Exam 3 Flashcards
homoousious
“of the same substance” used to designate the belief that Jesus was “of the same substance of God”
hypostatic union
the doctrine of the union of divine and human natures in Jesus Christ, without confusion of their respective substances
incarnation
refers to the assumption of the human nature of God in the person of Jesus Christ
kenoticism
lays emphasis upon Christ’s laying aside of certain divine attributes in the incarnation
liberation theology
movement which stressed the role of political action and orientated itself towards the goal of political liberation from poverty and oppression
liturgy
the written text and set forms of public services, especially of the eucharist
memorialism
Christ is remembered through the eucharist. Since He is now in heaven, he cannot also be present in the bread and wine
monophysitism
there is only one nature in Christ, which is divine
parousia
“coming” or “arrival” used to refer to the second coming of Christ
patripassianism
heresy that the Father suffered as the Son
Rufinus’s reflection are in the form of a commentary on this
the Apostle’s Creed
who does Jesus deceive with his human flesh?
Satan
what classic theory of the atonement does Rufinus develop?
the “mousetrap” or “fish-hook” theory
what does Rufinus say is described in Ephesians 3:18?
the cross
in addition to purging sins, baptism provides THIS gift
the Holy Spirit
during what period did Christians receive the theological instruction that culminated in baptism?
Lent
who do Christians renounce in baptism?
Satan
with what does 1 Peter 3:18-22 compare baptism?
the days of Noah and the ark
this term refers to something too profound to be grasped fully by the human mind
mystery
this is a term for a figure or event in the OT whose full embodiment is found in the NT
typos or antitype
anthropos
human
describe creation as God’s intentional act
genesis 1 & 2
attribute creation to the Son
john 1:3, 10; Col 1:16; Heb 1:2
creatio ex nihilo
creation out of nothing
justin martyr
God formed the world from pre-existent matter
imago dei
the image of God
humans were created in the image of God
gen 1:26-27
views on the imago dei
substantive, functional, relational
substantive view
something humans possess or a characteristic humans have; usually a mental or spiritual dimension, like the ability to reason; reason separates humans from all other creatures and reflects most clearly what God is like; Carl Henry supports
functional view
seen in what humans exercising dominion over creation; close connection between “in our image” and “let them rule over”; Psalm 8:5-8 - humans were made a little lower than angels; more to do with human roles and functions than God’s nature
relational view
not something humans possess or do; humans display God’s image through relationships; God has an “I-Thou” relationship within himself as the trinity (Karl Barth); humans also have these relationships
questions for the relational view
allow God’s image to be universal? does someone rebelling against God bear the image of God?
questions for the functional view
creating in God’s image and giving authority the same act? distinction between “let us make man in our image” and “let them rule over”?
questions for substantive view
overemphasizes one aspect of human makeup (reason) over others? vary from one person to the next (such as intellectual disabilities)?
human composition theories
trichotomy & dichotomy
trichotomy
humans are made of 3 things: one material (body) and two immaterial (soul and spirit); body = physical component, soul = psychological component, spirit = part that can know God
dichotomy
humans consist of 2 things: one material (body) and one immaterial (soul/spirit); soul and spirit are not different
conclusions about human composition
scripture is ambiguous and uses spirit and soul interchangeably (NT adds heart and mind also); a more holistic approach is needed
traducianism
all human potentiality (material and immaterial) was created in Adam and Eve; soul/spirit is transmitted along with the body from the parents
creationism
only material potentiality was created in Adam and Eve; God creates each soul individually and joins it to the body
sin in creation
humans were created for good; humans sinned and lost some facet of goodness; it is good to be human, but humans are not altogether good
posse peccare
originally is was possible to sin
non posse non peccare
after the fall, it was not possible to sin
posse non peccare
after grace in Jesus Christ, it is possible not to sin
non posse peccare
in our glorified state, it will not be possible to sin
imputation
to attribute fault or to reckon to one’s account; humans are sinners because God attributes sin to them due to Adam’s sin (sinners because God says so)
impartation
to share with; humans are sinners bc sin is at work in them and distorts their nature
universality of sin
romans 3:9-12, 23 - all humans are sinners
total depravity
every facet of human existence is affected by sin; romans 3:10-18, ephesians 2:1-3, psalm 51:5
original sin (or inherited sin)
all humans are born into sinfulness due to adam’s sin; Augustine: all infants are born with original sin the must be removed through baptism; pelagius: humans did not inherit sinful nature and are nor sinners until the first act of sin
communal sin
ezra 9:1-7, 10-11; 1 samuel 3:11-14; ezekiel 18:19-20; romans 7:14-25
high christology (descending christology)
emphasizes Jesus’ divinity by pointing to his relationship to God and coming from God; John, Pauline letters, Hebrews, John 1:1-5,14, Col 1:15-20, Heb 1:1-3a, Phil 2:5-11
low christology (ascending christology)
emphasizes Jesus’ humanity and ultimate glorification; highlights his similarities with other humans; synoptic gospels, acts, hebrews, Matthew 1-2, 28, heb 4:15, phil 2:5-11
council of nicaea
first ecumenical council in Christian history; convened by constantine; attended by mostly eastern bishops; officially defined Jesus’ relationship to God: son is “of the same essence” as the Father
athanasius’ argument
athanasius: “of the same essence”; the son is not a creation of the father because only God saves, not another creature
arius’ argument
son has not always existed, but is God’s first and highest creation; if the son were of the same essence of the father, then God would be divisible; beget/begotten refers to the creation of the son; prov. 8:21, 22-31 and 1 Cor 1:23-24
council of chalcedon
addressed Jesus’ relationship of divinity and humanity; Jesus possesses a fully human and fully divine nature while remaining only one person; now called the “hypostatic union”; rejected nestorianism, apollinarianism, eutychianism
nestorianism
human and divine and two complete persons separate enough for Mary to give birth to the human but not the divine; rejected by council of chalcedon
apollinarianism
logos took human flesh but did not become fully human; no human mind; rejected by council of chalcedon
eutychianism
human and divine natures “mixed” to form a third nature; rejected by council of chalcedon
could Jesus have sinned or failed to fulfill his mission?
gethsemane: wants to avoid suffering, seems to think deliverance was a real possibility, but was it?, existential possibility and metaphysical impossibility
existential possibility
in his limited human understanding, Jesus thinks deliverance is possible; hence his distress and request
metaphysical impossibility
in terms of ultimate reality, it is impossible because Jesus is the incarnate word and cannot fail to obey the father; distress is real, although he could not have failed
was jesus fully human if he did not sin?
universal and essential: just because a characteristic is common to everyone (universal), that does not mean it could not be otherwise (essential)
five theories of restitution
christus victor, ransom, satisfaction, substitution, moral influence
christus victor
atonement was a battle between God and the powers of evil; through his death and resurrection, Jesus won the battle and freed captive humanity
ransom theory
“devil’s right theory”; by deceiving humanity, Satan won the rights to humanity; Jesus’ death was a kind of “payoff” buying humanity back
satisfaction theory
anselm of canterbury rejected ransom theory; through sin, humans failed to pay God the honor due him; only God could atone, but only humans were obligated to pay for the offense; one who is both God and human (Jesus) had to satisfy God’s justice and give him honor
substitution theory
sin is breaking God’s law; humans deserve God’s punishment and wrath; Jesus became our substitute, receiving God’s wrath on the cross in our place; humans escape punishment even though guilty
moral influence theory
peter abelard rejected ransom and satisfaction theories; God shows his love through Jesus - our example; saved as we allow this love to increase by following his example
recent christologies
liberation, feminist, christology and violence, spirit, and finality of Jesus Christ
liberation christology
Jesus’ identified with the poor and oppressed: he was a peasant who embraced outcasts; Jesus undermines oppressive structures, not just forgives individual sins; we follow Jesus by ministering to the poor and oppressed; reps: Leonardo Bodd and Gustavo Gutierez
feminist christology
can a male savior save women? emphasis on Jesus’ humanity, not maleness; if Jesus is the norm of being human, are women without an example and don’t measure up? “wisdom Christology” and Mary; is the crucifixion “divine child abuse”? re-evaluate the saving power of Jesus’ death in relation to his life and ministry
christology and violence
crucifixion is an extraordinarily violent death; also part of a sacrificial system; why did God choose to save through such violent means?: to expose the violence of the world’s system, to identify with victims of violence, sacrificial system
spirit christology
emphasis on the Holy Spirit’s role in Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection; Spirit helped make Jesus who he was and enabled him to carry out his divine mission; Luke 1:34-35, 3:21-22, 4:1, 14, 18, Heb 9:12-13, Rom 8:11
finality of Jesus Christ
unique and definitive revelation of God; daniel migliore; views on Christianity’s relationship to other religions: exclusivist view, developmentalist view, Transcendentalist view, dialogical view, relativistic view
exclusivist view
non-christian religions are false; dialogue betrays Jesus’ uniqueness
developmentalist view
non-christian religions can be preparations for accepting Christ; Jesus is God’s highest revelation, and other religions find ultimate fulfillment in him
transcendentalist view
god’s grace exceeds the limits of the historical figure of Jesus; therefore God’s grace may be active in all religions to greater or lesser degrees
dialogical view
christians and non-christians should take their own beliefs seriously and dialogue with others; all religions may be seen to contain elements of truth and falsehood (Paul Tillich)
relativistic view
god is at work equally in all religions; jesus is but one savior among other savior figures in other religions
