Christianity Flashcards
What are some key points to keep in mind concerning the Apostasy?
- The term means “active rebellion against God”
(use it carefully) - Apostasy = PROCESS
- No specific dates, it wasn’t an event - General Principles:
- Loss of priesthood power
- partial corruption of truth - Protestant not any truer than Catholic
- Reformation as a step to the Restoration DOESN’T mean that Protestant churches now are truer than Catholic church
What churches make up the Christian World?
-
Catholic
(a minority uses the Eastern rite) -
Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox
(several different national churches) -
Protestant
-
Magisterial Reformation
- Lutheran
- Reformed -
Radical Reformation
- Anabaptist -
The via media
- the Anglican communion
-
Magisterial Reformation
-
Others
- Restorationist groups
- Various split-offs
-
Non-denominational churches
- Evangelical or born-again (theological emphasis encompassing various groups or denominations)
Where would we fit on this timeline?
between methodist and presbyterian??
Just study the timeline..
What is the historical theological mark that defines you as a Christian?
What does it mean to be a Christian in the broader sense?
- Accept Creeds - Confessions of Faith
-Most important is to accept the Nicene Creed
- Creeds come from ‘ecumenical councils’
- Catholicism accepts 21 of them
- most others accept the first 7 or fewer
- Minimum common denominator is acceptance of First Council of Nicaea (325) creedal statement (Nicene or Athanasian creed)
* The Nicene creed to Christianity as (somewhat) Shema to Judaism and Shahada to Islam - To believe that Christ is the Savior and the Son of God
What are some Historical Landmarks of Christianity?
- From Jewish sect to underground faith in a pagan world
- From persecution to Imperial State Church (383)
- Augustine (354-430), a foundation for Western theology - Growth of the papacy
- Monasticism
- The political & theological rift between East & West (1054 schism)
- Conflicts between Popes and Emperors
- Thomas Aquinas, the theologian of the Middle Ages
- The Reformations (Luther, Zwingli, Calvin)
- Conflicts between science and religion
- Second Vatican Council
- Ecumenism
What were the early Heresies?
What questions did they pose?
-
Gnosticism
- The material is evil (God did not create the material world)
- Jesus only appeared to have a body (DOCETISM), God can’t be material
- Salvation is through special esoteric knowledge
-
Arianism
- Jesus was not fully divine, he was a higher-rank creature subordinate to the Father
-
Cultural and Religious Framework
- Judaism’s strict monotheism
- The language and parameters of Hellenistic philosophy
*The two key questions
- What is the relation between Jesus and the Father? In which ways is God ONE and in which ways is He THREE?
- How is Jesus both human and divine?
What was the response to the heretical question of the Trinity?
* What is the biggest difference with an LDS Perspective?
* Does this difference significantly change our experience of God’s presence? (As opposed to our idea or conceptualization)
-
The Trinity:
- Homoousious (same) vs. homoiousious (similar)
* (in substance, in essence, in nature, and in being)* - The Nicene or Athanasian Creed:
- Homoousious (same) vs. homoiousious (similar)
“We believe in one God…and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of [literally ‘out of’] the Father…God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of the same substance [homo-ousios] with the Father, through whom all things in heaven and earth were made; who for us men and our salvation came down and was made flesh, became man, suffered, and rose on the third day, ascended to heaven, and is coming to judge the living and the dead”
* Later conceptualized as ONE GOD (what?) in THREE PERSONS (who?) - NOT Tritheism or Modalism
What is Modalism?
What is Tritheism?
What was the response to the question of Jesus’s Nature?
Chalcedonian Creed:
The Problem:
- Savior
- To be Savior, Jesus MUST be fully human and fully divine
- Humanity vs Divinity
- always understood to be two different but connected categories of being
The compromises:
- Water and Wine
divine and human natures intermixed - Water and Oil
divine and human natures were united but distinct
“…at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, and, further, of a rational soul and body; of one essence with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one essence with us as regards his manhood, in all respects like us, apart from sin… sin…acknowledged in Two Natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the difference of the Natures being in no way removed because of the Union, but rather the properties of each Nature being preserved, and (both) concurring into One Person”
What is the Christian View of Human Destiny and the Fall?
Eternal life = God’s presence
- Immediate knowledge as opposed to present mediated knowledge of God
- Intercession of Mary and Saints in our behalf
(Immaculate conception says that mary was born without sin so as to be clean enough to bear Jesus)
The Fall = from innocent obedience to guilty disobedience
- Original sin, only overcome through divine grace (Atonement)
- Main opinion is original sin involves state of sinfulness and not transmitted guilt. Some Lutherans and Calvinists support the concept of personal guilt for the Fall
Felix culpa
- the Fall allows us to experience God’s grace and it makes our choice to follow Him more meaningful)
Explain the need for Baptism?
*How do Mormons and Catholics deal with the unbaptized innocent?
-
Protestants:
Not all Protestants see baptism as necessary for salvation -
LDS view:
Baptism for the dead (adults)/No need for baptism (children) -
Catholic view:
Trust in the love and mercy of God -
Limbo?
NOT a Catholic doctrine:
“Our conclusion is that…(we have) serious theological and liturgical grounds for hope that unbaptized infants who die will be saved and enjoy the beatific vision. We emphasize that these are reasons for prayerful hope, rather than grounds for sure knowledge. There is much that simply has not been revealed to us. We live by faith and hope in the God of mercy and love who has been revealed to us in Christ, and the Spirit moves us to pray in constant thankfulness and joy. What has been revealed to us is that the ordinary way of salvation is by the sacrament of baptism…in conclusion, (these factors) provide strong grounds for hope that God will save infants when we have not been able to do for them what we would have wished to do, namely, to baptize them into the faith and life of the Church.”
(The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die without Being Baptized, International Theological Commission, April 22, 2007)
What are the 3 theories of Atonement?
*Where does our LDS perspective fall?
3 Theories of Atonement
-
Ransom:
Jesus liberates humanity from Satan’s slavery- Christus Victor (a variation): Jesus wins the spiritual battle against Satan
-
Satisfaction:
Perfect sacrifice to for humanity’s insult dishonoring God- Penal Substitution (a variation): emphasis on Fall as disobedience of God’s moral law
-
Moral Influence:
God’s act of love for humanity which allows us to come closer to Him through the Holy Spirit
What is the purpose of the atonement?
Theosis (the Orthodox emphasis):
- Deification. Likeness to or union with God, partaking of the “divine nature” but short of becoming a god.
- Purpose of Atonement is CHANGE of people to allow them to become more like God.
What are the 2 parts of Salvation?
-
Justification:
to be declared innocent before God or to be forgiven -
Sanctification:
to be changed into a more ‘saintly’ individual
How does salvation and agency play out in various churches?
What are Sacraments of Christian Faiths?
What is the Litergical Calendar?
White:
Joyful and victorious color. Used for Easter and Christmas, Saints who aren’t Matyrs, Feast of Our Lord and Mary. Gold can be used on solemn occasions.
Red:
Color of blood and fire. Remember’s Christ’s passion and the Holy Spirit. Used for Passion Sunday, Good Friday, Pentecost, Confirmation, and celebration of Martyrs.
Purple:
Used to prepare for Christ. Used during Advent and lent (for pennance and renewal)
Green:
Symbolizes life and hope. Seen everywhere. Used during ordinary times.
