Midterm Exam (short answers) Flashcards
ch 2
Apocrypha?
Gk. τὰ ἀπόκρυφα (plur.), ‘the hidden [things]’
Oxford: Biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of Scripture. The Old Testament Apocrypha include writings (dating from around 300 bc to ad 100) which appeared in the Septuagint and Vulgate versions but not in the Hebrew Bible; most are accepted by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches as the ‘deuterocanonical’ books. The New Testament Apocrypha include texts attributed to Apostles and other biblical figures but not regarded as authentic by the Councils of the Church.
ch 3
Name the apostolic fathers
They are Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch (identified Judaizing with circumcision and Sabbath observance (not procreation), and his advocacy of martyrdom strongly affirmed the bodily nature of Christ’s death and the resurrection of the flesh; Ignatius is using his authority as an about‐to‐be martyr to restore unity under the authority of the monarchical episcopate in Antioch), Barnabas, Polycarp of Smyrna, etc.
They are next generation after the apostles, with some personal knowledge, who had living contact with the apostles after the close of the New Testament era (from about AD 95-150; late 1-st, early 2-d century).
ch 3
What is montanism? Its function?
known as the New Prophecy, was an early Christian movement (sect) of the late 2nd century, which produces new sacred texts, later referred to by the name of its founder, Montanus. Having converted to Christianity, Montanus fell into a trance and began to prophesy through Holy Spirit that the Second Coming was imminent. It prompts mistrust of apocalyptic movements in wider church.
Which Materials of a Codex used?
1) Papyrus:
- a material similar to thick paper made of Cyperus papyrus plant;
- Available only from Egypt.
- Downside is that they are not durable or suited for damp climates.
2) Parchment and vellum:
- These are animal skins which, compared to papyrus, makes them available everywhere.
- Sheep skins were frequently used.
- They are also more reusable because the ink could be scraped off.
- They also had to have standardized page sizes because of the size of sheep skin (This is a reason why we have standardized page sizes for today).
Ancient books, what were they and how made?
- Evidence of books before Constantine is much harder to acquire/gather because they
were not widely available. - Books are copied by hand:
a) Typically, you would have groups of scribes, monasteries, or trade shops that
copy books by hand. These people would charge for their services, which made
getting a book expensive.
b) Mass production of books did not exist until the 16th century.
- Literacy-wise, most people could get the impression of words/letters that they might
see on walls.
- But, for the most part they could not read or write.
- Individuals who owned bibles at this time were very wealthy.
Advantages of Codex
- Can write on both sides.
- There is paging back and forth, which made it easier to reference something compared to a scroll.
a) Modern-day comparison: With e-books, paging from one page to another is harder compared to traditional paper books.
- It also becomes dominant outside of spiritual/religious purposes.
Hands and Book Hands: How kinds of writing changed over time?
- During the Classical antiquity period, letters were written predominantly in Block Capitals. Lower-case letters didn’t exist back then. There was also a limited form of cursive.
- During the Imperial Period, Roman cursive was developed and become more popular.
- During the 3rd century, Uncials were invented to make writing easier to understand and transcribe:
a) This came out of the need to frequently transcribe the bible. - By the end of the 5th century, the semi-uncials does make it harder to read. But the letters begin to look more similar with each copy which implies a sort of standardization of letters.
Production of books sequence and its history?
- Producing books was extremely expensive:
a) A Bible could cost half of what a middle-class person could make in a year, e.g. $25k out of $50k
b) There were not a lot of bibles everywhere like nowadays. - Books were often produced in monastic or quasi-monastic communities.
- Monks did not transcribe things because they were bored but because people paid and commissioned them to do so (They transcribed all sorts of things not just bibles).
- The stuff that was commissioned was typically for institutional purposes; so, a church might commission a bible.
- We have evidence of this from archaeology, book lists, and private letters.
Define Stemma.
- Stemma means: “Family tree” of manuscripts.
- Looks for commonalities among contemporary MSS.
- Traces back to earlier sources.
- The monks that transcribed these texts worked carefully to ensure they were accurate, especially if a text was considered sacred or holy.
- But mistakes still happen. Typically, when something is written by hand, a line could be skipped, something could
be missed, or a word could be consciously or unconsciously altered.
a) To find the best possible source, all different types of a source are compared. This means looking at both commonalities and differences.
b) Then based on what scholars know about it, they will attempt to deduce which source is the most accurate.
- Overall, looking into the stemma of certain texts helps provide the most accurate oldest version of it.
Collections of books, what are they? Which were most popular?
- Often, people would have a collection of books rather than the “entire” bible.
a) Someone could ask to borrow someone’s Book of Luke, for instance. - Some people may want to commission only some books but not others.
- The most popular books were the gospels, the solemns, and the Pauline epistles. This is because most churches sought to have a copy of each one.
ch 4
Describe Normative Roman Burial
- Romans have to be buried outside the city limits – extramural (outside the city walls); they tend to be along roadsides;
- lots of tombs: because it makes easier to attend and more visible; poor can’t afford a great stone; most burials are cremation.
- e.g. Family Monuments —> Tomb of Scipiones (3rd - 2nd cent. BCE); a) Scipiones —> Family of famous Roman Generas.
New Testament + Early Christian Archeology: B) Development (of catacombs, who - give a sequence)
1) Helena —> Mother of Constantine; deserves to be called “mother” of Christian archaeology.
2) Bosio —> Finds stuff underground (investigations sponsored by the papacy).
3) de Rossi —> digs in Roman Catacombs on behalf of Pope.
4) Krautheimer —> German/ Jewish Archaeologist (More secular/ scientific).
Christian social life? Who can be a Christian?
Social history doesn’t leave much archaeology —> day-to-day life seems pretty normal.
Galatians 3:28 gives an ideal view of social society: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus”.
No differences matter, everyone can be a Christian.
Ideal vs Real Family? What constitutes the Greco-Roman Family?
- Ideal families come from writings (elite, wealthy men); background of centuries and centuries of weight
a) semi-skewed view of family - Real families probably had children to support them in different ways.
- Greco-Roman family was super patriarchal. Bound by ties of affection/love and common interest, usually loosely defined (can include slaves & dependents).
Family according to the Gospels? Jesus vs Paul
In the gospels, family is a strange and complicated thing.
—> Lots of “chosen family” talk. Community > family if it comes to it.
—> Lots of rejection of traditional family ties (can’t believe Jesus was a communist)
—> Colossians raises that respect should be given by those in power and by those who aren’t.
- Many verses in the Bible conflict with each other. Jesus rejects a LOT of social s-res, and Paul didn’t. It’s a huge theological question.
Women and the spread of Christianity
Christianity appeals to the marginalized groups. However, most of the early writings are from elite men, so it doesn’t work for some.
—> Narrative that women are particularly tied to Christianity
—> Women can be socially involved in church
—> # of high-status women converts and spread the faith (patronesses: Helena);
—> Christian-pagan marriages often had Christian wives.
—> Men argued the importance of women in Christianity to justify/elevate their own status.
Modesty & Chastity: Men&Women
Divorse: Romans vs Christians
1) Modesty and chastity were huge virues.
—> Lead coverings for women, sexual purity for men;
and eventually men and women can have sex within marriage (but some disagree)
2) Divorce:
—> goes away;
—> Romans were SUPER will with divorce, Christians were not;
—> troubling passages in the gospels.
1) Slavery?
2) Early Church meetings?
1) Slavery:
—> Doesn’t go away
—> There was a heroic bravery in enslaved martyrdom
2) Early church meetings happened fast:
—> communal meal
—> changing house s-re
—> sermons (probably)
—> women in charge of this
ch. 5
What genre is the New Testament:Sections?
Sections:
a) Gospels —> Biography (sort of), Wisdom lit., History.
b) Acts —> Straight up history.
c) Epistles —> Letters, Morals, Philosophy.
d) Revelations —> Apocalypse.
Kinds of ancient poetry?
1) Epic:
* Very long.
* Dactylic Decameter.
* Follows heroes and gods.
* Fanciest type of poetry
2) Lyric:
* Shorter
* Often for ritual contents
* Written and not just from an oral tradition.
* They have stanzas.
3) Hymns:
* In pagan antiquity, these hymns can fall into either of the epic or lyric category.
* Christian hymns tend to be more like lyrics rather than epics.
Tell about some Christian poets.
1) Juvencus:
* Fl. meaning floruit. in Latin, this means flourish, so he flourished or was prominent in 329 CE.
* He is from a Spanish senatorial family.
* He writes a biblical epic.
* Mostly based on Matthew.
2) Paulinus of Nola:
* 353-431 CE
* He’s from an aristocratic family of Bordeaux.
* After a public career, he turns into a priest and turns into an ascetic life. He was married and stayed married after a priest but had more boundaries with her.
* His hymns celebrate St. Felix of Nola.
* He also leaves us some letters which the class will look at later.
3) Prudentius:
* Mostly Spanish and from an upper-class family.
* He retires from public life in his middle age to write Christian poetry.
* He leaves us a couple long poems which are epic (not as long as Iliad or Odyssey)
* Some of his works are:
a) Psychomachia: “the Battle for the Soul”
- Because all these concepts are in the feminized form, they are all personified as women. And they are very violent for the bad things that these women did.
b) Hamartigenia: “the Origin of Sin”
- Kind of like an epic like the Iliad or Odyssey about Adam and Eve.
c) Peristephanon: “on the Crowns,” martyr-narratives
- This one was pretty angry, it also contained antisemitic undertones.
4) Avitus:
* From 450-518 CE.
* Bishop of Vienne (not Vienna).
* Secretary for Burgundian kings.
* De spiritualis historiae gestis: hexameter poem on biblical themes.
* He also wrote kind of an epic about biblical themes.
o Not as good as other Christian epics
ch.6
Rome’s religious tolerance? When started the laws against Christianity? Development of the Imperial Cult (Pax Deorum)?
Rome’s religious tolerance:
- Rome is religiously tolerant with the tendency to the assimilation of other gods and cults e.g. the Isis cult, Bacchanalian “conspiracy”. Before 3rd century there are no laws against Christianity.
Development of the Imperial Cult
- ‘Pax deorum’ = peace with the gods. Religion aimed at right relation with pantheon (all the gods of religion). The whole point of religion is to bind together with the gods, worship and sacrifice to them, which links with the empire’s loyalty.
Atheism?
- The gods abandon you (different from the contemporary rationalist idea of an atheist simply not believing in any god). Most Greeks and Romans didn’t necessarily “believe” in the gods, but they knew the gods existed. Romans called Christians atheists because they didn’t follow traditional religious activity. Atheism is seen as breaking the peace with the gods and abandoning of traditional cults (for the Romans, Judaism).
Imperial Persecutions?
Mostly occurred during the crisis of the 3rd century, facing the Roman Empire. Christians often made a scapegoat for the problems of the Empire. 22 emperors were murdered by other and own troops and the Praetorian Guard; general instability, financial catastrophe and widespread unrest are seen.
