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Religious Studies: Christianity > 1E: Early Church > Flashcards

1E: Early Church Flashcards

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1
Q

Didache

A

The teachings and writings of the Early Church in the Apostolic period

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2
Q

Eschatology

A

Study of the end times

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3
Q

Gnostic Gospels

A

Books (e.g. Gospel of Thomas) which contain some teachings about Jesus associated with Gnosticism. Gnosticism was a movement which taught that we are spiritual beings trapped in an evil, material world We need special message. knowledge to be freed.

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4
Q

Kerygma

A

The initial and essential proclamation of the gospel. The core preaching
of the apostles that is reflected and expanded on in the gospels, Acts & the Didache.

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5
Q

Kerygmata

A

Plural of kerygma

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6
Q

Myth

A

A story containing divine beings or supernatural themes used to express and understand natural events, or social or political concerns. The story is the vehicle for the existentialist truth.

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7
Q

Realised Eschatology

A

The idea that the Kingdom of God is not solely a future event. The quality of life normally associated with a relationship with God after death can be experienced now in this life

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8
Q

What are Dodd’s six elements he argued recurred in the speeches in Acts?

A
  1. Prophecies are fulfilled (Hebrew canon)
  2. God at work through the life of Jesus
  3. Jesus ascends
  4. The Holy Spirit is received
  5. Jesus returns
  6. Repent and be baptised
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9
Q

What is the general scheme of the kerygma?

A
  • it begins by proclaiming that “this is that which was spoken by the prophets”;
  • the age of fulfilment has dawned, and Christ is its Lord;
  • it then proceeds to recall the historical facts, leading up to the resurrection and exaltation of Christ and the promise of His coming in glory;
  • it ends with the call to repentance and the offer of forgiveness.
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10
Q

Quotes from Acts 2:14-39 that suggests Jesus has fulfilled the promises of the Hebrew Bible

A
  • “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams”
  • “Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne”
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11
Q

Quote from Acts 2:14-39 that suggests God was at work in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection

A
  • “he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses”
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12
Q

Quote from Acts 2:14-39 that suggests Jesus has been exalted and is in heaven

A

“But God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

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13
Q

Quote from Acts 2:14-39 that suggests the Holy Spirit has been given to the church to form God’s new community

A

“Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and hear.”

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14
Q

Quote from Acts 2:14-39 that suggests we should repent and be baptised

A

“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

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15
Q

What is CH Dodd’s view?

A

Luke is reliable but the message of the Apostles should be seen as a living proclamation that calls us to a decision, not a memoir/doctrine

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16
Q

What is Bultmann’s view?

A

He thinks Acts is full of myths that a modern society would struggle to believe. They need to be demythologised

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17
Q

Context for the Early Church in Acts

A
  • His disciples founded what came to be known as the Church
  • Based in Jerusalem (where Jesus was allegedly crucified and resurrected)
  • It’s earliest history is recorded in the 5th book of the NT (the Book of Acts, written by Luke)
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18
Q

“And all who believed were ________ and had all things __ ______”

A

‘together’ ‘in common’

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19
Q

To what do you attribute the phenomenon of the growth of the movement of the Christian message?

A
  • people desperate for hope
  • people uneducated
  • the message resonated with many people
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20
Q

What main ideas do the speeches in Acts share?

A
  • God’s plan for salvation has reached fulfilment in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus
  • God’s plan continues by the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church
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21
Q

What was the Jerusalem Community?

A
  • known as the “Jesus Movement”
  • begun and led by Peter and James (blood relations of Jesus)
  • Founded at Pentecost: receiving the Holy Spirit gave them courage to live as Christians and spread the message
  • Jewish authorities wanted to stamp out the Jesus movement: Saul (later St Paul) was one of the main persecutors
  • Radical lifestyle: expected the imminent return of Jesus
  • Still kept Jewish dietary customs, would go to Temple 3x a day to pray, performed Jewish vows of dedication to God
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22
Q

What did Reimarus say about Jesus?

A

he accepted a Jewish apocalypticism viewpoint

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23
Q

What did Reimarus say about the disciples?

A
  • they removed the apocalyptic viewpoint of Jesus and changed his message into timeless and spiritual truths because the world didn’t end
  • they faked Jesus’ resurrection and founded a new religion
  • they did not want to return to their occupations as fishermen
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24
Q

What is kerygma?

A

an announcement/making a bold declaration

25
Q

Why does Dodd think we shouldn’t think of the NT as a memoir?

A

because as its heart it is a bold set of claims that confront its readers with a decision.

26
Q

Who was Reimarus?

A

A German enlightenment thinker who accused the disciples of changing the views of Jesus

27
Q

Evidence to suggest that Jesus’ aim was merely to bring his own generation to God before the coming judgement

A

Matthew 16:28: “There are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom”
I Thessalonians 4:16: “The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air”

28
Q

What did Schweitzer declare about Jesus?

A

the only thing that could be known about him was the very thing that made him irrelevant today; his belief in the imminent end of the world

29
Q

What were the main themes of the kerygmata of the early church?

A
  • Jesus fulfilled the promises of the Hebrew Bible through his life, works, death and resurrection
  • emphasis on Jesus as miracle worker
30
Q

How did Dodd distinguish the kerygma from the didache?

A

Kerygma is a declaration of beliefs, didache is moral exhortation/teaching

31
Q

Why did Schweitzer see the kerygma of the Apostles and Jesus as irrelevant?

A

because the historical Jesus believed the world would end in his lifetime with the sudden and cataclysmic coming of God, so Jesus should be viewed as an apocalyptic or eschatological figure

32
Q

What does Dodd mean by ‘realised eschatology’?

A

Jesus believed in not only the coming of God at the end of the world, but that God had already broken into the world through his own life and ministry

33
Q

Points to suggest the Book of Acts is a trustworthy source

A
  • Authorship: Luke travelled with Paul so had access to a first hand witness. Luke is not claiming he was there
  • Date: Luke is claimed to have witnessed first hand many of Paul’s missionary journeys
  • Styles: Although the material is written in a set order, this doesn’t mean the material doesn’t have historical roots
  • Theology: Paul’s letters have a different purpose than in Acts - his letters were intended to make converts
  • Events: Luke spent time with Paul and witnessed the birth of the Early Church in Jerusalem
34
Q

Points to suggest the Book of Acts is NOT a trustworthy source

A
  • Authorship: If Luke was the author, he was a Gentile, so he wasn’t present at some/all of the events he reports and definitely not Acts 2 and 3
  • Date: Acts was probably written 80CE, 40-50 years later than the events reported
  • Style: the book is highly organised which could suggest the material has been changed from the original
  • Language: Type of language used is more characteristic of Luke than the language we know of Paul to express his theology. We lose the ‘voice’ of Paul in later speeches and they sound more like the ‘voice’ of Luke
  • Theology: Many important Pauline themes seem to be missing from his preaching in Acts eg Faith vs Works
  • Events: the events portrayed in Acts contain reports of miraculous events and sudden dramatic reversals of points of view, which we’d associate more with ancient literature, not with good academic historical accounts
35
Q

What was Bultmann’s challenge to the kerygma?

A

he says the kerygma is ‘clothed in a mythological dress’.
- we need to search for the truth which the kerygma embodies which is independent of its mythical setting

36
Q

What is the process of demythologisation?

A

the method whereby we interpret the inner meaning of the mythological statements we find in the NT

37
Q

What are the 3 options Bultmann identifies for dealing with myth?

A
  1. Believe the myths literally
  2. ‘Cut out’ the mythological sections from the Bible and build a religion on what remains
  3. Try to find the underlying truth that is a part of the myth
38
Q

What are the 2 mythologies of the New Testament according to Bultmann?

A
  1. Jewish apocalypticism
  2. Gnosticism
39
Q

What is gnosticism?

A
  • a widespread set of beliefs in the ancient world which pictures all the created world in a spiritual battle
  • each person is a ‘spark of light’ which has become trapped in the world through demonic forces
  • a being of light has been sent down from the highest God to bring people
    special knowledge so our ‘sparks’ can be liberated
40
Q

What was the ‘existential impact’ on the disciples of knowing Jesus?

A

an experience of God awakened in them because the kerygma expresses some basic truths of humanity

41
Q

What basic truths of humanity does the kerygma express?

A
  • we are not masters of the world
  • our plans and powers are finite
  • there is forgiveness
  • it is false to think we can and should control life
  • it is possible to find a spirit of openness to the future
42
Q

What are some criticisms of Bultmann?

A
  • he has too easily ‘wrote off’ Christian doctrine as mythological
  • there are good reasons to believe Christian claims about Jesus are historically true
  • others accuse him of creating a new myth for ‘modern people’; he has replaced one set of myths with another
  • Bultmann has distorted the setting of Acts by turning the kerygma into a personal and individualistic message
43
Q

What is Bultmann’s opinion on Christology?

A

it has no importance

44
Q

Why do some people in the modern day view the kerygma as a model for the Church’s message?

A

It brings together significant aspects of theology;
- prophecy in the Hebrew Bible about a coming age
- events from the life of Jesus
- belief in the future return of Jesus
- it expresses the power and energy of the early Church: many Christians long for this
- the Apostles message moved the crowd to repentance and a decision to join their movement

45
Q

Why do some churchs call themselves ‘Pentecostal’?

A

because they seek to emulate the energy and sense of purpose that the early church displayed on the day of Pentecost

46
Q

How might some Christians object to placing such importance on the Apostles speeches?

A
  • If every scripture is inspired by God, then God’s message can be found everywhere in the Bible so suggesting that some passages are more important than others seems to lessen the value of other passages.
  • Some believe Acts represents an era where God was especially involved in the creation of the Church but that this period and its need for miracles has ended
  • Many Christians believe that God speaks to them in the present day/through the a church, not through unreliable and mythological stories written 2000 years ago
47
Q

What are some historical issues that might cause some Christian’s to question the value of the passages?

A
  • Some scholars suggests Jesus and his disciples believed in an apocalyptic worldview
  • Jesus founded his movement and delivered all his teaching in the expectation that the Kingdom of God was to arrive in his lifetime but he was mistaken
  • This suggests the kerygma is bound up with a worldview and in wake of that not happening, the kerygma is of little value and Christians are better off basing their faith on other themes in the Bible
48
Q

What does Bultmann believe in regards to the deeper meaning behind the beliefs in the kerygma?

A

the kerygma expresses truths that were awakened in the Apostles through their encounter with Jesus. it is the experience of the Apostles and their witnesses conveyed in the kerygma rather than the actual words themselves that is of value

49
Q

What did Dodd argue in criticism to Bultmann’s view on the meaning behind the kerygma?

A
  • there was much more going on in Jesus’ ministry and his followers than Jewish apocalypticism
  • Jesus believed in God’s imminent return and that God had already broken into the world through his ministry: the great things happening in the present prevented them from being too occupied with the future (realised eschatology)
50
Q

What does ‘realised eschatology’ mean?

A

the end times were not merely in the future but could be experienced in the present

51
Q

What did Dodd conclude after analysing the kerygma?

A

very little of it has to do with Jesus’ imminent return - most of it had to do with the power of God experienced by the disciples which attracted the crowds

52
Q

What is a determining factor when deciding how high or low one values the speeches of Acts?

A

the judgement made about the worldview of Jesus and his followers
- if his teachings are seen to represent an outdated worldview, the kerygma might be considered to have little value for today and Christians will be advised to find other themes in the Bible to base their faith off

53
Q

Points to suggest the kerygma DOES still have value for Christians today

A
  • it focuses on the person of Jesus and his status, reminding Christians of the origins of their tradition
  • The NT kerygmata provides Christians with a clear statement of faith and a means of understanding their origins
  • The focus of the kerygmata on action and expectation gives a sense of urgency to the Christian message; could inspire Christian communities
  • Bultmann argues the kerygmata were the expression of the meaning that Christ had for the early Christians rather than an expression of historical truths: need to be ‘demythologised’ to recover existential meaning
54
Q

Points to suggest the kerygma DOES NOT still have value for Christians today

A
  • it doesn’t have a lot to do with modern practice; although they provide a basis for many key theological concepts, they are not all immediately obvious to practicing Christians
  • a key element has not come true; the imminent return of Christ
  • Schweitzer; the one thing that can be known about the historical Jesus is the very thing that makes him irrelevant today
  • A strict focus on it may devalue more recent divine revelation and action in the world: it may be of limited value to Christian groups that teach that God is still revealing God’s self (eg “God is still speaking” campaign by United Church of Christ”
  • Some Evangelicals think it is problematic to suggest some biblical verses are more valuable than others
55
Q

Points to suggest the speeches in Acts DO have some historical value

A
  • Speeches in Acts were publicly witnessed by many - if they were fabricated then thee would be outcry against the historicity of the book: but there wasn’t
  • Acts was recognised as canonical by earliest documents and Church Fathers: Muratorian Canon, Tertullian, Origen etc
  • it would make no sense for the author to make it up: what purpose would it have served?
  • Luke is identified with Paul many times: (eg Colossians 4:14) travelled with him on missionary journeys so had access to first hand accounts
  • language and expression differs for different reports of events; all reports of historical events are found within a created structure
  • Acts is about Paul’s theology presented in the public square whereas letters are internal: pastoral messages are directed at believers so a difference is expected
  • Dodd examined Paul’s letters and found all 6 elements of the kerygma are clearly there
56
Q

Points to suggest the speeches in Acts DO NOT have some historical value

A
  • Luke was Gentile so did not have access to occurrences in Jerusalem at the birth of the Church
  • Most scholars agree it was written in the 80s CE, meaning the events were reported 50 years later
  • grammar, style and structure make Acts appear more as a literary creation than a straightforward historical account; it has been organised so that a series of dramatic events are describe (most feature a speech by an Apostle)
  • some scholars suggest Acts is a literary work representing Luke’s views
  • Acts includes reports of miraculous events and dramatic changes of viewpoint that are associated with ancient literature and legends so may be less convincing in a modern scientific age
57
Q

Acts 2:37 (most important aspect of speeches for Bultmann)

A

“Brothers, what shall we do?”

58
Q

Origins of gnosticism

A

13 codices buried in a sealed jar near a local farmer; thought to have belonged to a nearby monastery. buried after Athanasius condemned the use of non canonical books in 367AD - includes Gospel of Thomas and Mary

Religious Studies: Christianity (25 decks)

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