Final Exam Study Guide Flashcards
How early Jewish apocalypticism started
Began in second temple period
Apocalyptic writing in apocrypha, pseudoprigrapha, and Dead Sea Scrolls
Part of biblical interpretation and reflection
Influenced by Persian, Greek, and Roman apocalyptic religions
Came out of need for increased hope in political turmoil
Josephus
Wrote history of Jews from creation to contemporary
Hired by Romans, so from roman point of view
BEST SOURCE FOR UNDERSTANDING THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD
Influence of Alexander the Great on Christianity
- 1st multiculturalist– intermarriage
- Myoptic about religion (wanted 1 combination religion for everyone)
- Wanted 1 government
- Imposed 1 language (koine)
Rome’s 4 major changes to the Jewish religion and Christian world
- Pax Romana (MVP)= peace of Rome, immunity for roman citizens out of fear of Rome (ex. Paul)
- Power from ability to administrate= est. Of governors and the 1st man in Rome (Pilot)
- Engineering= aqueducts, roads, bath houses, sewage systems, ect.
- Communication through ROADS
Rome’s influences on Christianity
Crucifixion= MVP sign of roman power
In 2nd Temple Period, Jews wanted to define themselves AGAINST Greco-Roman religion
Manna: primitive belief that there were powers in world not meant to be messed with
Philosophical: believed gods were fickle, began trusting in the mind
Mystery cults
Features of early Jewish apocalypticism
- Binary (good v. evil)
- Pervasive (present everywhere)
- Corresponds with political domination of Israel by foreign powers
- Transition: vision of future described through dreams of God’s glorious intervention
Hope for world only from God’s divine intervention
Looking for dramatic reversal by God
2nd Temple Period sources
Apocrypha
Pseudoprigrapha
Dead Sea Scrolls
Shows Jews were reflecting on scripture to establish their identity
Needed to establish an identity because of loss of sovereignty (through loss of land and loss of temples)
Reflection= new way to “go home”
3 types of divine agents
- Patriarchs and matriarchs back from the dead
- Special agents
a. Ex. Grpabriel, Michael, Angels (even made random words Angels)
b. Developed in 2nd Temple Period along with beliefs in hell, multiplicity of being, and Satan - Personified attributes of God
a. MVP examples: glory, power, holiness, wisdom
Hardest divine agent to understand
Personified attributes of God
What do divine agents do?
- Helped create the world
- Help in times of need
- INSTRUMENTS THROUGH WHICH GOD DESTROYS EVIL AND ESTABLISHES THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Problem associated with divine agents
Because they are described like God, people thought they were God
Problem of worshipping divine agents contradicted monotheism
Ex. Luke 9 with transfiguration and Moses and Elijah
Relationship between Jewish view of divine agents and Jesus
Jesus was pictured similar to a divine agent BUT CHRISTIANS WORSHIPPED HIM AS GOD
Jesus breeched a new wall
Crux of the New Testament
Christians worshipping Jesus as God
Is the transformation from Judaism to Christianity
Jesus breeched a new wall
Ex. In a hymn before Jesus’s resurrection
Effect of the shift from Alexander the Great’s reign to roman rule
More change, more communication, dislocation
Tumultuous time period
Led to people seeking a guide for life with “experience” religions
Experiences became cure for social anxiety
Reflection of “experience” religions on Jews in 2nd Temple Period
Experiences= cure for social anxiety under roman rule AND from the tension between prophetic hope and apocalyptic hope Learned from Persians =People claiming PERSONAL revelations New experiences= NEW REVELATIONS =throne visions
2nd Temple Period apocalypses were basically stories of…
How Jews were going to be NEWLY purchased by GOD
Throne visions
Like seeing a movie
Interpreted by DIVINE AGENTS (to usher in the Kingdom of God)
Tension between prophetic hope and apocalyptic hope came from…
The apocalyptic belief that God would bring about a NEW world, not a remade world
Old Testament looks to Day of the Lord
Apocalyptic writings look to God’s agent and judgement of evil
How was the tension between prophetic hope and apocalyptic hope increased?
Because Jesus “drank deeply” from both prophetic hope and apocalyptic hope, and, consequently, Christianity did too
How is the death and resurrection of Jesus apocalyptic
It’s a cosmic judgement of the old age AND an inauguration of the new age
“A kick in the pants”
Cultural anxiety affects…
BOTH prophetic hope and apocalyptic hope
= quest for solace
Spoke to the spirit
Images of Jesus
An improbable moment
The moment of divine revelation of Jesus’s true identity
His resurrection
_________ redeemed the cross
Jesus’s resurrection
Est. Christianity
Transforms the improbable to the focus of points to God’s purpose
Looks to sacrificial system of the Old Testament
Baptism in early Christianity
Was practiced by Jews already, BUT NOW it represented the death and resurrection of Jesus
Became symbol of God’s people
WAS AN EXPERIENCE
Crazy– like praying in the name of Allah in chapel
The Lord’s Supper in early Christianity
Symbol of a CHOICE to maintain a RELATIONSHIP with God
Recurring event
Bread= body
Wine= blood
BINDS PEOPLE TOGETHER
An intimate EXPERIENCE (a risky experience)
What binds the 2nd Temple Period and Christianity?
Jesus
Christians claimed that the Jewish story reached its climax with…
Jesus
Jesus’s deeds and words
They interpreted each other
Deeds: miracles and enacted parables
Words: parables, wise sayings, sermons
Exodus 3:14
“Yaweh”= “I am who I am”= “kurious” in Greek= “Lord”
Jesus (the) Christ (is) Lord
Earliest confession about Jesus
Philippians 2:5-9
Early Christian hymn that predicts the second coming of Christ
Best account of what we know about Jesus
Paul’s letters
Not the gospels.., = problem
2nd best account of life of Jesus
The Gospels
Synoptic gospels
Matthew
Mark
Luke
*not original disciples and not all present with Jesus
Synoptic problem:
Comes from the attempt to explain the similarities and differences between Matthew, Mark, and Luke
Markan priority
Belief that Mark= source of Matthew and Luke
Preferred hypothesis
Scholars assume Q is another source for Matthew and Luke
Q
Is german for “quella”
Assumed supplementary source for Matthew and Luke to support the Markan priority hypothesis
Agreed upon by 85% of scholars
Refers to content in Matthew and Luke only
SAYINGS ONLY
Was written after Mark
May have been written near time of Jesus
NOT the gospel of Thomas
Matthean Priority
Belief that Matthew= source for Mark and Luke
Because belief that Matthew was written first
Mark= “reader’s digest” version of Matthew
Gospel criticisms
- Source criticism
- Form criticism
- Redaction criticism
- Literary criticism
- Canon criticism
Source criticism
Explains sources of the gospels
MVP: Markan priority with Q
Segue to form criticism and synoptic problem
Form criticism
Form is appropriate to social location
Analogy: wedding invitation (the form is always the same)
Scholars saw the parables, wise sayings, miracles, controversial stories, travel narratives, and long sermons of the New Testament as DIFFERENT FORMS
Form relates to the life of the CHURCH
Church relates to ____, but does NOT relate to _____
Forms; Jesus
Redaction criticism
EDITORIAL
Because scholars saw synoptic problem and measured changes and differences between Matthew, Luke, and Q
Argument that Matthew and Luke wrote about things they were partial to
PURPOSE: to say what each gospel writer’s THEOLOGY is
Purpose of redaction criticism
To say what each gospel writer’s THEOLOGY is
Makes authors of the gospels theologians (like Paul and Jesus)
Characteristics of Luke’s Gospel
Longest and has a literary preface Is a prequel to Acts Focuses more on women, Holy Spirit, and a specific view of time specific view of time Prioritized prayer Has MOST PARABLES Fewer sermons and miracles Chronological Imaginative, not nonfiction GENTILE audience Believed what Jesus said and did MATTERED
Literary criticism
Study of Matthew for Mark’s sake
NOT to study the changes Matthew made
Canon criticism
Looks at ways in which the books of the New Testament form a choir
Interpretations of who Jesus was?
- Apocalyptic prophet who predicted binary end of the world
- Miracle worker (magician) like those in Greco-Roman culture
- Wise teacher
- Political revolutionary
- Figure seeking individual enlightenment (gnostic view)
*truth in all but only one image will suffice
3 word summary of Jesus’s identity
- Prophet
- Messiah
- Lord
Jesus as a prophet
Beginning category of understanding
Gives message of renewal for Israel
Tells Israel to be Israel and not to fall because Kingdom of God is HERE
Renewal is present from birth to last week of His life
Jesus as Messiah
Spoke openly of it in last week of His life
Jesus EMBODIES THE DESTINY OF ALL
“Messiah” does not necessarily mean “divine” (ex. Cyprus)