Module 1 Key Terms Flashcards
Metaphysics
The study of the most fundamental and essential properties of reality, including existence, objects, space, time, and the relationship between matter and mind. It is an inquiry into the essence of all things.
Literally means “after physics,” from the Greek
Ideas or a posited reality outside the realm of human comprehension.
Branch of philosophy, ultimate reality, very important metaphysician for the history of Christianity is Plato (420s BC to 348 BC)
Cosmological Argument
An argument for the existence of God based upon observed facts of the universe.
This is a type of argument that uses logos, the general pattern of argumentation, to make inferences from alleged facts about the universe
Ontological Argument
A deductive philosophical argument for the existence of God, the premises of which are derived from reason alone. These are analytical arguments, based on sources other than observations of the world.
Marcion of Sinope
Early Christian theologian. Born in 85 AD in Turkiye, died in 160 AD in Rome
Sometimes thought to be Gnostic, but he wasn’t, not really, because he believed that the Heavenly Father (Jesus’s God) had no part in the making of the world and was utterly alien, and because he did not believe that humans are born with a piece of God lodged in their soul.
Believed the teachings of Jesus were incompatible with Yahweh, and developed a ditheistic system in response.
Declared that the nascent Christian Church was completely discontinuous to Judaism and that the Judaic scriptures should be read 100% literally.
Believed the Old Testament god was the Demiurge of the material universe and was a jealous, vengeful being. In contrast, the god Jesus professed was a different being, a god of universal compassion who looks upon humanity with benevolence.
Denied Jesus’s physical existence (birth, death, resurrection), as he thought that Jesus’s body was merely an imitation of a physical body.
Believed that Paul was the only true apostle of Christ.
Was central to the development of the New Testament. He was the first to develop and publish a canon of sacred scriptures, and after being denounced as a heretic the proto-orthodox church needed to develop its own canon in response.
The Battle of Milvian Bridge
Battle between Roman emperors Constantine I and Maxentius in 312 AD. Caused by rivalries in the Roman Diocletian’s Tetrarchy. Constantine won, and marked the beginning of his conversion to Christianity (this is the sign of the Chi Rho battle). This gave him control over the Western Roman Empire and paved the way for Christianity to become the dominant religion in the Roman empire and eventually Europe. The following year Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which officially recognized and gave legal status to Christianity.
Asceticism
From Greek - training, or exercise
Severe self-discipline and avoidance of all worldly pleasures for the pursuit of spiritual and religious goals.
Was founded by St. Anthony, the first ascetic and eremitic monk, in the 270s-280s AD when he first set out into the desert.
Eremitic Monasticism
Oldest form of monasticism, founded by St. Anthony of the Desert around 270s-280s AD. Stresses the solitary nature of the monk, characterized by complete withdrawal from society.
Anchorite
A person who has withdrawn from secular life to live in a cell, usually adjacent to a monastery or church, to practice asceticism and monasticism.
Different from a hermit, which withdraw to the wilderness.
Stylites
A Christian ascetic who lives on a pillar or tower.
The first known stylite was Simeon the Elder, who in 423 climbed a pillar in Syria and remained there until his death 36 years later.
Holy Fool
A type of monasticism in which individuals flout societal conventions for the sake of religious devotion.
Cenobitic Monasticism
Communal monasticism. Founded by those who found eremitic monasticism to physically difficult, and needed the order and accountability of a community to survive.
Lavra Monasticism
A monastery containing clusters of cells for hermits and occasionally a church or refectory in the center.
Cave Monasticism
A monastery built in caves
Mt. Athos
All male monastery in Greece
Pentarchy
A model of church organization put forth by Emporer Justinian I around 550. In this model, the church of the Roman Empire is governed by five heads: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem
Development of the authoritative body of the church. The orthodoxy needed to define itself against gnosticism, and one of ways in which the church leaders did so was by defining an apostolic tradition. They built a hierarchy of church organization to preserve the apostolic tradition, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Eventually in their creation of the church hierarchy they determined that some cities were more important scholastic and theologic hubs than others, which thus warranted specific denotation of which cities contained central heads of church government.
Because Constantinople didn’t exist when Jesus was alive, there was a bit of controversy about its inclusion into the pentarchy. But by the 5th century, it was the most powerful of the five cities, so it pretty much had to be included. Constantinople was formally accepted into the pentarchy in the Council of Chalcedon. It was effectively agreed upon in the third ecumenical council (381), but formally canonized in 431.
Athanasius
Born around 296 AD in Alexandria, died in 373 in Alexandria
Patriarch of Alexandria. Exiled 5 times because the changing political and theological landscape couldn’t stick with a decision on whether he was a heretic or not. Wrote in Coptic and Greek.
Believed that the Son is part of the Father, that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are a singular hypostasis, they are a single person with a single mind. They are consubstantial.
Defender of homoousios and the Nicene Creed during the Arian Controversy
Career was shaped by his conflict with Eusebianist and Arianist theologians.
Wrote the biography of St. Anthony of the Desert
Arius
Born in 256 in Libya, died in 336 in Constantinople.
The guy who got his lights punched out by St. Nick.
Founder of Arianism. Denied the divinity of Christ; believed that Jesus was created by God and was therefore neither coeternal nor consubstantial.
Was a prominent topic at the First Council of Nicaea, where his beliefs were rejected, with the Nicene Creed becoming a very anti-Arianism document.
Homoousia
From Greek - same in being, same in essence
Translated into Latin as consubstantial
Distinct but identical in substance
Used in the Nicene Creed to denote Jesus as being the same in essence as the Father, later applied to the Holy Spirit as well
Nicea
City in the ancient Greek empire, now in Turkey
The Nicene Creed
The defining statement of belief and profession of faith for Christianity.
Regards Jesus as divine and begotten of the Father, not made. The Son is not a creature, but shares the same nature as the Father.
Dyophysites
The idea that Jesus is one person of one substance but with two distinct, inseparable natures: divine and human. One person, two natures.
Broad term, includes Chalcedonian and Nestorianist teachings.
Was articulated in the Chalcedonian Definition set forth by the Council of Chalcedon in 451.
Accepted by Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, and others. Rejected by Oriental Orthodox churches.
Monophysitism
Belief that Jesus has only one nature: the divine.
Rejected in the Council of Chalcedon (451) by the inclusion and definition of dyophysitism. Has been rejected by all denominations as heresy ever since.
Monothelitism
From Greek - “mono” (one) “thelema” (will)
The doctrine of Christ having only one divine will under which his human will is subsumed
Ecclesiastical and political powers promoted it in the 7th century in the Eastern Roman Empire to try and reconcile divided Christian factions. Ultimately rejected by the 6th Ecumenical Council
The Decalogue
The 10 Commandments
Iconodule
One who moderately venerates icons and defends their devotional use. The icon is important, but lesser than
Moderate kissing and respected worship was approved by the Second Council of Nicaea in 787.
Iconoclasts
People who are against the veneration of images and support the destruction of icons and other images or monuments, specifically as a result of sectarian disputes between factions of the same religion.
Rejected by the Second Council of Nicaea in 787.
Demiurge
From Greek - “Creator”
Term was adopted by Plato to describe the personified creator of all things.
Later adopted by Gnostics to
Consubstantial
Linguistically Latin version of homoousios
Used in the Nicene Creed to describe God the Son as being in the same essence as God the Father. Accepted in the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.
Dyothelitism
Christ having two wills, one human and one divine. Accepted by most denominations
Council of Chalcedon
Also known as the Fourth Ecumenical Council.
Issued the Chalcedonian Definition (also known as the Confession of Chalcedon), which states that Christ has two natures in one person.
Resulted in a major schism, in which the Oriental Orthodox churches refused to accept the new doctrine and broke off from the rest of the Eastern church.
Took place in Chalcedon, in what is now Turkey.
Nestorianism
Nestorius himself was born in 386 AD in Turkey, and died in 451 AD in Egypt.
Denies the Incarnation of Christ, represents Jesus as a God-inspired man instead of a God-made man. Two people, loosely joined in one body.
Also rejects theotokos, instead insisting that Mary gave birth to a human and not to a God.
Condemned at the Council of Chalcedon, accepted by no major church ever.
Iconolatry
Devout adoration and worship of icons. Worship is to be given to the images in the fullest sense.
Rejected by the Second Council of Nicaea (787).
Miaphysitism
The doctrine that Jesus is fully divine and fully human. One person, one nature. The divine and the human are fully part of that one nature.
Defined in the Council of Chalcedon in 451.
Held only by Oriental Orthodox churches.
Subordinationism
Hierarchical ranking of the Holy Trinity in which the Son is beneath the Father, and the Holy Spirit beneath both. Condemned as heresy in the Second Council of Constantinople (Fifth Ecumenical Council, 553)
Theotokos
From Greek - “God-bearer”
More than just a designation of the Virgin Mary as the mother of God, insists that Mary gave birth to God.
Formally affirmed at the Third Ecumenical Council in 431.
Hypostatic Union
The union of Christ’s humanity and divinity in one individual personhood.
Apophatic Theology
Talking about God by describing what He isn’t, rather than what he is. Often paired with mysticism, and envisions the divine reality as beyond human comprehension.
Used in Plato’s writings, and is also found in Neoplatonic, Gnostic, and early Christian writings. David Bently Hart talked a lot about it.
Used by early christian scholars to teach that one should have humility when it comes ot understanding god. We should try, but god is incomprehensible. we cannot deeply, fully, truly understand god, because to do so would mean we would become God. we will never fully understand god, so have a degree of humility when attempting to do so.
Causa in fieri
What causes something to become what it is, creation.
Causa in esse
What sustains something’s continuing existence and being.
Paul
Born Saul of Tarsus in 5 AD, died Paul the Apostle in Rome in 65 AD. (Note: he was NOT one of Jesus’s original 12 apostles!!!)
Was born a Pharisee, devout Jew, but was converted to Christianity around 30 AD via direct revelation of Jesus Christ (vision, left him blind for three days, changed career paths once sight returned)
Exported Christianity out of Palestine. Made three missionary journeys to spread the Christian message to non-Jewish (gentile) communities along Asia Minor.
His writings emphasized the crucifixion, the redemption and forgiveness of sin, and Christ’s second coming
Moved away from Mosaic Law
One can argue that Paul is the father of Christianity, and not Jesus. He left behind writings, Jesus did not. He made Christianity universal, defined specifically what conversion is, and made it so that you did not have to be born a Christian to worship Christ, like you did with Judaism. At that time, Jews are born, not converted.
Also, he was from Antioch, which is why it was included as one of the five cities in the pentarchy
Basilica of St. Ambrose
Roman Catholic church in Milan
St. Anthony of the Desert
Known as the father of monasticism. Was the first eremitic/wilderness/hermit/desert monk.
There were others before him though, loosely organized into cenobitic communities.
Born in 251 AD in Egypt, died in 356 AD in Egypt.
Christotokos
From Greek - “mother of Christ”
Less explicit title used by Nestorius (386 AD - 451 AD) and other Nestorians
Eusebius
Born in the 260s AD in Syria, died in 339 AD in Syria
Historian, author of The Life of Constantine, which is part biography, part religious history, and part hagiography.
Also wrote Origen of Alexandria’s biography as part of his book Ecclesiastical History.
Believed that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three distinct hypostases or persons. Later scholars have suspected him of Arianism.
Logos
From Greek - “word”, “discourse”, or “reason”
Arguments based on reason, a rational form of discourse using deductive and inductive reasoning.
Term was first used by Aristotle in his three principles of rhetoric (aka three modes of persuasion) alongside ethos (arguments built by appealing to the audience’s moral character) and pathos (persuasion by means of emotional appeal). Used by Plato to refer to sentences and propositions.
In Christology, Logos is a name or title of Jesus Christ. The first verse in the Gospel of John is “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”, with Word being the English translation of Logos. If Logos is God, and Jesus is also God, the Jesus is Logos.
Natural religion
A religion that is validated on the basis of human reason, as opposed to being validated through mystic, miraculous, and supernatural revelations or experiences. One that is universally discernible by all. Science.
Inductive reasoning
Aims to develop a theory
Uses pattern recognition of specific observations to draw conclusions, drawing conclusions by going from the specific to the general, making generalized conclusions from specific scenarios
Ex: deciding on incentive plans based on employee surveys
David Hume and other Enlightenment scholars in the 18th century though that through inductive reasoning, there must be a natural religion (but not a human religion! one that people made up because it benefited them) At the heart philosophically of our modern world (data centers, money?)
Deductive reasoning
Aims to test an existing theory
Scientific method, drawing specific conclusions using general information, backing up generalized statements with specific information
Ex: creating an incentive plan to get better feedback on employee surveys
Origen of Alexandria
Born in 185 AD in Alexandria, died in 253 AD in Tyre, Lebanon
Early Christian scholar, theologian, and ascetic. Hugely prolific writer. Wrote the Hexapla, a critical edition of the Hebrew Bible that compared original Hebrew scriptures with various Greek translations. Was a authoritative figure on verifying the authenticity of writings used to create the New Testament.
Significantly contributed to the development of the Holy Trinity, and was one of the first to include the Holy Spirit in the Godhead. However, he was also subordinationist, and taught that the Father was superior to the Son and the Son superior to the Holy Trinity.
Conceived of God the Father as apophatic (negative theology), as inconceivable and incomprehensible.
Believed that Christ had a human soul and was both human and divine.
Believed in the preexistence of souls, that before God created the material world He created our incorporeal spiritual intelligences (souls). All souls were devoted to their love of the creator, but as time went on some grew bored and their love diminished. When God created the material world, those who were the most bored became demons, those with moderate boredom humans, and those with the least boredom angels, with Jesus being the only soul who never grew bored.
Ardent believer in free will, and believed that even disembodied souls have the power to make decisions.
Athanasius was a devoted follower of his.
Argument over the orthodoxy of his teachings erupted in the late 300s, and the Second Council of Constantinople condemned his teachings
Irenaeus of Lyons
Born in 130 AD in Izmir, Turkey, died in 202 AD in Lyon France.
Author of Against Heresies, in which he refutes the teachings of various gnostic groups, specifically Valentinian Gnosticism.
Constantine
Born 272 AD, died 337 AD.
Decriminalized Christianity in the Roman empire and incited the Constantinian Shift (the ceasing Christian persecution)
Homoiousia
The belief that God the Son was similar, but not identical in essence, as God the Father.
Developed in the mid 300s in the wake of controversy over the Nicene Creed’s use of homoousia
Similar to Arianism. Preferred by Origenists because they felt it left more room for distinctions in the Godhead
If Jesus is a creature, then we force God’s love?? Divine love doesn’t mean anything if Jesus isn’t God.
Filioque
Latin - “and from the Son”
how does the holy spirit proceed? from the father AND the son? or from the father THROUGH the son? this is a fundamental difference and is a schismatic difference between eastern orthodoxy (through) and roman catholicism (and)
Was added to the Nicene Creed in the Council of Constantinople (Second Ecumenical Council) in 381. The original said that the Holy Spirit proceeds “from the Father”, was updated to say it proceeds “from the Father and from the Son”
Caused a lot of controversy, vehemently opposed by the Eastern Orthodox church.
The West thought that the East’s rejection of Filioque was a denial of the Father and Son’s consubstantiality and thus a form of crypto-Arianism. The East thought the West, by including Filioque, was teaching a substantially different faith.
Eucharist
Appears in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
For Catholics, Eastern, and Oriental Orthodox churches, the bread and wine is fully changed into the blood and body of Christ (though it appears, sense wise, the same)
Transubstantiation
The change of the whole substance of the bread and wine into the whole substance of the body and blood of Christ. This change is brought about in the eucharistic prayer through the efficacy of the word of Christ and the action of the Holy Spirit.
This term specifically was used first in the 11th century AD and was widespread by the 12th, although its idea was in use since the founding of Christianity.
Divine Liturgy
The name used in Eastern Christian rites to refer to the Eucharist.
Believes see the liturgy as transcending time and the world. The liturgy is symbolic but at the same time makes present the unseen reality.
Developed over several centuries, but is originally ascribed to St. John Chrysostom in the 430s. It’s a Christian ritual thought to mimic heaven on earth, and at the center of this is the incarnational God Jesus who through transubstantiation appears to us as body and blood.
Edict of Milan
313 AD edict issued by Emperor Constantine ending the persecution of Christians and giving Christianity legal status.
St. John Chrysostom
The guy who’s credited with creating to Eastern Orthodoxy’s divine liturgy in the 430s
