Theology: Sources Of Wisdom & Authority Knowledge Flashcards
Define Monotheists.
People that believe in one God.
Define Sustain.
In philosophical context “God sustains the universe”, meaning that God keeps the universe in existence. Without this ongoing act of creation, the universe would cease to exist.
Define Scripture.
Holy books/sacred texts > writings which are thoughts to contain truth and wisdom of God & the ultimate reality.
Define resurrection (2 ways)
- Rising from the dead.
- Jesus rising from the dead on Easter Day > event recorded all four Gospels of Christianity.
Define Moral.
Concerned with what is right.
What fraction of the world is Christian?
1/3 of population in 2010.
2.2 billion.
What do Christians believed happened 2000 years ago?
God became human in person of Jesus, spent 3 years teaching disciples and performing miracles.
What happened after Jesus was human?
Jesus made a sacrifice, Christians believe this is when God took on board the punishment of human wrongdoing and allowed people to reunite with God in heaven.
What is required when translating a scripture?
- Translate word for word.
- Translate and keep as much of the meaning contained within the original text.
What is The Old Testament?
Books of the Christian bible which were regarded as sacred by Judaism. Old Testament is seen as setting the scene for the coming of Jesus of Nazareth, who brings its leading theme to fulfilment. It’s written in Hebrew.
What is the New Testament?
- Consists of 27 books.
- But it is shorter than the Old Testament.
-Written in Greek - Consists of Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, John & Luke.
- The Acts of the Apostles
- Letters written by St Paul, Apostles Peter and John. These contained encouragement.
Finally, Book of Revelation > represents vision of end of History (heaven) & New Jerusalem prepared for believers.
Old Testament: Law
> God making a “covenant” (agreement between humans and God) with the Jewish people.
613 laws Jewish people had to follow to keep their covenant with God.
Different types of sacrifice needed to make atonement for sins. E.g. What type of animal to kill.
Old Testament: History
> History of Jews relationship with God over the past 1,000 years.
Stories based on real life events but changed to make them more interesting & educational.
Teach about Gods forgiving to the Jewish people for constantly breaking the covenant.
Old Testament: Poetry.
> Poetry teaching people how to follow Gods laws & making life about worship.
Stories not based on real life events
E.g. The Book of Job teaches people to NOT try and understand Gods decisions.
Old Testament: Prophecy.
> Book written by “Prophets”, people chosen by God to deliver messages to Jewish people.
Critisise Jewish people for not treating the Covenant well.
Prophets spoke about Christus who would teach the whole world about God. Christians believe this is Jesus who they refer to.
New Testament: History (Gospel)
> Biographies of Jesus , what Jesus believed.
1. Mark 2. Matthew&Luke 3. John
“Synoptics”= more biographical whilst “John”= theological.
New Testament: History (Acts)
> Tells History of early church= how Jesus’ disciples became convinced of his resurrection.
Explain how they form the church and spread Jesus’ teachings through the Roman Empire.
Originally the second half of Luke’s Gospels but got separated to keep Gospels together.
New Testament: Letters
> Letters between earliest Christian Communities.
Oldest Christian writings ( Thessalonians writings)
Most letters written by Paul of Tarsus.
New Testament: Prophecy
> A record of a vision given to an early Christian.
Confusing, dream like imagery.
Describes what will happen when Jesus returns to world or the end of the Roman Empire.
Define Allegorical.
PAST> teaches about the nature of God, and the life, teaching, and death of Jesus.
Define Tropological.
PRESENT> teaches how to live in the present day, e.g. with perfect love for all.
Define Anagogical.
FUTURE> teaches what will happen in Heaven and the Kingdom of God.
Define Authority.
The power or right to give orders, make decisions and enforce evidence. E.g. The Bible can give instructions.
Define Disciple.
A disciple is a pupil/student/apprentice of a teacher, someone who CHOOSES to study God.
Define Apostle.
Someone who is ‘sent out’ by God, they are also disciples.
What language was the Old Testament written in?
Aramaic.
What language is the New Testament written in?
Greek.
What are Conservatives?
- Recognise Metaphors but read the Bible more literally.
- Minimise human role of interpretation.
- Fundamentalists
What are Libelists?
- Read the Bible more metaphorically.
- Emphasise human roles & intemperate most metaphors
- Modernism
What is a Conservative view of texts from God?
That God gave the writers the words to write in the texts, they aren’t a perfect record damaged by human interference.
What is a Libelist view of the texts from God?
That the Bible is the Human interpretation of the way God expressed himself through Jesus’ life.
What is both a Libelist and Conservative view of texts from God?
That God inspired the writers to write but only the Catholic Church can correctly interpret the teaching.
What are THREE difficulties with the Bibles Authority?
- There are different accounts of events in the Bible in the New Testament and the Old Testament: e.g. Genesis account 1 & 2.
- The New Testament was written in Greek but Jesus and his Disciples presumably spoke Aramaic, therefore this could cause errors in translation.
- A number of texts were left out in the New Testament, however Christians believe that God inspired the early church fathers to ensure the words he intended were included.
What is a Quote to support that God influenced the Bible?
“ All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for re proof, for correction and for training in righteous”
What is the Theory of Orthodox and the inspiration of the Bible?
Confirms creeds of the early church established by Jesus.
What is the Theory of New Orthodox (neo-orthodox) of the inspiration of the Bible?
Refers to the work of a number of theologians. Rejects the conservative belief in biblical inerrancy, suggests parts of the Bible are not true due to scientific and historical errors.
What did Karl Barth say about the Bible?
The Bible is not the word of God but contains the word of God therefore God doesn’t reveal himself in the words of the Bible but in Jesus.
What do a Liberal Christians argue about the Authority of the Bible?
Argue that the creation accounts are not literally true but contain religious truths & writers use myths to convey the message. The Bible was written by individuals who were influenced by the time & culture they lived therefore writings were understood by a period of history.
A quote for Liberal Christians.
“A form of narrative, but one in which truth is put across in a symbolic way, because it is dealing with the big questions of life.”
Define Liberal Christians.
The Bible is not the literal truth but collection of writings in which the authors beliefs and feelings about God expressed. Writings are influenced by the time they are writing.
Define Inerrancy.
Writing considered without errors and mistakes.
Define Myth
Story’s that don’t state facts as the writers were inspired by the world around them & God.
Define Epistle.
Synonym for letter.