Christianity – Comprehensive Exam Study Notes

Historical Backdrop (≈ $63\,\text{BC}$ – $30\,\text{AD}$ )

• $63\,\text{BC}$ – House of Herod gains Roman favour (taxes & peace-keeping) ⟶ political stability but religious fragmentation.
• Jewish factions:
– Sadducees → Torah-loyal, Temple-centred, pro-Rome.
– Pharisees → innovative interpretation of Torah; oral tradition.
– Essenes → ascetic, purity-oriented, desert communities.
– Zealots → armed revolt; followers of Judas the Galilean crucified (June $6\,AD$ ).
• Popular expectation of “kingdom of God” heightened by
– John the Baptist’s repentance-baptism movement.
– Socio-economic hardship under Rome.

Life of Jesus of Nazareth

Birth & Hidden Years

• Born in Bethlehem during reign of Herod the Great (traditional date $6$ – $4\,\text{BC}$ ).
• Gospels give infancy narratives (Matthew/Luke) but little on youth; single account at age $12$ in Temple (Luke 2).

Baptism & Temptation

• Baptised by cousin John in Jordan; Holy Spirit descends as dove; heavenly voice: “Beloved Son” (Mark 1:11).
• $40$ -day desert fast → threefold temptation dialogue with Satan.

Public Ministry (≈ $27$ – $30\,\text{AD}$ )

• Proclamation: “The time is fulfilled; kingdom of God is at hand. Repent…” (Mark 1:15).
• Called disciples (esp. Peter, James, John) from Galilean fishing trade.
• Base of operations: Capernaum, Galilee; itinerant preaching in villages, synagogues, open fields.

Miracles & Signs

• Authority to forgive sins; healed blind, lame, lepers; stilled storm, walked on water; raised Jairus’ daughter, widow’s son, Lazarus.
• John’s “I AM” sayings reveal identity:
– “I am the bread of life” (6:35)
– “I am the light of the world” (8:12)
– “I am the good shepherd” (10:11)
– “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25-26)
– “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (14:6) etc.

Teaching Genres

• Parables (Good Samaritan, Prodigal Son, Mustard Seed) → vivid moral/kingdom images.
• Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7):
– Ethic exceeds Mosaic Law (anger= murder; lust= adultery).
– Non-retaliation (“turn the other cheek”; “go the extra mile”).
– Golden Rule (Matt 7:12).
• Emphasis on God as “Father,” child-like trust, inward piety vs. outward show.

Final Week (Passion)

• Palm Sunday entry on donkey fulfils Zech 9:9; crowds shout “Hosanna!”.
• Cleansing of the Temple → immediate cause of arrest.
• Last Supper (institution of Eucharist): “This is my body… my blood of the covenant” (Matt 26:26-28).
• Gethsemane prayer, betrayal by Judas, trials before Caiaphas & Pilate.
• Crucifixion at Golgotha (approx. $3$ pm); earthquake, Temple veil torn; Roman centurion: “Truly this was the Son of God”.
• Burial in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb; women discover empty tomb Sunday dawn.

Resurrection & Ascension

• Post-Easter appearances (physical & spiritual) across $40$ days; Great Commission (Matt 28:19).
• Ascends on cloud; promise of return.

Central Themes of Jesus’ Teaching

• Kingdom of God: present & future; dynamic reign rather than territory.
• Radical ethic of love (agapē); mercy mirrors God’s generosity.
• Universal inclusion: tax-collectors, sinners, women, Samaritans.
• Prayer & dependence (“Ask… seek… knock” Matt 7:7-8).
• Eschatological urgency but timing known only to God.

Apostles, Paul & Church Expansion

Pentecost & Early Community

• Pentecost (Acts 2): Holy Spirit descends $50$ days after Easter; ecstatic tongues; $\approx3000$ baptised.
• Communal sharing, temple prayers, “Way” designation.

Persecution Spreads Gospel

• Martyrdom of Stephen sparks diaspora mission.
• Saul of Tarsus (Paul) converts en route to Damascus; becomes “apostle to Gentiles.”

Pauline Mission Strategy

• Antioch base; three major journeys across Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece, ending in Rome.
• Planted house-churches; wrote epistles (earliest NT writings, $\text{AD } 49$ – $65$ ).
• The “Gentile Question” settled at Jerusalem Council (Acts 15): baptism ≠ circumcision; abstain from idols, blood, strangled meat, sexual immorality.
• Key doctrines:
– Justification by faith (Romans 3–8).
– Body of Christ metaphor (1 Cor 12).
– Hymn to Love (1 Cor 13).

Other Apostolic Missions

• Traditions place Peter in Rome (first bishop, martyr $64\,AD$ ); Thomas to India; Mark to Egypt, etc.

Roman Empire’s Response to Christianity

• Initial tolerance under umbrella of Judaism → distinction post $64\,AD$ fire-scapegoating by Nero.
• Persecutions: Nero, Domitian, Decius, Diocletian; martyr narratives (Perpetua & Felicitas).
• Edict of Milan ( $313$ ) under Constantine → legal religion; Nicene Council ( $325$ ).
• Theodosius I ( $380$ ) – Christianity becomes state religion.

Formation of Christian Authority

New Testament Canon

• Four Gospels (Mark → Matthew & Luke; independent John);
• Acts; $13$ + Pauline letters; Catholic Epistles; Revelation.
• Canon largely fixed by $\approx200\,AD$ ; Athanasius’ $367$ Easter Letter lists $27$ books.

Church Fathers & Apologists

• Alexandrian Platonists (Clement, Origen) – allegorical exegesis.
• Latin Fathers: Tertullian (Trinity term), Ambrose, Jerome (Vulgate), Augustine (grace & original sin).

Ecumenical Councils

Nicaea ( $325$ ): Christ homoousios (same essence) with Father; Creed vs. Arius.
Constantinople ( $381$ ): divinity of Holy Spirit; expanded Creed.
Ephesus ( $431$ ): Mary Theotokos; Nestorianism rejected.
Chalcedon ( $451$ ): Christ two natures, one person.
Later councils settle icons, filioque, etc.

Diverging Traditions

Roman Catholic

• Papal primacy; $7$ sacraments; clerical celibacy; scholastic theology (St Thomas Aquinas, Summa); Vatican I (papal infallibility), Vatican II (vernacular liturgy, ecumenism).

Eastern Orthodox

• Autocephalous patriarchates; Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom; married parish clergy; theology via icons & mysticism; schism $1054$ over filioque & papal claims.

Anglican / Episcopal

• Henry VIII’s break (Act of Supremacy $1534$ ); Book of Common Prayer; via media between Catholic liturgy & Protestant doctrine; episcopal polity with monarch (or presiding bishop) as supreme governor.

Protestant Families

• Lutheran → justification by faith, sola scriptura, Augsburg Confession ( $1530$ ).
• Reformed/Presbyterian → Calvin’s Institutes, predestination, presbyterial polity.
• Anabaptist/Baptist → believer’s baptism, congregational governance.
• Methodist → Wesleyan holiness, circuit riders, Episcopal structure.

Independent / Restorationist Movements

• Pentecostal & Charismatic (Azusa Street $1906$ ): glossolalia, healing.
• Christian Science (Mary B. Eddy) – healing through mind/Spirit.
• Latter-day Saints (Joseph Smith): Book of Mormon, modern prophets, Utah migration.
• Jehovah’s Witnesses (Charles T. Russell): Watchtower, $144{,}000$ heirs, refusal of blood transfusion.

Core Christian Worldview

God & Trinity

• One essence, three hypostases: Father (source), Son (incarnate Logos), Spirit (life-giver).

Christology

• Incarnation: true God & true man; atonement via cross; resurrection first-fruits.

Human Condition

• Created imago Dei; fallen through original sin (Augustinian view) or inclined to both good & evil (Chrysostom/Orthodox).

Salvation

• By grace (charis) through faith (pistis), evidenced in works of love (agapē).
• Sacramental grace (Catholic/Orthodox) vs. forensic justification (Protestant).

Scripture, Tradition & Reason

• Catholic: Scripture + Tradition + Magisterium.
• Orthodox: Scripture + first $7$ councils + fathers.
• Protestant: sola scriptura; inner witness of Spirit.

Ethics & Society

• Golden Rule; preferential option for poor (liberation theology).
• Non-violence (Anabaptists, ML King Jr.); Just-war debates (Augustine → Aquinas).

Eschatology

• Parousia (Second Coming); bodily resurrection; final judgement; heaven/hell; some embrace millennial schemes, others amillennial.

Rituals, Symbols & Sacred Time

Sacraments / Ordinances

• Catholic & Orthodox $7$ : Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation/Chrismation, Penance, Anointing of Sick, Matrimony, Holy Orders.
• Most Protestants recognize $2$ (Baptism & Lord’s Supper); some foot-washing (Anabaptist) or none (Salvation Army).

Liturgical Calendar

• Advent → Christmas (Dec $25$ West / Jan $7$ East) → Epiphany.
• Lent ( $40$ days fast) → Holy Week (Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday) → Easter (first Sunday after first full moon post-equinox).
• Ascension ( $40$ days after Easter) → Pentecost ( $50$ days).

Worship Styles

• Mass (Catholic), Divine Liturgy (Orthodox), Word-centred Service (Reformed), Revivalist Meetings (Evangelical), Glossolalic Praise (Pentecostal).

Monastic & Mystical Paths

• Early Desert Fathers/Mothers; Benedictine ora et labora rule; Franciscan poverty; Carmelite mysticism (Teresa of Ávila, John of the Cross).

Timeline Highlights (selection)

$31\,\text{BC}$ Caesar Augustus begins reign | $6\,\text{AD}$ Jesus born (traditional)
$29\,\text{AD}$ Crucifixion | $34$ Paul’s conversion | $64$ Fire of Rome; Peter & Paul martyred
$325$ Council of Nicaea | $451$ Council of Chalcedon
$1054$ East–West Schism | $1517$ Luther’s $95$ Theses | $1545$ - $63$ Council of Trent
$1869$ - $70$ Vatican I | $1962$ - $65$ Vatican II

These bullet-point notes synthesise every major & minor point from the transcript—historical context, life & teachings of Jesus, apostolic expansion, Roman reaction, evolution of authority (NT, fathers, councils), denominational traditions, worldview, rituals, ethics, and key dates—providing a standalone study guide for exam preparation.