Midterm Review (Flashcards + Notes)
Predestination
the belief that God, before creation, chose some people to be saved, not because of anything good in them, but only because of his sovereign good pleasure
Who sided with predestination?
Augustine
Sola Fide
grace is received by faith alone, rejects heresy of works-righteousness
Origen of Alexandria
opposed Tertullian, said philosophy couldn’t provide a saving knowledge of God and had no ability to cure son, believed in allegorical scripture interpretation
The Shepard of Hermas
a document considered scripture by many church fathers, apocalyptic similar to Revelations, encouraging proper Christian living under persecution
Tri-theism
a heresy suggesting that the trinity is actually three separate Gods
The Internal Historical Reliability Test
Is the writing credible?
Are there contradictions or factual inaccuracies?
Does the author tell the truth?
Does it contain eyewitness accounts?
Antinomianism
a way of life that disregarded the act of living morally because people were already saved by grace, opposite of legalism
Desiderius Erasmus
spent his entire life trying to reform the church without splitting it, wrote the Greek New Testament, paved the way for Luther to translate the Bible himself
Alexander of Alexandria
focused on the deity of Jesus Christ, responded to Arianism saying, “there once was a time when the son was not” and “God is unchangeable”, interpreted scripture allegorically
The Council of Trent
a council during which Luther and the Church discussed the nature of salvation, justifying righteousness, and justifying faith
Creation Ex Nihilo
God’s creation from nothing
95 Theses
written by Luther to speak out against abuses from the Church
Adoptionism
Jesus was adopted by God to be his Son
Nicene Creed
summary of Christian belief
The Apologists
defended the Christian faith against heresy and persecution, includes Justin Martyr, Athenagoras of Athens, and Theophilus of Antioch, audience was the Romans
The Uniqueness of the Bible
it was written over 1,600 years by 40+ different authors, in 3 different continents (Europe, Asia, and Africa) and 13 different countries, written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic
Which continents was the Bible written in?
Europe, Asia, and Africa
How many different countries was the Bible written in?
13
Which three languages was the Bible written in?
Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic
How many authors wrote the Bible?
40+
Irenaeus
crushed Gnosticism by exposing internal contradictions, showed how the authority was false, and showed it was incompatible with scripture
Homoousious
of the same substance, to describe the Trinity
John Wycliffe
translated the Bible into English but was convicted of heresy, supported Protestant reformation
Orthodoxy
generally accepted theory, doctrine, or practice
Gnosis
secret knowledge given to the Apostle John to achieve salvation
Demiurges
lesser gods created by God, each becoming more evil
Arius/Arianism
Similar to the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses
- the Son of God is a created creature
- “Son” is only a term of honor
- salvation is a process of being joined with God by grace and free will
Martin Luther
led the Protestant Reformation by opposing abuses of the Church, especially the purchase of indulgences, wrote the 95 Theses
The Nicene Creed
created at the Council of Nicaea to combat Arian controversy, patterned after Apostles Creed
Athanasius
bishop of Alexandria, stood alone against Arianism, known as “The Black Dwarf” and the “Father of Orthodoxy”, exiled five times
- it is only God who can save, for He alone has the power to break the power of sin and death, bringing eternal life
- no creature can save another creature in this way
- thus, Jesus must be fully divine for him to be able to offer salvation to the creation
Errors in Copies of the Bible
no original manuscript has been found with a mistake in it, central message would not be affected by a typo
some rules for scribes:
1. scroll is disqualified if a single letter is added or deleted
2. no letters can be written by heart
3. the scribe must pronounce every word out loud before writing it
Legalism
belief based on moral law rather than personal faith, focuses more on works than faith, opposite of antinomianism
Why study church history?
- to remember and rehearse
- to avoid chronological snobbery
- to avoid historical amnesia
Constantine the Great
referred to himself as “bishop of bishops”, obsessed with unifying the church, sided with Arius
Heresy
belief or opinions contrary to Orthodox teachings
examples: Arianism, tri-theism, modalism