Final Exam Exhaustive Study Guide: Biblical Studies and Church History

 # Biblical Interpretation and Methodological Frameworks

• Hermeneutics: The theory and methodology of interpretation, specifically relating to the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical works. It involves understanding the principles that guide how a reader moves from the text to meaning.
• Apologetics: The religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. In a Christian context, it involves providing a reasoned defense of the faith against intellectual objections.
• Higher Criticism: A branch of literary analysis that investigates the origins of ancient texts to understand "the world behind the text." It focuses on the historical, social, and cultural contexts of the authors and original audiences.
• Eisegesis: The process of interpreting a text in such a way that the reader introduces their own presuppositions, agendas, or personal biases into the material. This is often contrasted with exegesis, which draws meaning out of the text (reading out of) rather than reading into it.
• Source Criticism: A method of biblical criticism that attempts to identify the written or oral sources used by the authors of the final biblical text (for example, the documentary hypothesis in the Pentateuch or the $\text{Q}$ source in the Gospels).
• Form Criticism: A method of analysis that classifies units of scripture by literary pattern (such as parables, miracle stories, or hymns) and attempts to trace these "forms" back to their period of oral transmission and original social setting (Sitz im Leben).
• Rhetorical Criticism: A branch of biblical scholarship that focuses on the rhetorical devices, strategies, and structures employed by the authors to persuade or effectively communicate with their specific audience.
• Dei Verbum: Translated as "The Word of God," this is the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, one of the primary documents issued by the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II). It addresses the relationship between tradition, scripture, and the teaching authority of the Church.
• The Senses of Scripture: A four-fold method of interpretation developed in the Patristic and Medieval periods:     - Literal Sense: The plain meaning of the words as discovered through exegesis.     - Allegorical Sense: Understanding events by recognizing their significance in Christ (e.g., the Crossing of the Red Sea as a type of Baptism).     - Moral Sense: How the events of Scripture should lead the believer to act justly (tropeological).     - Anagogical Sense: Viewing realities and events in terms of their eternal significance, leading the believer toward their heavenly home.

The Gospels and the Synoptic Problem

• The Synoptic Problem: The scholarly investigation into the literary relationship between the three "Synoptic" Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), which share many of the same stories, often in the same sequence and with similar wording. The central question is who wrote first and who copied from whom.
• The Q Source: Derived from the German word Quelle (meaning "source"), this is a hypothetical written collection of Jesus' sayings that scholars believe served as a common source for Matthew and Luke, alongside the Gospel of Mark.
• The Four-Fold Gospel: The acknowledgement of exactly four canonical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) as the authoritative testimony to the life of Jesus, a concept solidified by Irenaeus of Lyons in the second century.
• The Historical Jesus: The academic effort to reconstruct the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth using historical-critical methods, distinguishing the "Jesus of history" from the "Christ of faith."
• The Kingdom of God: The central theme of Jesus' preaching, referring not to a physical place but to the sovereign reign and rule of God being inaugurated on earth.
• The Sermon on the Mount: Found in Matthew $5$ through $7$, this is the most famous collection of Jesus' ethical and theological teachings, beginning with the Beatitudes.
• Diatribe: A specific rhetorical style used in antiquity (and notably by Paul in the Epistle to the Romans) characterized by a series of questions and answers with a hypothetical interlocutor to clarify a philosophical or theological point.

Profiles of the Four Gospels

• The Gospel of Matthew: Traditionally associated with the tax collector Levi; emphasizes Jesus as the new Moses and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, written primarily for a Jewish-Christian audience.
• The Gospel of Mark: Generally considered the earliest gospel; characterized by a sense of urgency, a focus on Jesus' suffering (The Passion), and the "Messianic Secret."
• The Gospel of Luke: Part one of a two-volume work (Luke-Acts); emphasizes Jesus' concern for the marginalized, women, the poor, and the universality of salvation for the Gentiles.
• The Gospel of John: Significantly different in structure and content from the Synoptics; emphasizes the divinity of Jesus ("High Christology"), uses long philosophical discourses, and identifies Jesus as the pre-existent Logos.

Essential Christological and Theological Concepts

• Soteriology: The branch of theology focused on the doctrine of salvation, specifically how Christ's life, death, and resurrection effect the deliverance of humanity from sin.
• Kenosis: Building on Philippians $2$, this refers to the "self-emptying" of Jesus Christ, where he set aside his divine status to take on human form and servant-hood.
• The Incarnation: The fundamental Christian belief that the eternal Son of God (the Second Person of the Trinity) took on human flesh and became a human being in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
• Low Christology: An approach to Christology that begins with Jesus' humanity and historical existence, emphasizing his human experiences and growth.
• High Christology: An approach that begins with Jesus' divinity and pre-existence, emphasizing his identity as the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity.
• The Word (Logos): A concept introduced in the Prologue of John's Gospel ($1:1$) identifying Jesus as the eternal, divine reason or speech of God that existed before the creation of the world.
• Christology: The systematic study of the person and nature of Jesus Christ, particularly his divinity and humanity.
• Pneumatology: The branch of theology concerned with the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
• The Hypostatic Union: A technical dogmatic term describing the union of two distinct natures—one fully human and one fully divine—in the one individual person (hypostasis) of Jesus Christ.
• Theotokos: A Greek term meaning "God-bearer" or "Mother of God," a title for Mary used to affirm that the child she bore was truly God, not just a man associated with God.

Church History: Periods and Movements

• The Apostolic Age: The earliest period of Christianity, traditionally dated from the death of Jesus (c. $30\text{-}33\,AD$) to the death of the last of the Twelve Apostles (c. $100\,AD$).
• The Patristic Period: The era of the "Church Fathers" (roughly late $1\text{st}$ century to the $8\text{th}$ century AD), during which the foundational doctrines and creeds of Christianity were debated and defined.
• Supersessionism: The theological claim that the Christian Church has succeeded or replaced Israel as the people of God, and that the New Covenant has made the Mosaic Covenant obsolete.
• Divine Economy: The biblical and patristic term for God's plan and administration of the world, specifically the unfolding of God's redemptive work in history (Oikonomia).
• Pentecost: Described in Acts $2$, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles fifty days after Easter, marking the "birth" of the Church's mission to the world.
• Gnosticism: A diverse movement of the early centuries that emphasized salvation through secret knowledge (gnosis) and often viewed the material world as evil, created by a lesser god (the demiurge).
• Marcionism: A second-century movement led by Marcion of Sinope, who rejected the Old Testament and the God of Israel, claiming the Father of Jesus was a different, superior deity.
• Docetism: An early heresy (often linked to Gnosticism) which taught that Jesus only seemed to be human and to suffer; his physical body was believed to be an illusion.
• Transubstantiation: The theological doctrine that, in the Eucharist, the substance of the bread and wine is changed into the actual Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, while the outward appearances (accidents) remain.
• Parousia: The Greek term for the "arrival" or Second Coming of Jesus Christ at the end of time.
• Askesis: The practice of self-discipline, austerity, and renunciation of worldly pleasures (asceticism), often for the purpose of spiritual growth.
• Martyr: Derived from the Greek word for "witness," a person who suffers death for their refusal to renounce their religious faith.
• Cenobitic Monasticism: A form of monasticism characterized by community life (living in a monastery), as opposed to eremitic monasticism where monks live as hermits.

Councils, Heresies, and the Creeds

• The Council of Nicaea ($325\,AD$): The first ecumenical council, called by Emperor Constantine to resolve the dispute involving Arianism; it resulted in the Nicene Creed.
• Arianism: The heretical view that Jesus Christ (the Son) was a created being, brought into existence by the Father, and therefore not co-eternal or of the same essence as the Father.
• Homoousios: A Greek theological term meaning "of the same substance" or "of the same essence," used at Nicaea to affirm that the Son is exactly the same substance as the Father.
• Nestorianism: The Christological error that claimed there were two separate persons in the incarnate Christ (one human and one divine), rather than two natures in one person.
• The Council of Chalcedon ($451\,AD$): The fourth ecumenical council, which defined the doctrine that Christ is "one person in two natures," existing without confusion, change, division, or separation.

Key Figures of the Early Church

• Paul: The "Apostle to the Gentiles," whose letters form a substantial portion of the New Testament and established early Christian theology.
• Lazarus: A friend of Jesus who was raised from the dead in Bethany four days after his burial (John $11$).
• Tertullian: A prolific third-century Latin author from Carthage, often called the "Father of Latin Theology"; he was the first to use the term Trinitas (Trinity).
• Justin Martyr: A leading second-century apologist who identified Christ as the Logos and sought to harmonize Christian faith with Greek philosophy.
• Didache: Also known as "The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles," this is a brief anonymous early Christian treatise (late $1\text{st}$ or early $2\text{nd}$ century) on morals, rituals, and church organization.
• Anthony the Great: A third-century Egyptian monk often considered the father of Christian monasticism, known for his life of solitude in the desert.
• John Chrysostom: The Archbishop of Constantinople in the $4\text{th}$ century, nicknamed "Golden-Mouth" for his extraordinary preaching and oratory skills.
• Athanasius of Alexandria: The chief defender of the Nicene orthodoxy against Arianism throughout the $4\text{th}$ century.
• Basil of Caesarea: One of the "Cappadocian Fathers" who helped define the doctrine of the Trinity and drafted influential rules for monastic life.
• Gregory of Nazianzus: A Cappadocian Father and Archbishop of Constantinople known as "The Theologian" for his defense of the deity of the Son and Holy Spirit.
• Cyril of Alexandria: Patriarch of Alexandria who played a central role at the Council of Ephesus ($431\,AD$) in opposing Nestorianism and defending the title Theotokos.

Primary Biblical Passages for Identification

• Psalm $22$: A lament psalm famously quoted by Jesus on the cross ("My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"); contains vivid descriptions of suffering later interpreted as messianic.
• Matthew $1$: Contains the genealogy of Jesus from Abraham and the account of the Angel appearing to Joseph regarding Jesus' miraculous birth.
• Matthew $5$: The beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, including the Beatitudes.
• Mark $16$: The final chapter of Mark's Gospel, detailing the empty tomb and the resurrection appearances (noted for its multiple possible endings).
• Luke $2$: The detailed account of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem (the census, the manger, and the shepherds).
• Luke $16$: Contains the Parable of the Dishonest Steward and the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (concerning the reversal of fortunes in the afterlife).
• John $1$: The Prologue of John, describing the pre-existence of the Word ($Logos$) and his incarnation.
• Acts $2$: The account of Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and Peter's first sermon in Jerusalem.
• Romans $11$: Paul's discussion on the salvation of Israel, the image of the olive tree, and the grafting in of the Gentiles.
• $1$ Corinthians $15$: Paul's extensive defense and explanation of the resurrection of the body.
• Philippians $2$: Contains the "Christ Hymn" (verses $5\text{-}11$) which describes the humiliation (kenosis) and subsequent exaltation of Christ.
• Revelation $4$: A vision of the heavenly throne room, featuring the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures worshipping God who sits upon the throne.