Key Terms Flashcards
Part Three (20 points; 5 points each) will consist of brief (about two- to three- sentence) identification of key terms. From a list of six terms on the exam, you will be asked to define four. You will provide a brief definition and indicate the significance of each item for the interpretation of the NT. These terms will be drawn from the list appended below. Example: Muratorian Canon. Named after the Italian librarian who discovered the text in 1740, this fragment may be one of the earliest
Apocalypse
A literary work usually written in the first person. A genre of ancient Jewish and Jewish Christian writing. The genre uses a lot of symbolism to paint a picture of current reality and future salvation. The book of Revelation tells us that it is the “revelation of Jesus Christ”. Common themes in this type of writing is the battle between good and evil, and divine intervention where God ultimately wins. There are also themes of judgment day, and the resurrection of the dead. Basically, themes of eschatology and deliverance, and the battle of good and evil. You need to understand this in reading a document because you are expected to approach it a certain way.
A type of writing that has a prominence of angels and demons and supernatural as it relates to humans and the expectation of a final judgment and resurrection of the dead.
Characteristics:
- heavenly journeys
- historical sketches
- pseudonymity
- bizarre symbolic images
- violent repetitions and non-linear narratives
- triumphalist motivations
- exhortatory function
a) Apocalypse: “A genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework, in which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisage eschatological salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural world” (John J. Collins)
Apocalyptic
A worldview where there is a prominence of supernatural beings (angels and demons) and their influence on human affairs and the final judgment on nations and human beings.
In Paul’s writing, he believes that there are two ages; the present age, and the age to come. Paul believed that the second age, the age of the spirit, had been inaugurated by Jesus. The spirit of God has invaded the world. This is important to Paul because it means that the new creation is in the works. It is here. He says that circumcision and uncircumcision don’t matter, because the age of the spirit is here. The old categories of separating peoples is been obliterated. The world shattering power of the gospel is at stake when the circumcision group is requiring Gentiles to be cut. The new way to look at the world is spirit and flesh.
In Romans 8, Paul says that there is nothing that can keep us away from the love of Christ. No powers, no demons, nothing. This is a very apocalyptic was of thinking. So is Colossians 1:15-23.
Paul doesn’t tell use when these powers came to be, only that they exist and that Jesus has destroyed them on the cross.
“Catholic” Epistles
Catholic, or general, Epistles, are those whose who’s audience is the church in general. They lack a specific audience, or it’s general. They address problems that are happening within the church and provide more information than you would get besides Paul (in other words, Paul isn’t our only glimpse at the early church). The authorship of some of these letters is disputed.
Examples: 1 and 2 Peter Jude 1, 2, and 3 John James
Christ-Hymn
In Colossians 1:15-23, we have a potential hymn. It talks about the supremacy of Christ in creation and reconciliation. Basically, there is very high Christology found in some of these hymns.
Other potential hymns:
Hebrews 1:14
Philippians 2:6-11
I Tim 3:16
Themes: incarnation, death, and resurrection. Gloryfication of Christ at the cross. Preeminence of Christ in creation, Jesus is above powers.
Collection for the Saints
In 1 Cor 16, Paul says, “Now concerning the collection for the saints: you should follow the directions I gave to the churches of Galatia. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so that collections need not be taken when I come. 3 And when I arrive, I will send any whom you approve with letters to take your gift to Jerusalem”.
14 your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. 2 Corinthians
It looks like he was collecting money for the Jerusalem church.
i) Material Relief (2 Cor 8:14; Rom 15:26)
The people were suffering, and he wanted to help. This is not an insignificant project. Also suggests that he is trying to work or establish some sort of equality between the Gentiles and Jewish believers. Wants a fair redistribution between the churches.
ii) Unity and Koinōnia
It is an attempt to establish unity through giving. Serves to reestablish solidarity between the Gentiles mission of Paul, and what was happening with the leaders in the Jerusalem church. Acknowledges in Romans 15 that it might be rejected. In Acts, this offering is NEVER mentioned. The author of Luke-Acts is keenly aware of economic issues, but doesn’t mention in. So maybe it wasn’t accepted.
The collection is also an act of worship. And act of worship that is a thanksgiving to God (I or II Cor 9:6-15). He never gives them thanksgiving, he gives the thanks to God. Part of it is because he doesn’t want them to see themselves as Patrons to him.
Corinthian Letters
We know from the letters, that Paul founded the church. We know of at least 4 letters to the church, and we only have 2 of them. If we had them, this would be the flow:
Letter A: He tells them in 1 Corinthians 5 that he had written to them to not associate with sexual idolaters.
Corinthians respond and send a delegation to Paul. This might be where they ask Paul about sexual relations between husband and wives, virgins, food to idols, spiritual gifts, and the collection for the saints.
1 Corinthians: Paul says that a delegation from Chloe’s people told them about their quarrels. This might be where he finds out about the guy sleeping with his stepmom. Paul answers their questions about things they’ve asked him about.
The Letter of Tears: This letter was written in response to the conflict that erupts after Paul makes a surprise visit to collect more money. Paul is not taking money for them because he doesn’t want them to think of themselves as their patron, but then he’s asking money for the church in Jerusalem. Some people in the church begin to talk smack about him and he rebukes them harshly. After this letter Titus tells Paul that the people have repented. Paul refers to this letter in 2 Cor 2:3-4
2 Corinthians: People questions Paul’s apostleship and he defends himself.
At the core of what happened is Paul's travel plans, and his collection for the saints. Plan A: Paul is in Ephesus. He plans to go to Corinth, then Macedonia, then Corinth. To visit them twice. Plan B: Paul says he was in Ephesus, he wanted to go to Corinth, Macedonia, then Corinth. Then to Jerusalem. But the plan changed. Plan C (actual travels): He was in Ephesus, went to Corinth, then Macedonia, where he writes 2 Corinthians.
What does all this tell us? They were pissed that he was going to make two collections from the. People argue, and he rebukes them. Now there’s people talking trash about whether or not he’s an apostle.
Docetism
Docetism comes from the Greek word “to seem”. The heretics wrote that Jesus only “seemed” to have a genuine body and to suffer and die. Ignatius said that Jesus was literally a “flesh bearers”, or sarkophorus. He argued that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection were real events in history.
This is important to New Testament studies because John’s epistles, dated near the end of the first century, seem to be combating this false teaching.
Ignatius was a bishop of Antioch in Syria in the early second century who was martyred in Rome (ca. 110). He wrote against Docetism in his letters to the churches and to Polycarp.
Domitian
Domitian was the emperor (81-96) when John of Patmos wrote the Revelation. Domitian was known as the second Nero, he was a self-glorifying tyrant. He forced people to call him “Lord and God”. This would have really been offensive to Christians. Domitian actually welcomed the fact that people pay him divine honors, most emperors only expected after dearth. When the elders in Revelation 4:11 say, “You are worthy, our Lord and God”, it is a direct attack against the emperor. It is important to note that John sees the empire itself as a great harlot; it really didn’t matter to him who was on the throne.
Edict of Claudius
Suetonius tells us that Claudius was the Roman Emperor (41-54) who “expelled the Jews who were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus (Claudius 25.4). In Acts 18, Paul meets Priscilla and Aquila in Corinth because they had been kicked out of Rome by Claudius. What this tells us is that there had not yet been a split between Jews and Christians at that time. But, it does tell us that there were enough Christians in Rome to incite opposition by the Jews (at least according to Suetonius’ comment). The Gentile believers take over the church, the Jewish believers come back later, and now in Romans Paul is making the case as to why Gentile and Jewish believers are now the people of God.
Gematria
A technique used by John in Revelation to name “Nero Cesar” as the name of the beast. Gematria is a technique in which the letters of the alphabet are given numerical values. The sum of the numerical values of the Greek work “beast” is 666. But 666 is also the “number of a person”. When “Nero Cesar” is spelled out in Hebrew, their sum is also 666.
When the Greek Nero Kaisar is transliterated into Hebrew, it becomes NRWNQSR, the numerical value of which is 666.
Gnosticism
Focused on revealing the secret knowledge that would free believers from the realm of the material into the realm of spirit. They produced their own Christian scriptures, like the Gospel of Thomas. Again, the Christian community responded by making decisions on which scriptures were actually orthodox.
Hellenistic Letters
This is the style that is used by Paul to write his letters. At a very basic level, it includes an 1) opening that includes the author and recipient and a greeting; 2) the body of the letter that consists of the reason for writing, the topic, and how readers should respond to it; 3) a letter closing with wishes of property and greetings from others in the community.
Household Codes
In the theology of 1 Timothy, Ephesians 5, and 1 Peter, household codes are essential for interpretation.
“Christians adopted the household codes of the Romans and baptized them. They were adapted to the life of the community. There was to be mutual submission. The household duty codes function as rhetorical devices for communicating particular responses in particular social settings and not as pieces of legislation for Christian existence in all times and places.” Achtemeier.
Paul us arguing for a God ordered reality and a theocentric vision (or, the management of God). He’s talking about household management, or a program of instruction or management for the church, or an arrangement. This is how we are to behave in the household of God. God’s ordering of reality, and of the church, is like a household. God is in charge of the entire household, or creation. The physical household now becomes the framework to understand the church.
It is an attempt to correct abusive speech from some wives in the congregation. There is a specific situation he’s addressing, he’s not trying to shut all women up. In all of these, the term being used is gyne (married woman). Those women are doing something that isn’t correct in the community, they are abusing power, or something is wrong.
Downs is saying the I Tim is the start of the household codes, and that the letter is a highly missional letter. He’s trying to make sure the community is acting in such a way that non-Christians would have no reason to say, “we don’t want to be like those Christians”. Downs is saying that this is not a discussion of “men and women”, but about “husbands and wives”. It is not theoretical. Some women owned slaves. But this is not a general discussion, this is specifically talking about roles in the house in antiquity.
There is a theological and missionary proscription here. When her modesty is embodied, she proffers a powerful social virtue to outsiders who think that Christians are deconstructing the Greco-Roman household. Women in this context are asked to dress modestly and listen. He’s not implying that women are more easily deceived, or created second, but that the Eve story is typological. And, the Genesis passage that is being followed in actually into 4:1-2, where childbearing is a symbol that she is restored to God. Eve’s story is a story of reconciliation to God in chapter 4. In Romans 5 it is Adam.
Ignatius of Antioch
Ignatius was a bishop of Antioch in Syria in the early second century who was martyred in Rome (ca. 110). He wrote against a heresy called Docetism. He wrote these letters during his journey from Antioch to Rome.
Docetism comes from the Greek word “to seem”. The heretics wrote that Jesus only “seemed” to have a genuine body and to suffer and die. Ignatius said that Jesus was literally a “flesh bearers”, or sarkophorus. He argued that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection were real events in history.
This is important to New Testament studies because John’s epistles, dated near the end of the first century, seem to be combating this false teaching.
Some people argue that it sounds like the I and II Timothy letters sound more like 2nd century Christianity. He had a very clear perspective of bishops, presbyters, and elders. He said that you should follow bishops like you follow Christ. Downs says that maybe he’s writing strongly about that because there were different views of what leadership would look like out there. Also, don’t forget that Phoebe was a deacon, so those roles did exist.
Imperial Cult
The practice of venerating the emperor began after Augustus’ death. People worshipped the “spirit guardian”, or the spirit of the emperor. Emperor worship was more common in the outside provinces, where local elites forced the people to worship the emperor as a sign of their allegiance to the Roman Empire. Worship of emperor was synonymous with a political allegiance to his reign. This was very common in Asia Minor where the churches in Revelation are located. The emperor was considered to be divine after death. The first few emperors refused to be worshipped. But, Nero, Caligula, and Domitian allowed it.
“In Christ”
The term “In Christ” appears 73 times in Paul’s letter. It is so common that we don’t even notice it. This is the belief that something mystical happens between believers and Christ that goes beyond language.
Stage A: Christ has been sent by the Father.
Christ has died.
Stage B: Christ’s Resurrection and Ascension into the Eschatological Age
Paul is saying that as Christians, we share in this narrative. The story of Christ becomes the story of those who are joined with him. Through the Holy Spirit, we enter into this story, and that is important to Paul. My relationship with Christ creates a horizontal relationship with other believers. We don’t lose who we are completely, but we don’t become fully Christ either. We are new, but different.
Judicial Model of Salvation
One of the Soteriological Models (model of salvation) in Romans 1-8. Especially in Romans 3:20-26.
Sin=human disobedience that brings a death penalty.
Jesus’ death=payment of the penalty sin.
Appropriation=acceptance of the payment through faith, apart from works of the law.
What’s the problem with this model? But this misses the cosmological implications of what Paul is saying. Paul has a view of sin as a power, it is not just something you do (like steal). It is a power. For Paul, humans are NEVER FREE. The question is are you a slave to Christ, or to sin? To death, or to righteousness?
Paul believed that Jesus had defeated both our choosing out of God, and the principalities and power.
Justification
In Pauline theology, people have been saying that justification is at the core of what he is getting at. This has been the view from protestants since the Reformation. It is the belief that we have been made right with God, or justified, by our faith in Jesus.
State A. Works of the law lead to legalism, which at the end of the day is futile. There was atonement by Jesus’ death on the cross.
State B. Those of us who believe this are justified by our faith, and will be saved on the day of judgment as a result.
This is a fair reading of Roman 1-4, but that’s not all Paul is talking about. Justification seen through this lens is very Protestant.
Junia
The name “Junia” is attested over 250 times in Latin inscriptions, not once does it refer to a man. This means that Junia is a woman’s name. Paul mentions 26 people in total, 18 men and 8 women. More than any other letter, Romans highlights the role of women in the church. Junia is an apostle, and a fellow worker. He only uses these words to refer to himself.
Melchizedek
Melchizedek is mentioned only in Genesis 14, and one of the Psalms. He seems to have captured the imagination of Jewish writers at the time, and so is the author of Hebrew. He gives a Christological reinterpreting of Genesis 14. If you read Genesis 14, you don’t see that.
The point being made in the text is that Jesus is a high priest by the order of Melchizedek; that is, he is an eternal priest.
The Levitical Priesthood: Descendant from David, have to repeat sacrifices over and over, are polluted by sin and must sacrifice for themselves also, offer worship in the sanctuary.
Jesus the Great High Priest: Eternal, from the order of Melchizedek, performs a once and for all sacrifice, is without sin, and enters the true sanctuary in heaven.
Letter of Tears
Paul makes a surprise visit to Corinth to collect money for the church in Jerusalem. People had a negative reaction, because Paul was not taking money from them. He didn’t want them to think they were his patrons, because it might get in the way of freely preaching the gospel. So the issue of money was already present in the community. Paul writes them this letter when he is in Asia. In 2 Corinthians 2:2-4 Paul says that Titus told him they had repented. Basically, the issue of money is live in the community. Paul receives a message that there are other people questioning his apostleship. He refers to them as “super-apostles”.
Literary Genre of Acts
According to Achtemeier, the book of Acts is a historical narrative. It provides a bridge between the Gospel, and what happens after Jesus’ death and resurrection. It gives us a continuity from the events in the Gospels, into the life of the church and to the ends of the earth (Rome). It also provides us an outline on which to place the events and people mentioned in the rest of the New Testament canon. Some people have argued that it cannot be history in the modern sense, but the second century writer, Lucian, told writers to give their audiences “what would interest and instruct them” (How to write History). In this sense, the book of Acts gives God’s people a look at her history and instructs them.
Marcion
Marcion came to Rome with a different understanding of Christianity. He believed that the material world was evil, and that an evil God had created it. That god was ignorant of the evil God of love. He believed that at the cross the higher God of love saved believers from the evils of this lesser world. Since the Jewish scriptures pointed to this evil and vengeful God, Christ came to abolish the law and prophets, not to fulfill them. In response, the church included Jewish texts in the canon. Marcion relied on Paul, because Paul believed in the abolishment of the law, and on Luke, who was Pauline in his theology. He took out everything in Paul and Luke that talked well of the Jewish faith.
Montanists
Montanus believed that with his appearance the final stage of Christianity had dawned. He believed that the Holy Spirit came through him, and that the end of the world was near. The Christian community reacted by denying that he was the authority in the Holy Spirit, and that he was not at the level of Christ. They said that only the scriptures that came from the apostolic tradition were authoritative. Basically, Montanus was passing himself off almost like a new Messiah.
Mystery
Paul refers to the mystery in Colossians 1:24-29 and Ephesians 3:1-13. Paul is a prisoner of this mystery. It has to do with the fact that the Gentiles are now coheir in the Kingdom of God. Paul has been commissioned by Jesus to deliver this message to the Gentiles.
Ephesians: “that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
Colossians: “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil and struggle with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me.”
Parousia
Parousia is an eschatological term that refers to the second coming of Christ. The New Testament refers to Jesus’ second coming in different ways: advent, epiphany, appearance, the day of the Lord, the day of Christ, or the last day. The Greek word “parousia” was used as early as the 3rd century BC to describe the visit of a king or dignitary to a city arranged in order to show his magnificence to the people.
