Theology 109 Williams Final

The relationship between Scripture and Tradition

• Tradition includes things like canonicity and biblical interpretation that are not explicitly taught in Scripture.

• This connects back to the sources of Catholic theology that we discussed at the beginning of the course.

• Scripture and Tradition are reflections of each other

Sola Scriptura

The Protestant approach claiming Scripture is the only infallible authority, which differs from the Catholic view that treats Scripture and Tradition as reflections of each other

The Canon

• An authoritative list of books in the Old and New Testament.

• Each went through a brief account of “how we got the Bible” and started with the Old Testament and moved to the New Testament.

• The New Testament served as the main focus.

New Testament Formation

Originally, books like St. Paul’s letters circulated individually to specific communities; the complete collection did not arise until later

St. Irenaeus

attests to the fact that the four canonical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) in the second century. Christians had a solid idea about the life of Jesus and wanted to exclude books that were written late.

What is 2 Timothy 3:16-17 referring to when it says “Scripture”?

The Old Testament

What was Revelation 22:18-19 referring to when it says “this book”?

Often mistaken as the whole Bible, but really means The Book of Revelation

Which testament do passages like 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and Revelation 22:18-19 assume?

the Old one

Why is the canon not originally found listed in the early church?

• because they only had access to books on an individual basis and used the Old Testament as their Bible

• in other words, is an item of Tradition. The collection of books into the New Testament happens over time

Marcion

• a major reason why the canon was required.

• He wanted to remove all hints of Judaism from the Bible and made his own canonical list to impose this on the church.

• Christians responded by starting to write canonical lists in the late second century and beyond.

The authorship of scripture

• 2 Timothy 3:16-17 uses the term “God-breathed” or “inspiration,” which is the claim that God is the primary author of Scripture.

• Scripture has both divine and human authors.

• God is the primary author

• The human author is not possessed or taken over by God. He or she is “inspired” in that God speaks through the individual’s culture, language, and writing style to communicate the plan of salvation.

Burning Bush Analogy

Describes authorship where God (the fire) speaks through the human (the bush) without destroying the human's individuality

Textual Criticism

The process of comparing various manuscripts to determine the most original reading of a text

Why couldn’t the New Testament be be fundamentally corrupted?

• Because of how the New Testament books spread, no government or person ever had complete control over the Bible and therefore the doctrines of early Christianity.

• The New Testament could not be fundamentally corrupted at the Council of Nicaea or Constantine, for example, because there were Greek copies and translations that were far outside of the Roman Empire or hidden away

Best Attested Work of Antiquity

The New Testament

• This does not mean that the New Testament is true (a matter of faith); it is that we have a better idea about what the original text said than any other work from the ancient world: such as Homer’s works.

What are two of the earliest copies of the Bible (as an entire book)?

Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, dating to the fourth century

Abba

• Aramaic word meaning father or dad.

• It reflects the personal relationship between God and Jesus.

John 1:1

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

• Relation (with God) and Essence (was God).

• Noted the Jehovah’s Witness Bible that alters the text from the Gospel of John to make the Word “a god,” not “God.”

John 10:30

Jesus prays to the Father (relation) and states that “I and the Father are one” (essence)

Matthew 3:17

Jesus was baptized, and God says, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Logos

• Word = Logos and was a term in Greek philosophy to describe Reason or the logical structure of reality (wisdom).

• The Christian claim is that this Logos becomes a human being in Jesus of Nazareth.

Council of Nicaea (325 AD)

• Constantine legalized Christianity but did not make it the official religion of the Roman Empire.

• The Church has had many councils, synods, meetings, etc. The Council of Nicaea (325 AD) is the most important in that it set the tone for future meetings of Christian bishops.

• Adapted the orthodox position

• *No one at Nicaea thought Jesus was just human. In fact, this counters the myth that this council decided that Jesus was divine.

Arius/Arianism

• This person (and view) was a direct competitor to the orthodox position (the view adopted by Nicaea).

• It held that Jesus is neither God nor human, he is the most powerful creation of God, a super-angel.

• Arian views were condemned because it erases his humanity.

• The Arian view is not fundamentally different from the cultural religious context of the time that included things like Demigods (Hercules). Demigods are 50% human and 50% divine.

Orthodox Position

• The affirmation that Jesus was 100% God and 100% human.

• Jesus is God (shares the same essence) and is therefore a divine person. In this way, Christians can worship Jesus while remaining faithful to their commitment to monotheism.

• adapted by Nicaea

Trinitarian Theology

This doctrine offers a condensed explanation about why Christians can worship Jesus and remain faithful to the essential monotheism they inherit from Judaism.

Biblical Origins of Trinitarian Theology

• Matthew 28 (and other texts), explicitly place Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together. The exact nature of their relationship is not hashed out in the New Testament.

• In other words, the word “Trinity” is a product of subsequent theological reflection and is not in the Bible as an explicit teaching. Yet, most Christians affirm it as an essential teaching.

Poetic Theology

Hymns and Christian poems also affirm the doctrine of the Trinity throughout the second-fourth centuries. This shows that it was an organic aspect of Christian devotion

The Trinity

• Father, Son, Holy Spirit

• The persons of the Trinity have the same essence (God) but are not the same as one another, nor are they divided.

• Jesus is the incarnate Son, the second person of the Trinity. He takes a human nature and lives a perfect life.

• Complements the New Testament’s assertion that Jesus preexisted his earthly life.

Incarnation

taking on flesh---meat

Trinity as LOVE

• For Christians, God = love. The form of this love is expressed by the doctrine of the Trinity in that the cosmos is defined by it.

• Love is not egoistic, it is fundamentally communal.

St. Augustine of Hippo’s psychological Trinity

• He called it a sketch

• Love is structured into the Trinitarian image in the human mind. We have a self-relation but are also built to have community with others.

The Church

• (1) the institutional Church

• (2) the mystical body of Christ.

• Both meanings are affirmed by the Catholic Church and explain the Church’s purpose in the world.

Mystical Body of Christ

represents the spiritual, invisible reality of the Church that unifies all Christians across the world.

• The relationship between different Christians in the world.

• The distinction between the visible and invisible Church helps Christians account for the fact that not everyone sitting in physical churches is a good faith believer or is someone whose life reflections their faith.

• Acts 9 (“why do you persecute me”)

• Matthew 25 (“What you have done for the least of these, you have also done for me.”)

Institutional Church

The physical reality of the Church, including clergy, buildings, and administrative structures

The Clergy

• Lay Person

• (Deacon)

• Priest (perform sacraments and facilitate the day to day work of the Church)

• Bishop(perform sacraments and facilitate the day to day work of the Church)

• Cardinal (Advise and elect the Pope)

• Pope (Head of the Church + Bishop of Rome)

Vicar of Christ

A title for the Pope (the Bishop of Rome), identifying him as the representative of Christ on earth

Parish

Churches and their surrounding territory

Diocese

Larger land areas that contain parishes and are led by a bishop

Parish and Diocese boundaries

Land is divided up into different sections to help designate areas of responsibility and moral obligation. An analogy to help understand this idea is to think about states and counties in the American government

Worship (Worthship)

Worship is a word that has changed meaning over time. It is derived from Old English term Worthship, which indicated a recognition of worth or honor in a person, place, or deity

Where do sacraments come from?

Comes from the person of Christ, not from the holiness of the individual performing the ritual

Baptism

• a ritual of initiation

• Water is required, but the Catholic Church does not require certain kinds of water delivery, incl. sprinkling, pouring, dunking.

• Baptism requires a Trinitarian formula

Trinitarian formula

“I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

Who is the “I” of the sacrament?

• Jesus

• The power of the sacrament is not from the individual performing the ritual but the person of Christ

Matter and Form

The indispensable physical elements (e.g., water) and specific words required for a sacrament to be valid

Mass

• Mass = Liturgy = Catholic worship service

• Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist o Scripture and Eucharist

• This structure goes back to the earliest forms of Christian worship

• The Mass involves the offering of bread and wine that God returns to human beings transformed (real presence of the Eucharist). Humans, in response, give this elevated sacrifice back to God (return gift)

• Christ is not “re-sacrificed” at Mass, he is “re-presented.”

Worship vs. Honor

In the Catholic faith, honor is given to a whole host of different figures, from Mary and the saints to statues and places of significance. This even includes things like prayer and bowing. However, worship is only given to God in the form of sacrifice (Eucharist).

Real Presence (Eucharist)

The belief that bread and wine are transformed; Christ is not "re-sacrificed" but "re-presented" at every Mass

What is the remarkable aspect of Aramaic words in the New Testament?

Aramaic words like Abba is that they preserve the actual voice of Jesus in a text that was otherwise written in Greek

What problem does the doctrine of the Trinity solve for Christian theology? (Short Answer)

The trinity explains how Jesus is God in essence. This fixes the problem of going against monotheism by having more than one God.

Based on passages like 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and Revelation 22:18-19, what role does tradition play in regard to Scripture? (Short Answer)

The canon of scripture is an item of tradition. Tradition is needed in order to identify which books are sacred.

What was the true debate at the Council of Nicaea? (Short Answer)

The Council of Nicaea debating whether Jesus was divine or not was a myth. They instead debated how he is divine, concluding that he is 100% human and 100% God.

What does it mean to say that the New Testament is the best attested work from antiquity? (Short Answer)

The New Testament books could not be corrupted or controlled because of how much they spread. Because of this, we have a better understanding of what the original text said more than other works.

The definition of the English word “Worship” has changed meaning over time. Why is this change important for Catholic theology? (Short Answer)

Worship comes from the Old English word of Worthship, which is the recognizing of worth or honor in a person. This change is important in order to clarify that the worship is directed toward God.

What is the Incarnation? (Short Answer)

The incarnation is when Jesus took on human nature, flesh, and body. This meant that he was also subject to death and was an infant.

What is the Vicar of Christ? (Short Answer)

The Vicar of Christ is a title given to the Pope as a representative of the Church. He acts as a steward that holds the keys for Jesus.

What is the power behind sacraments? (Short Answer)

The power behind sacraments comes from Christ through others. Grace is delivered through sacraments if through the correct matter and form.

Who did the first Christians realize that Jesus was, and what did they do as a result? (Chapter 2)

“Once they clearly understood that Jesus was Yahweh moving among his people, that he was, the very Word of God made flesh, the first Christians were keenly interested in remembering, understanding, and propagating Jesus’s teachings”

How is Jesus being compared to Moses during the Sermon on the Mount? (Chapter 2)

“Therefore Jesus is being presented here as the new Moses who will promulgate from the Galilean mountain the definitive law”

What is the relationship between The Beatitudes and law? (Chapter 2)

“Law was not the enemy of freedom but precisely the condition for its possibility. - Therefore in this more biblical way of looking at things joy ‘beatitudes is the consequence and not the enemy of law”

What are all the positives of The Beatitudes? (Chapter 2)

• “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy”

• “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God”

• “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied”

• “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God”

What are all the negatives of The Beatitudes? (Chapter 2)

• “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven”

• “Blessed are the poor spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven”

• “Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted”

• Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the land”

What is said to be the path to nonviolence? (Chapter 2)

“To the person who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other one as well”

What are the first and second commandments? (Chapter 2)

• “You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment”

• The second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself”

What are the Beatitudes? (Chapter 2)

"Beatitudes are the blueprint for joy; Jesus is the beatitudes in living form"

What is the nature of the Church? (Chapter 6)

“the Church is not merely a human organization, simply a coming together of like-minded people, a community of purely worldly provenance and purpose. Rather, the Church is a sacrament of Jesus and, as such, shares in the very being, life, and energy of Christ”

What is the Son described as in the Basilica of San Clemente? (Chapter 6)

“the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible… He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the Church”

How did God shape the family of Abraham, and what was the distinctiveness of Israel? (Chapter 6)

“God gathered in the family of Abraham and shaped them according to his own heart, giving him laws, covenants and rituals that would unite them in love and hence make them pleasing to God and attractive to the nations… the distinctiveness of Israel was, therefore, not against the world but precisely for the world”

Ekklesia: Who does the calling? (Chapter 6)

“Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God”

Ekklesia: What is one being called from? (Chapter 6)

“When the Israelites returned from exile, they endeavored, under the leadership of Nehemiah, to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem…. And when the walls were restored, Ezra the priest read to people from the Torah and compelled them, over the course of an entire day, to listen… in order to realize its purpose, Israel has to maintain its distinctiveness”

Ekklesia: What is one being called to? (Chapter 6)

“And Paul spoke of those values that he had learned from Polish literature and from the treasures of the Catholic tradition; he spoke of God and creation, of the human being made in the image of God, of Jesus Christ and his redeeming cross, of the promise of eternal life… At that moment, the life, long preserved during dark and dangerous years, came flooding out. And John Paul’s words served as a clarion call to the armies of people… whom he had shaped”

What is the story of the blind man, Bartimaeus? (Chapter 6)

“The Lord asks what he can do for the blind man, and Bartimaeus responds, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ And after Jesus cured him, Bartimaeus ‘followed him on the way'"

What is the early Christian Church referred to as? (Chapter 6)

“‘the way,’ a term that catches this practical, embodied dimension of Catholic life”

What did Jesus pray for at the last supper? (Chapter 6)

“on the last night of his life on earth, while sitting at supper with his disciples, the core of the Church, Jesus prayed, ‘I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one’”

How are we united with the body of Christ? (Chapter 6)

“We are one in that we participate together in common worship and in common means of accessing the divine life. We are united, too, in our commitment to our brothers and sisters through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. And finally, we are one through our shared structure of order, which comes from the apostles”

What in human culture reflects Jesus? (Chapter 6)

“whatever is true, whatever is good, and whatever is beautiful in nature or in human culture participates in him, reflects him, and finally leads back to him”

Why is the Church considered healthy? (Chapter 6)

“Two clear indications of disease within an organism are precisely the incapacity to assimilate and the incapacity to resist, and therefore the Church remains healthy in the measure that is organic and assimilating in its unity”

What was the genius of the Pantheon, the Church of Santa Maria Rotonda? (Chapter 6)

“it assimilated the building to its purposes, transforming it, almost unchanged, into a place of Christian worship”

What did Therese of Lisieux say was the noblest part of the Church, and what would happen without it? (Chapter 6)

“If the Church was a body composed of different members, it couldn’t lack the noblest of all; it must have a Heart, and a Heart BURNING WITH LOVE. And I realized that this love alone was the true motive force which enabled the other members of the Church to act; if it ceased to function, the Apostles would forget to preach the Gospel, the martyrs would refuse to shed their blood”

What is holiness? (Chapter 6)

“the integration that results from placing God unambiguously at the center of one’s concern.. or, to shift the metaphor, it is the suffusing of the entire self with love of God”

What does Catholic mean? (Chapter 6)

“The word ‘Catholic’ comes from the Greek terms kata holos (according to the whole) and thus designates both the internal integrity of the Church and its universal outreach”

How to respond to objections regarding intolerance? (Chapter 6)

“by showing how the many faiths, religions, and philosophies do, in fact, to varying degrees, already participate in the fullness of Christ’s gifts and are hence implicitly related to the Catholic Church”

Why is the Church Apostolic? (Chapter 6)

“Christianity is not a philosophy or a universal mysticism; it is first, a relationship with Jesus of Nazareth, this particular first-century Jew from Galilee. And that is why it is a religion that is rooted in the faith of those apostles who knew him best and who apprenticed to his way”

What is Apostolic Succession? (Chapter 6)

• “the apostolicity of the Church is our guarantee that we are, despite many developments and changed across the centuries, still preserving the faith that was first kindled in that company of Jesus’s friends”

• The Church is grounded in the revelation personally granted to a chosen few, who in turn passed it on to others and so forth”

What is Papal Infallibility (Chapter 6)

“the Pope knows who Jesus is and therefore is able to articulate correctly those doctoral and moral teachings that flow from the knowledge”

Latria

The highest form of honor, reserved for God alone (Sacrifice)

Hyperdulia

Special honor given to Mary

Dulia

Honor or respect given to Saints and others

Based on what we discussed in class, can you please describe the textual preservation of the New Testament? (Essay Paragraph 1)

Paragraph 1 - What is it?

• (What is it?) The New Testament is made up of books that explain how we got the Bible.

• (The books/St. Paul) These books had originally circulated individually, especially St. Paul’s letters.

• (Why ^) This is because each book was written for a specific purpose or community.

• (The books → NT) The collecting of these books into the New Testament happened over time.

Based on what we discussed in class, can you please describe the textual preservation of the New Testament? (Essay Paragraph 2)

Paragraph 2 - Canon/Textual Criticism

• (Define Canon) The Canon is an authoritative list of books in the Old and New Testament.

• (Canon → Textual Criticism) In order for a book to be “canon,” it had to go through textual criticism.

• (Define Textual Criticism) Textual criticism is the process of comparing manuscripts to find the most original one.

• (Why ^ / Maricon) This had to be done in order to avoid corruption from people like Maricon, who was a major reason of the Canon in the first place.

Based on what we discussed in class, can you please describe the textual preservation of the New Testament? (Essay Paragraph 3)

Paragraph 3 - Answer Question

• (Why not corrupted?) Because of how the New Testament books had spread, no government or person could ever truly corrupt or control them.

• (Example/Nicaea + Constantine) For example, it couldn’t be corrupted at the Council of Nicaea or Constantine because there were copies outside of the Roman Empire.

• (=Best attested) For this reason, the New Testament is considered the best attested work from all of antiquity.

• (Explain ^) While this doesn’t prove that everything in the New Testament is true (outside of faith), it provides us with a better idea of what the original text had said.