Basics Flashcards
Clement of Rome
• prominent Christian leader in Rome
• I Clement, epistle (A.D. 95-6, traditional dating); letter addressing the factions at Corinth. Younger members had ousted presbyters from their positions; Clement called for the members to be restored to their positions.
Cyprian of Carthage
• c. A.D. 200-258, martyred
• bishop of Carthage
• converted c. 246 by Caecilian, a presbyter
• born into a wealthy and noble family, after conversion sold his estates for the poor, vowed chastity and was baptized; avid study of the Scriptures and Tertullian
• acclaimed by the people as head of whole North African clergy, aptly administered the bishopric, martyred in A.D. 258
• Hebrews not canonical (Tertullian had att’d it to Barnabas)
Ignatius of Antioch
• second or third bishop of Antioch
• escorted under armed guard from Antioch to Rome, martyred c. 110 under Emperor Trajan
• en route stopped at Smyrna and Troas, wrote 7 epistles including to Polycarp; desired to be martyred
• thrown to wild animals in the Coliseum, ‘coax the wild beasts that they may become a tomb for me’; ‘Allow me to be an imitator of the suffering of my God’ (Kruger, Christianity at…, ch. 2)
Tertullian
• born c. 150 A.D. in Carthage
• well educated, converted c. 195
• became leader of Montanist sect c. 205 in Africa due to ‘envy and laxity of the clergy in the Roman church’—Jerome
• prolific writer; coined term ‘rule of faith’ (Apostles’ Creed); opposed Marcion’s canon (wrote five volumes against him)
• believed Hebrews to be written by Barnabas
• wrote Apology to governors of the Roman provinces: ‘The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in numbers we grow; the blood of Christians is seed.’
Barnabas
• companion and co-worker of the Apostle Paul
Polycarp
• bishop of Smyrna; martyred A.D. 155
• knew Papias of Hierapolis and Apostle John
• sent copies of Ignatius’ letters to the church in Philippi after his martyrdom
Irenaeus
• bishop of Lyons, Gaul (c. 178)
• listened to Polycarp’s sermons as a child
• succeeded Bishop Pothinus, who was tortured in 177 during the interrogations over the riot at Lyons. He was over 90 years old
Gnosticism
1945 Nag Hammadi, Egypt, 13 codices found detailing Gnostic thought, among them the Gospel of Thomas
• Gnostic thought was very diverse
• physical world created by Elohim, the god of Judaism (demiurge)
• salvation comes through release from the physical world and back into the spiritual world
• special knowledge of origin and destiny of man through JC
• docetism and J was simply an emanation from the true God
Emperor Domitian’s reign:
c. AD 81-96, persecuted Christians
Who was Tacitus?
Roman historian, c. AD 116
Who was Suetonius?
Roman historian, c. 120
Justin Martyr
c. AD 103-165, Christian philosopher and apologist
• martyred under Emperor Marcus Aurelius
• wrote two Apologies to Antoninus Pius (c. 151-55) as formal petitions; the only example of a libelli among the 2nd century apologists
Emperor Antoninus Pius
Reigned c. AD 137-161
Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs
Account of 12 Christians before the Roman proconsul Saturninus Carthage, North Africa (c. AD 180)
‘Thanks be to God, today we are martyrs in heaven’
Lucian of Samosata
c. AD 115-200
• well known rhetorician and satirist
• wrote The Passing of Peregrinus (c. AD 165), a satire on Christianity which portrays Christians as uneducated simpletons with low social status
Galen
c. AD 129-199
• physician and philosopher, and friend of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus
• prolific author who disagreed with but respected Christianity; C was invalid due to lack of proof
Celsus
published True Doctrine (c. AD 177), an extensive critique of Christianity
• philosopher and one of C’s most influential critics in the second century
Quadratus
2nd century apologist who presented his work to Emperor Hadrian (c. AD 125)
• defended J’s miracles by explaining that those healed survived to ‘our own time’ (Kruger, Christianity…, ch. 2)
Aristides
Athenian philosopher and Christian apologist
• presented his work to Hadrian (c. AD 125)
• wrote Apology, in it he shows that many core beliefs (virgen birth, etc) were already established by the early second century
Epistle to Diognetus
Mid-2nd century
• focuses on defense of C in light of its “newness” and represents Christians as ordinary
Tatian
Born in Syria (c. AD 130), student of Justin Martyr
• wrote Diatessaron and Oration to the Greeks (c. 165)
What were the standard political and ethical charges leveled against Christians in Rome in the 2nd century?
• insubordination
• subversion
• atheism
• incest
• cannibalism
Athenagoras
Christian philosopher and apologist from Athens
• wrote Plea for the Christians (c. 177), addressed to Marcus Aurelius and Commodus
Theophilus
Bishop of Antioch in second century
• wrote To Autolycus (c. 180), three volume work contrasting the Christian God with the Greco-Roman gods
Didache
Church manual from the very beginning of the 2nd century and one of the earliest C texts outside of the NT
• ancient account of the inner workings of the Church but not written by Apostles
• written during a time when the Church was transitioning from less formal to more formal ecclesiastical structure
Eusebius
c. AD 260-339
(Cambridge, ch. 3)
Fourth-century bishop and church historian of Caesarea, wrote Ecclesiastical History and De vita Constantini
Ebionites
Second century group of Chist-followers who believed salvation relied on the Jewish system of law (e.g. circumcision, etc)
• repudiated Paul as a result
• rejected the virgin birth and the divinity of J (born naturally of M & J as a normal man, but was later adopted by the Holy Spirit as Messiah due to his holy life)
• the Ebionites were rejected by the major C leaders of the second century (Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Tertullian, Origen)
Marcion of Sinope
Wealthy merchant and ship owner who joined the church in Rome in AD 144 and made a large financial donation
• rejected the OT dttf that it was written by an inferior and morally questionable deity. The G of the Jews was diff from the G of the C’s.
• regarded Paul as highly authoritative
• taught Docetism, J ‘appeared’ on Earth fully grown
• 11 book canon (Luke and 10 letters of Paul)
• Marcionites were known for fasting, strict dietary regulations and refusal to marry or have sex (similar to Gnostics)
Emperor Hadrian
Reigned AD 117-138
Seven Gnostic leaders
Cerinthus, Basilides, Valentinus, Ptolemy, Heracleon, Theodotus, Carpocrates
Montanism
Prophetic group that emerged c. 165 in Phrygia, Asia Minor under the prophet Montanus and prophetesses Maximilla and Priscilla
• prophetic utterances
• ecstatic experiences
• apocalyptic fervor (immanent return of J)
• asceticism (fasting and celibacy)
Seven undisputed letters of Paul
Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians,
1 Thessalonians, Philemon
7 tenets of the ’rule of faith’
- There is one God, creator of heaven and earth
- He spoke through the OT prophets regarding the coming Messiah
- J is the Son of God, from the seed of David, born of the virgin Mary
- J is the creator of all things, who came into the world, God in the flesh
- J came to bring salvation and redemption for those who believe in him
- J was crucified under Pontius Pilot, raised bodily from the dead, and exalted to the right hand of God
- J will return again to judge the world (Kruger, Christianity…, ch. 5)
Challenge: early Christians used apocryphal books in their writings, therefore there was no Canon in the second century
• ‘use’ of apocryphal writings does not necessarily mean they were being quoted as Scripture
• apocryphal books were not cited nearly as often as real Scripture books, even if they were in fact being used as Scripture. “It’s misleading to use the occasional citation of noncanonical books as grounds for denying that there is any canonical consciousness at all” (Canon Revisited, 220)
What book did Walter Bauer write in 1934 and what was the thesis?
Orthodoxy and Heresy in Early Christianity
• “orthodoxy” is simply the term given to those who “won” the debate in early C. Early C was too diverse to identify a clear orthodox camp and heretical camp. The current canon is not an accurate portrayal of “original” C and are this not authoritative.
Historical criticism began in which period of history?
The Enlightenment
What is the historical-critical approach to the canon?
The approach which says that the canon is merely a human process, it exists only due to external (human) influences. There is nothing inherent in the canon to explain its existence and therefore its authority over man is limited.
Where does Roman Catholicism claim to derive its holy authority?
The Scriptures, tradition, and the Magisterium (the office composed of the pope and his bishops);
The RCC denies that ultimate authority lies in the Scriptures alone. It alone claims the right to interpret Scripture, tradition and which writings constitute Scripture and tradition in the first place.
Two facets of the Roman Catholic approach to the canon:
• epistemology: the canon exists on its own authority, but we only know this because the Church has told us this
• ontology: the canon only exists because of the Church, it is “derivative” of the Church
Evidence against the ontological approach to the canon of the RCC:
• according to Ephesians 2:20, the apostolic message is the foundation of the Church, not the reverse
• the early church already had a canon that did not need to be recognized by infallible declarations
• the canon itself declares its own scriptural status (2 Pet 3:16; 1 Thes 2:13; Gal 1:1-24) w/o reference to contingency
• the RCC never made a formal declaration about the canon until the Council of Trent (Kruger, Canon Revisted, ch. 1)
Two problems w/the RCC deriving its infallibility from Scripture:
• it’s circular reasoning to say that at the same time that it alone interprets Scripture and derives it’s authority from Scripture
• there is little scriptural EV supporting RCC infallibility
Problem w/the RCC establishing its infallibility historically or developmentally:
• Church history shows that it is very fallible, therefore, these are not infallible grounds;
• also, Paul’s rebuke of Peter, and Peter’s acceptance of it, is evidence that Peter was not infallible (see Galatians 2)
Problem w/the RCC self-authenticating its infallibility to define Scripture:
• it’s obvious circular reasoning
• it removes the need for a canon at all since it is the Church which gives meaning to the canon
Define the Canonical-Criticism model of canon of Brevard S. Childs
It is the view that the canon can only be understood in its final form, after having been formed, edited and molded after 300 years by the Church. Canon cannot be properly understood by discovering what it was in an earlier period (for ex, the first century) because it was still transitory up until about the fourth century.
Define the existential/neoorthodox model of Karl Barth, Emil Brunner, and Rudolph Bultmann
Canon is defined by the subjective experience of the individual who then responds to it; it’s an “experience” of God’s word, not a document containing God’s authoritative word over the Church. God can speak through the canon (which is contradictory and even mythical) or any other book for that matter.
Problems w/the existential/neoorthodox model:
• canon loses its meaning, along w/defining its boundaries
• the Church becomes authoritative over the canon rather than the reverse
• Scripture itself attests to the importance of its historical accuracy; “if J did not rise from the dead then our faith is futile” 1 Cor 15:17
7 epistles of Paul that are widely regarded as authentic:
Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians,
1 Thessalonians, and Philemon
Where and when were the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered?
1947 in Qumran, Israel
(West Bank)
• 800 scrolls containing fragments of every book of the OT except Esther, dating from 250 BC to AD 50
• entire manuscript of Isaiah, dating to c. 75 BC; this manuscript was compared w/one from AD 1008 in the Masoretic text (Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible)—95% accuracy
What did Papias mean by “living voice”?
Eyewitness testimony from the disciples of Christ as opposed to oral tradition, for the purpose of writing good history
