Exam 1 Flashcards
Pharisees
mainline Jews,
opposed overhellenization of religion,
knew scriptures very well,
most of the early Christian movement was drawn from their ranks
Essenes
Jewish sect
generally sympathetic to Pharisees
withdrawn to desert communities
Sadducees
the Jewish ruling class
traditionally controlled the Temple
more hellenized and secular
small minority
Zealots
Jews militantly opposed to Roman rule
developed after CE 66
Cosmos
the order of all things
visible (seen, physical) and invisible (unseen, spiritual)
post hoc ergo propter hoc
“after this therefore because of this”
a fallacy
similarity does NOT determine causation!
why Christianity is not a pagan religion
Zeno
teacher of Stoicism
Temple
where God could be found
located in Jerusalem
ONLY place to offer sacrifice
Synagogue
place of preaching, reading scripture, ritual prayer and hymns, education of the faith, community discipline, and charity for the poor
arose during Babylonian captivity
worship on Saturday (the Sabbath)
“house”
one of the 3 places of Jewish worship
same word used for house and synagogue
Christians also worshiped in house-churches
Eucharist
observed AT LEAST once a week (Sunday)
only baptized allowed (including children)
not merely symbolic - “real presence”
Qumran
where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found
possibly an Essene community
Philo
first century Jewish thinker
showed agreement between Jewish teaching and Greek philosophical traditions
idea of Logos
ἐκκλησία
ekklesia
Christian “churches”
place of preaching, reading scripture, ritual prayer and hymns, education of the faith, community discipline, and charity for the poor
worship on Sunday (day of Resurrection)
Nero
Roman emperor suspected of starting fire that burned down Rome (CE 64) so he could rebuild it - better
he blamed Christians
Baptism
rite of initiation in 1st century Jewish communities
for Christians, mystical union w/ Christ through baptism
adults need instruction before Baptism
child baptism a standard practice
Ebionites
only distinct variety of Christianity in first century
extreme minority
denied Christ’s divinity
faded rapidly when Temple was destroyed (CE 70)
we don’t have any of their writings
4 BCE
Jesus born
Docetism
rejection of Jesus as a human
all spirit - no physical body
he’s a hologram!
Archisynogogos
ruler of the synagogue
presided over services
regulated teaching and observance of tradition
Hyperetes
"servant of the synagogue" paid employee cared for the scrolls taught enforced discipline cared for building and furnishings
Episcopos
the “overseer”
presided over Christian services
regulated teaching
similar to Archisynogogos
Diakonos
“servant”
deacon
maintain distribution of charity, teaching, daily business of the church
similar to hyperites
Presbytyr
elder
Dura Europos
archeological dig site in Syria
how we know how house-churches were set up
Apologists
recognized antipathy towards Christians based on lack of understanding
wrote EXPLANATIONS, had nothing to do with “being sorry”
Marcion
80?-154 CE leader of Marcionites rejected OT God rejected materialism Christ = deliverer from OT God created first NT canon w/ edited letters of Paul and an abridged gospel of Luke wrote Antitheses
Ignatius
bishop of Antioch
Justin Martyr
well educated Middle Platonist converts to Christianity taught Christian philosophy in Ephasus and Rome martyred 165 CE wrote apologies
Montanism
"New Prophesy" led by Montanus (and Priscilla & Maximilla) predicted end of the world rigorous ascetic discipline had female clergy Tertullian - most significant convert
Priscilla and Maximilla
female associates of Montanus
“heretic”
one the CHOOSES weird things/beliefs
makes the choice to go “the other/wrong way”
“orthodoxy”
“right worship/teaching”
mainline Christianity
note the little o - not actually Orthodox yet
Antitheses
written by Marcion
set forth specific doctrines that he rejected for mainline Christian teaching
prompted mainline Christianity to defend itself (with canons and creeds)
Tradition
things universally taught
teaching of the apostles “handed down” in Apostolic Succession
Creeds
worded to establish boundaries of mainline teaching and exclude heretical ideas
used as a measure of belief
ex) Apostles’ Creed
Nicene Creed
κανον
Canon
guidelines authoritative list criteria: -Apostolic Authority -Tradition of use THERE WAS NO COUNCIL that chose the books
Gnosticism
elitist group had "secret knowledge" good/evil dichotomy material world=evil soul/body dichotomy only Gnostics were "saved" allowed to lie and betray others
Irenaeus
eastern church father 2nd century studied and taught in Rome priest and bishop wrote Against Heresies martyred after being turned in by Gnostics
Tertullian
a Montanist
also a church father
wrote about the trinity
one of the first western interpreters of Christianity
Cyprian
bishop of Carthage
important early Christian writer and church father
influenced by Tertullian
martyred in 258
44 BCE
end of Roman republic
Julius Ceasar assassinated
civil unrest breaks out
Pliny the Younger
Roman politician
persecuted Christians
his letters tell us that Christianity was an illegal cult in Rome
Valentinus
2nd century famous Gnostic theologian taught there were 3 kinds of people 1 - spiritual (Gnostics) 2 - psychical (other Christians) 3 - material (pagans, Jews)
pleroma
fullness, entirety
Demiurge
the creator god
Cainites
Gnostic sect who worshipped Cain as first victim of the evil OT God
“New Prophesy”
the movement also known as Montanism
the key to interpreting the “true” meaning of scripture
anamnesis
memory, returning to the event itself
sort of like time travel
“Eighth Day”
the day of Resurrection (Sunday)
transcends time
the reason for octagonal stuff in church
29 CE
Jesus dies (?)
70 CE
destruction of the Temple
1 Clement
one of the earliest texts outside the canon
a letter to Christian in Corinth
Shepherd of Hermas
1st or 2nd Century writing
occasionally canonized
very important work for early Christians
63 BCE
Rome takes control over Jerusalem
educere
“to draw out”
root of education
Nag Hammadi
site in Egypt
13 codices found
majority are Gnostic - like the Gospel of Thomas
135 CE
Jews banned from Jerusalem
Judaism outlawed
“faith”
TO BE RECEPTIVE to what God offers
NOT about belief
it is about acceptance or acknowledgment
“repentance”
transformation of the mind - changing what you think is good/right
NOT just feeling sorry
actions determine if the mind has actually been changed
catechumen
instructions/ summary of faith
for candidates for baptism
Dead Sea Scrolls
collection of texts found in Qumran
hidden by Essenes?
during 2nd Temple Period
Septuagint
official Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible
3rd - 2nd century BCE
adopted by early Christians
“Q”
the unknown common source of Matthew and Luke
(other than Mark)
teachings/sayings of Christ
polis
cities
basic political/social unit of the Roman empire
Octavian
Julius Caesar’s nephew + heir
emperor at time of Jesus’ birth
also called Caesar Augustus
restored order in 31 BCE
Alexander the Great
4th century BCE
established empire from India to Egypt
brought Greek culture and language to all the empire
Christianity spreads over the same area
Hellenism
Greek-ification
the spread of Greek language and culture
Cult of Rome
Emperor Cult
official religion
sacrifices are like taxes
sacrifice released the power of animals and added it to the emperor or Rome generally
Mystery Cults
provided “secret knowledge”
personal religious experience
sense of belonging, eternal life
INCLUSIVE - could follow more than one cult
Isis and Osiris
mystery cult based on (heavily adapted) Egyptian myth
-worship processions
-initiates would be bathed and prayed over
- didn’t eat meat or drink wine for ten days
then “direct encounter with the gods”
Stoicism
philosophy started by Zeno
taught of a creating God and a “world spirit”
reason+lack of passions+virtuous life –> happiness
self control important
Epicureanism
philosophy began with Epicurus
taught life of “pleasure”
pleasure through and ascetic, contemplative, and celibate life
Atargatis
mystery cult centered around a Syrian fertility diety
represented by “Galli”
made pilgrimages to Hieropolis
Galli
wandering, begging, gelded priests of Atargatis cult
initiates shaved head + eyebrows + journeyed to hieropolis, would be priests castrated themselves and from then on wore women’s clothing
Middle Platonism
combination of Platonism, Aristotelianism, and Stocism
approach divine through contemplation
intellectual climate, the cultural mentality
lots of variety
Νους
nous
transcendent power ruling over all all-powerful essentially the Jewish God except disinterested in human affairs beneath the Νους there was room for other gods
λόγος
logos
the meaning/reason behind everything
the power/Word of God
how God interacts with the world and creates stuff
also a name for Jesus Christ
diaspora
Jews living outside their hereditary Israel
started w/ Jews who remained in Babylon
Diaspora Jews tended to be more hellenized - but there are many exceptions
Babylonian Captivity
when many of the Jewish teachings/writings were consolidated and organized (the making of the OT)
the synagogue developed b/c Jews cut off from Temple
