Chapter 3

Question 1

evangelists

Answer 1

the authors of the four Gospels of the New Testament—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—and disciples closely associated with them

Question 2

Gospel

Answer 2

the “Good News,” the story of the coming of the Savior, Jesus Christ, and the inauguration of God’s Kingdom

Question 3

kerygma

Answer 3

a form of preaching used in the early Church that presumed an audience of unbelievers

Question 4

didache

Answer 4

a word that means “teaching” that described oral teaching to those who had already accepted Jesus

Question 5

liturgy

Answer 5

the public worship and communal worship of the Church

Question 6

Anno Domini

Answer 6

a Latin phrase meaning “in the year of Our Lord” used in reference to events that took place after the birth of Jesus Christ

Question 7

apocryphal gospels

Answer 7

a group of writings about the life and teaching of Jesus that do not meet Church criteria for inclusion in the New Testament canon. The term apocryphal means “hidden.” Most apocryphal writings date from the second through the fourth centuries, many years after the Apostolic era.

Question 8

Gnosticism

Answer 8

a heresy from the first Christian centuries that taught that Jesus shared secret information or knowledge with only a few people who were guaranteed Salvation. Gnosticism comes from gnosis, the Greek word for “knowledge.” Gnosticism also distrusted material creation, teaching that the human body was evil.

Question 9

Synoptic Gospels

Answer 9

the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke that have so much content in common that they are often studied side by side. The word synoptic comes from the Greek word for “to see together.”

Question 10

source criticism

Answer 10

the study by Scripture scholars to determine what sources the Gospel writers used to compose their works

Question 11

form criticism

Answer 11

a type of literary criticism used by Scripture scholars that analyzes and compares different literary forms used in the Gospels

Question 12

redaction criticism

Answer 12

a scholarly approach to the study of Scripture that attempts to see how each of the Gospel writers edited, or redacted, materials for that Gospel’s audience

Question 13

textual criticism

Answer 13

Scripture study that looks to the various early manuscripts of the biblical texts

Question 14

historical criticism

Answer 14

an approach to Scripture analysis that tries to discover what evangelists really wanted to say when they wrote a particular text

Question 15

martyrs

Answer 15

a Greek word that means “witness,” referring to those who were put to death because of their religious beliefs