Exam 2 Study Guide: Biblical Characters and Schemas

Schemas

Mental models for organizing biblical texts and themes.

Self-interest schema

Judging actions based on personal benefit or harm.

Social conventional schema

Morality defined by social context and peer influence.

Post-conventional schema

Morality based on abstract principles like justice.

Character schema for God

Operates primarily from self-interest perspective.

Character schema for Eve

Self-interested, disobeys social norms, faces punishment.

Character schema for Noah

Righteousness leads to survival during the flood.

Character schema for Abraham

Self-interest and post-conventional reasoning in actions.

Character schema for Moses

Acts from self-interest and post-conventional morality.

Character schema for Pharaoh

Embodies dominant societal norms and power.

Character schema for Israelites

Self-interest leads to complaints about labor.

Primeval history

Genesis stories of the world's early years.

Creation

God creates the world and humanity.

Expulsion

Adam and Eve cast out for disobedience.

Cain and Abel

Cain murders Abel out of jealousy.

Methuselah

Oldest recorded person, lived 969 years.

Giants

Offspring of 'sons of God' and 'daughters of men.'

The Flood

God's destruction of humanity, saving Noah's family.

Tower of Babel

Story explaining the origin of different languages.

Genealogies

Trace humanity's lineage from Adam to Abraham.

Borg's primal act

Interpretation of Genesis 3's temptation story.

The Fall

Christian term for Adam and Eve's expulsion.

Disobedience

Human failure to follow God's commands.

Moral development

Growth in understanding right and wrong.

Ten Commandments

Laws in Exodus guiding moral behavior.

Social norms

Societal rules defining acceptable behavior.

Theophany

Visible manifestation of God's presence.

Moral implications of laws

Laws alone do not guarantee moral behavior.

Human problem

Disobedience to God as the core issue.