Lecture 5: Christianity 1

Question 1

how did Christianity begin?

Answer 1

as a branch of Judaism

Question 2

What is the Professors thesis in the first lecture on Christianity?

Answer 2

• one aspect of the material dimension that sets Christianity apart from Judaism and Islam is the role that visual art plays in the Christian tradition
• as the early Church communities established the canon and statements of orthodoxy, visual art flourished, including painting, sculpture and engraved sarcophagi(coffins) depicting scenes from the life of Jesus
• Christian art and theology allow for the presentation of the infinite in the finite realm

Question 3

Christians believe Jesus is fully _____ and fully _____.

Answer 3

Human and Divine

Question 4

early Christian art reflects what models?

Answer 4

Greco-Roman models
- most is funerary art

Question 5

what do peacocks represent?

Answer 5

eternal life

Question 6

Who was Constantine?

Answer 6

one of the most important emperors in the Eastern Roman Empire
- he ended the persecution of Christians in the empire

Question 7

who do Christians believe Jesus was?

Answer 7

the Messiah that was anticipated in the Hebrew Bible
- Jews reject this

Question 8

What was Jesus’ religion?

Answer 8

He was a Jew

Question 9

Most Christian art is about?

Answer 9

Jesus or the Virgin Mary

Question 10

The Christian New Testament contains how many books?

Answer 10

27 books

Question 11

What are the four gospels of the New Testament?

Answer 11

• they are accounts of the life of Jesus
  1. Matthew
  2. Mark
  3. Luke
  4. John
  5. Pauline Epistles (a series of letter written by the Apostle Paul to various early Christian communities)

Question 12

Jesus’ public ministry happened between his age of?

Answer 12

30 to 33

Question 13

When and where was Jesus born?

Answer 13

in Palestine around 3 BCE

Question 14

for the 3 years of Jesus’ public ministry, what did he do?

Answer 14

he chose and gathered followers who accompanied him from place to place, teaching and preaching as well as healing, casting out demons, and on occasion, raising the dead(Lazarus)

Question 15

at age 33, what happened to Jesus?

Answer 15

he was arrested by the Romans, was condemned, nailed to a cross(crucified) and left to die

Question 16

two days after Jesus’ death, his followers claimed that?

Answer 16

he rose from the dead and showed himself to them
- he commissioned them to carry on the work started (his twelve disciples)

Question 17

what is the story of Annunciation in regards to the Virgin Mary?

Answer 17

the angel came down to the Virgin Mother Mary and told her she would be pregnant with the child of God

Question 18

when was Jesus baptized and by whom?

Answer 18

at age 30 and by John the Baptist

Question 19

what are the two most important rituals in Christianity?

Answer 19

Baptism and Eucharist

Question 20

who were the twelve disciples?

Answer 20

the first 12 followers of Jesus

Question 21

all four gospels include what that describes Jesus’ sufferings during his betrayal, trial and execution by crucifixion?

Answer 21

“passion narratives”

Question 22

why did the Romans want Jesus crucified?

Answer 22

• they thought he was plotting against the Roman Empire
• he was calling himself the King of the Jews
• authorities saw him as seditious

Question 23

the four gospels fit into where in the 27 books of the New Testament?

Answer 23

they are the first four books

Question 24

what is the Old Testament(part of Christian Bible) based on?

Answer 24

a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible known as the Septuagint

Question 25

what does the the Christian Bible comprise of?

Answer 25

the Hebrew Bible, which Christians refer to as the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament (books are in a different order)

Question 26

what does the Christian New Testament begin and end with?

Answer 26

the birth of Jesus and ends with the apocalypse (end of times)
- linear trajectory

Question 27

what is the Pentecost?

Answer 27

event in the New Testament
- first depicted in the book of Acts when the Holy Spirit comes down and ‘in spirits’ the disciples who begin speaking in unintelligible languages

Question 28

what is the fastest growing branch of Christianity?

Answer 28

Pentecostal
- prevalent in Global South

Question 29

the main sources of information on the life, teachings and intention of Jesus are found where?

Answer 29

in the New Testament especially in the four Gospels

Question 30

which Gospels are referred to as the synoptic Gospels? why?

Answer 30

Mark, Luke and Matthew
- because they can be seen together
- a little differences but roughly the same stories

Question 31

why is the Gospel of John different from the other three?

Answer 31

because it is a more mystical oriented text and his purpose is to set out not just the narrative but the cosmic significance significance of the narrative
- John proclaims Jesus as the messiah and saviour

Question 32

Key doctrine in Christianity regarding Jesus?

Answer 32

Jesus is a saviour

Question 33

Christianity is a salvific religion. what does this mean?

Answer 33

it is focused on salvation
- Christians repent of their sins and they believe that Christ has died in their place

Question 34

what does logos mean?

Answer 34

reason, rationality

Question 35

the document known as the Didache, “Teaching of the Lord to the Gentiles by the Twelve Apostles” was probably written where and when?

Answer 35

in Syria in the first century
- it is the first known example of the Church Order

Question 36

The Apostolic Traditions is a work often attributed to?

Answer 36

Hippolytus; who give us our earliest example of the full text of the Eucharistic prayer

Question 37

what are the Apostolic Constitutions?

Answer 37

eight treatises relating to Church Orders, including teaching on discipline, worship and doctrine

Question 38

how long did it take for Christianity to evolve from a movement within Judaism to an organized religion in its own right?

Answer 38

approximately four hundred years

Question 39

who put an end to the persecution of Christians?

Answer 39

Emperor Constantine

Question 40

By the 4th century, the Roman Empire split in two, the Western and the Eastern. Where were the seats of each?

Answer 40

Western Empire: Rome
Eastern Empire: Constantinople (Istanbul today)

Question 41

When did Constantine (r. 306-337) issue the Edict of Milan that gave Christians liberty to practice their religion, and eventually granting them state support and patronage.

Answer 41

313

Question 42

what statement was formulated by the Council of Nicaea in 325?

Answer 42

a statement of belief was formulated that came to be called the Nicene Creed which affirms the humanity and the divinity of Jesus in one person

Question 43

what is a creed?

Answer 43

an official statement of belief, of doctrine

Question 44

In Christianity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is?

Answer 44

One God because they are all made of one essence (or substance)

• The Holy Trinity

Question 45

what did the Holy Spirit do?

Answer 45

came upon the Virgin Mary and then she gave birth to Jesus

Question 46

filioque is the Latin word that translates to?

Answer 46

and the son

Question 47

what did the Council of Chalcedon do?

Answer 47

they tried to settle the controversy Nestorianism which is Jesus having two natures. One fully human and one fully divine. but his Fully Human and Fully Divine are reconciled in the Holy Spirit