

Heresy: Jesus is divine and like God, but God created him; Logos as mediator between perfect God and changing world; Union of humanity and divinity in Jesus changed both natures.

Council of Nicaea (325 CE)

Affirmed full divinity of Jesus as Logos; Established Homo-ousios (consubstantial) language; Jesus is “of the same substance” as God the Father.

Homo-ousios

“Of the same substance”—Jesus shares the same divine nature as God the Father.

Apollinarianism

Heresy: Jesus has human body but divine soul (Logos replaces human soul).

Nestorianism

Heresy: Jesus is fully human AND fully divine, But humanity and divinity remain separate.

Monophysitism

Heresy: Jesus is fully human and fully divine, But divine nature overwhelms and absorbs human nature.

Hypostatic Union

Self-subsisting reality, unique instance of being; Divine and human hypostases merge into one person; Jesus is unique being—only one who exists as union of two hypostases.

Theotokos

“God-bearer”—the one who bears God; Affirms hypostatic union happened at conception.

Indifference

Not apathy, but availability—internal freedom to choose what best serves ultimate goals rather than immediate desires.

Satan’s Standard

Ignatius’ imaginative contemplation contrasting two ways of life, focusing on Riches → Honor → Pride and Seduction through material wealth and social status.

Christ’s Standard

Ignatius’ imaginative contemplation contrasting two ways of life, focusing on Poverty of Spirit → Insults/Contempt → Humility and Attraction through interior movement toward God.

Seduction

External force with ulterior motives, deceptive.

Attraction

Natural, interior movement toward authentic good.

Poverty of Spirit

Recognition of fundamental vulnerability and limitation; Placing trust in God rather than material securities.

Structures of Sin

Systems that appear good but contain deception.

Discernment and Election

Making life choices based on deepest desires placed by God; Distinguishing between consolation (movements toward God) and desolation (movements away from God).

Two Standards

Satan’s Way - Upward Mobility”:

• Want more money and things

• Care about status and being better than others

• Climb the social ladder

• Look down on poor people

• Compete and fight with others

• Use power to control people

• Hide the truth when it looks bad

Christ’s Way - “Downward Mobility”:

• Trust God and share what you have

• Do not care about honors or fame

• See all people as equal and important

• Help poor and outcast people

• Work together as a team

• Serve others instead of controlling them

• Tell the truth even when it is hard

Brackley says we must pick one way. Christ calls us to go down to help others, not up to get more for ourselves. This means choosing to help poor people and giving up things that make us feel better than others. The goal is to make a world where everyone has a place and it is easy to be good

New social relations

New social relations means new ways people treat each other when God’s Kingdom comes. We must be with Jesus, who is found with hungry, sick, and poor people. This means helping those who hurGod’s Kingdom brings life for all with no poverty or tears. Everyone gets what they need.bWe “opt for the poor” by standing with them. Then God’s Kingdom comes with fairness and love for all.

The Enlightenment

The Enlightenment (also called the Age of Reason) was an intellectual and cultural movement in 18th-century Europe. It emphasized reason, science, and individual rights over tradition and religious authority. Thinkers believed in progress, liberty, tolerance, and the separation of church and state. The Enlightenment’s ideas helped shape modern democracies and human rights.

How did Martin Luther interpret Jesus?

Luther saw Jesus as the Savior who brings forgiveness and salvation by grace alone, through faith. He emphasized that Jesus’ death on the cross is the main way God shows love and mercy to humanity. Luther taught that people are saved by trusting in Jesus, not by good works or human effort. He believed God is revealed most clearly in Jesus’ suffering and the message of the Gospel.

Jesus is the center of salvation, revealing God’s grace and calling people to faith.

What was Thomas Aquinas’s view on Jesus?

Aquinas taught that Jesus is both fully God and fully human.He believed Jesus became human to save people from sin and restore the human race. Jesus’ life, actions, and suffering bring salvation because his human nature is joined to God. Aquinas said the Incarnation shows how much God loves people and lets humans share in God’s divine life. He also taught that Jesus’ resurrection gives hope, proves God’s justice, and brings new life to believers

What was Duns Scotus’s view on Jesus?

Duns Scotus taught that Jesus (the Incarnation) was always part of God’s plan, even if people had never sinned. He believed Jesus is the “model and crown of creation” the main reason and goal for all that exists. For Scotus, God became human out of love, not just to fix sin. The universe was made for Christ, not the other way around. Jesus stands at the center of everything, showing God’s love and being the perfect example for all creation.

In short: Jesus would have come even if there was no sin, because God wanted to share love in the best way possible

Three Kinds of Humility

First Kind:

• Being willing to obey and not put yourself above others.

• You follow rules and accept guidance.

Second Kind:

• Choosing what is harder or less comfortable for you, to grow in love and trust in God.

• You put others’ needs before your own comfort.

Third Kind:

• Wanting to be humble so much that you even prefer being poor, insulted, or unnoticed if it brings you closer to God.

• You seek God’s will above all things, even if it means suffering or being left out.

The three kinds of humility go from basic obedience, to choosing selflessness, to loving humility so much that you prefer it over honor or comfort.

Humility

Recognition of our dependence on God. A sense that we are no more important than other people, especially those whome the world considers unimportantand embracing a posture of servitude and selflessness toward others.

False Humility

False humility can lead people to “feel themselves abandoned by God” through “such a fixation on their own moral poverty”and can prevent them from recognizing God's love and grace. It involves self-deprecation to gain sympathy rather than truly serving others.

Magnanimity

“Great-souled” - having an expansive spirit that thinks big. Being secure enough in God’s love that you can be generous and think big, instead of being stingy or small-minded. It’s the opposite of a “shrunken soul” - it’s having room in your heart to be great-hearted toward others because you know you’re loved.

Ressentiment

Ressentiment is what happens when people who feel powerless or defeated get stuck in anger and resentment instead of doing something positive about their situation. Brackley says it’s the “typical temptation of underdogs and the political left” but really anyone can fall into it when they feel beaten down. Instead of working to make things better, people with ressentiment prefer to complain, criticize, and tear things down from the outside. They’re afraid to engage constructively with opponents or institutions because deep down they doubt themselves and their abilities. It’s like being so focused on past hurts that you can’t move forward to create positive change.

The Solution: Both humility AND magnanimity needed - recognize dependence on God while affirming dignity and using gifts boldly

Saiving Pattern

Based on Valerie Saiving - women’s sin often involves self-negation rather than pride

Two-Step Pattern

1. False Humility - Denying God’s good work in us; “fear with the appearance of humility”

2. Sense of Abandonment - “Since we are evil, God has abandoned us”

Who It Affects

• Women particularly

• Those prone to self-doubt rather than arrogance

Solution

Magnanimity - healthy recognition of one’s dignity and God’s gifts

Key insight: Some people need to learn to accept their goodness, not deny it

self negation

The process of denying one's own desires, ego, or needs in order to serve others or align with God's will.

Ressentiment

Ressentiment is when people get stuck in this kind of bitterness. They feel powerless or hurt, so they start to put down the people or things that made them feel bad, instead of trying to fix things or get stronger.It’s like holding a grudge and saying, “That thing I can’t have or do isn’t good anyway!”—even if deep down, you wish you could have it.