Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Medieval Christianity > Week 3: Early christianity and the hellenistic world > Flashcards

Week 3: Early christianity and the hellenistic world Flashcards

(89 cards)

Start Studying
1
Q

what was the impact of Alexander the greats military campaigns in 4 century BC?

A

expansion of greek cultural and political influence in the eastern Mediterranean region

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

who was Alexander the Great tutored by?

A

Aristotle

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

how old was Alexander when he became king?

A

twenty

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

who was alexanders father?

A

Phillip of macedon

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

who were alexanders military campaigns against?

A

Persian empire

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

what did the military campaigns against the Persian empire achieve?

A

brought vast areas of territory from Egypt to India under Macedonian control

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

where was Alexander buried?

A

Alexandria, Egypt

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

what does the phase ‘hellenistic world’ refer to?

A

new political and socia order which was a result of Alexanders conquests especially in Egypt and Levent

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

what is the purpose of this section?

A

investigate how christianity began to engage with greek ideas, literature and cultural norms which bore no relation to their Palestinian roots

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

one of the most important outcomes of Judaism engagement with the hellenistic world

A

the translation of the Hebrew Bible into greek

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

when did the process of translating the Hebrew Bible start?

A

three centuries before christ

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

what is the ‘septuagint’?

A

the translation of the Hebrew bible, produced by seventy scholars

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

who was Philo and what did he attempt to do?

A

Jewish writer in Alexandria in the early years of the first century, attempted to synthesise jewish religious and greek philosophical thought.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

what was Philo’s strategy?

A

using an allegorical reading of the Hebrew Bible to appeal to the Platonic notion of the logos

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

what does Philo’s doctrine of creation strongly resemble?

A

Plato in his dialogue Timaeus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

what did Philo refuse to accept?

A

Greek ideas which were incompatible with judaism e.g. Aristotles ideas about eternity and indestructibility

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

explain Philo’s approach to biblical interpretation.

A

allegorical, appealing to deeper meanings beneath the literal and historical senses of the passages

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

why did Philo read genesis allegorically?

A

as a way of bridging the gap between divine revelation and Platonic philosophy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

does Philo want to abolish the historical and literal meaning of the text?

A

no he just wants to add deeper meanings to them which are closer to the secular concept of wisdom

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

who were Philo’s ideas developed by?

A

Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.215) and Origen (184-253)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

where did christianity expand to?

A

the greek speaking cities of Alexandria and Antioch

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

who raised influential discussions about the expansion of christianity from its original Jewish context to the Greek- speaking cities Egypt and Asia and how led to progressive Hellenisation of Christianity?

A

Adolf von Barnack (1851-1930)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

how does Harnack highlight the hellenisation of christianity and the subsequent changes

A

through the metaphysical theological views about God and Christ- such as the doctrine of the trinity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

what does Harnack refer to ideas such as the trinity as ?

A

‘work of the greek spirit on the soil of the gospel’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
what was the effect of christianity becoming more focused on metaphysics?
they became more distant from the historical Jesus of Nazareth
26
criticism of Harnack?
he overstates the case for 'hellenisation'
27
defence of Harnack
it is difficult to see how christianity could have avoided being influenced by a variety of cultural and philosophical sources
28
what greek judgement did Cristian scholars accept, and what problems has it caused?
that God was perfect. | greek speaking philosopher raised questions such as, can god suffer? how can a perfect being suffer?
29
what other movement shaped the hellenistic world aside from intellect and philosophy?
Gnosticism
30
how is gnosticism best understood?
a family od religious doctrines and myths that flourished in late classical antiquity with three shared beliefs
31
what are the three shared beliefs of gnosticism?
1) the cosmos is a result of an evil/ ignorant creator 'demiurge' 2) humanity is trapped within its physical realm 3) salvation is a process in which believers receive the knowledge of their divine origin allowing them to break Bree from their imprisonment on earth.
32
where is the idea of the demiurge found?
the idea of an inferior god is found in Classical Greek philosophy and plays a big role in Plato's dialogue 'Timaeus'.
33
Gnostic belief about creation
the demiurge created the world without the knowledge of the 'true God' and thought he was the only God. because he is evil, so was his creation.
34
common gnostic though about the human body
the human body was a prison for spirit and was actively seeking liberation
35
(gnosticism) was the human body created by the demiurge?
yes but it still contains divine spirit which had the potential to establish a connection with the highest God
36
how is our divine spark uncovered (gnosticism)
when a divine messenger awakes individuals from their dream of forgetfulness, allowing them to reconnect with its divine origins
37
what was valentinism?
a form of gnosticism associated with Valentinus (c. 100- c.160) and his circle in Rome. Christ was seen as a redeemer figure who awakened peoples divine spirit and allowed hem to go back to their true home.
38
how did Irenaeaus of Lyons respond to Valentinitus?
the idea of 'economy of salvation'. the entire work of salvation from creation through to the end was carried out by the same god. not a demiurge or a redeemer just an emissary from the heavenly realm
39
why did Irenaeus of Lyons think the emergence of the trinity was so important?
because it was a way of articulating divine continuity throughout the history of the world and as a safeguard to the unity of the scripture and the other.
40
Irenaus on evil
matter id not intrinsically evil it is Gods good creation which has fallen and is susceptible to restoration and renewal rejecting Gnostic notions of intrinsically evil matter.
41
what did Irenaus say about matter?
God chose to use matter not reject it. as seen in our use of water, wine, bread as symbols of divine grace.
42
what did irenaus think Gnostics had done with scripture?
'hijacked it' and interpreted its core terms according to their own tastes.
43
what did irenaus think valentines had turned christianity into?
gnosticism
44
how did irenaus see tradition?
as a way of preserving faithfulness to the apostolic teaching that will avoid the gnostic misinterpretation of biblical texts
45
why were the developments of Irenaus so important?
it underlies th emergence of 'creeds'
46
what are 'creeds'?
public, authoritative statements of the basic points of christian faith
47
why did Christian leaders in Eastern Mediterranean area adapt their vocabulary and key customs to fid with middle platonism?
because this movement was dominant in this area at the time and christianity was still an illegal religion
48
where was did the most prominent engagement of christianity with middle platonism take place?
Alexandria, Egypt
49
how did people use Philo's work in Alexandria?
Philo had attempted to merge platonism and Judaism. this work was used to think about Christianity in a way which would be attractive to Platonists.
50
why would christians want to use Philo's work?
because it made Christianity more current and immersed in Hellenistic culture
51
around 190..Clement of Alexandria suggested what?
that Christianity should be reformulated using concepts borrowed from Platonism and stoicism, to make it more popular
52
why was using platonism to speed christianity risky?
risks loosing grasp of christian ideas being forgotten or distorted.
53
how was platonism show up in the theology of the early church?
the use of allegorical interpretations. hebrews focus on literal and historical interpretation while the greeks minds saw scripture as timeless ideas.
54
who did Origen set up against each other?
uneducated christians who read the bible literally and historically and educated people who were able to interpret it allegorically and discover the deeper meanings
55
what did both Clement and Origen regard as critically important?
platonic or stoic notion of logos- for understanding the identity of Jesus of Nazareth.
56
what does logos mean
'become flesh'
57
What was Jesus to be understood as, according to Clement and Origen?
'the word incarnate'
58
what did seeing Jesus as 'the word incarnate' emphasise?
that Jesus was the mediator between god and humanity
59
how did Origen use platonism to answer questions about the form humans would take after resurrection?
humans would have to take perfect form. plato said that the perfect body would be spherical, so the resurrected body would be a sphere
60
impact of Clement and Origen work?
secured a hearing for christianity in the more intellectually sophisticated quarters of hellenistic culture
61
which port cities did christianity establish itself in?
Ephesus and Pergamon on Asian coastlines
62
why did christianity tend to settle in cities?
they were centres of commerce and trade, a way which classical philosophical ideas were spread were spread in the ancient world
63
what did cities offer christianity which the country side didn't?
anonymity, because society was still hostile towards them
64
what was a 'metropolitan bishop'?
a bishop in charge of of all churches in a city rather than just one specific christian church
65
most important bishops
ones in Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Rome
66
what was significant about the bishop of Rome?
had symbolic power linked to the imperial authority of the city of Rome itself
67
who founded both Antioch and Alexandria?
Alexander the Great
68
what was the difference between Alexandria and Antioch's approaches to the Bible?
Alexandria, allegorical | Antioch, literal or historical
69
what were the christological differences between Antioch and Alexandria?
Alexandria- lots of emphasis of Gospel of John 'word became flesh' human nature shared in the life of God, God literally became human, in order for humanity to become divine. Antioch- in order for humans to break free from their bonds of sin, God had to intervene- Jesus was a redeemer who unites humans and divinity
70
why would christianity's spread in urban areas worry some people?
they though that the immorality of the cities could corrupt the church
71
where do the roots of monasticism lie?
hills of Egypt and eastern Syria
72
which trend was integral to the beginning of monasticism?
withdrawal from the sinful and distracting world
73
what were two ways or withdrawing from society?
monasticism 'eremitic' in the form or asceticism | monasticism 'cenobitic' in the form of community
74
why was Pachomius' c.292-348 monastery so important?
generally recognised as the founder of communal form of monasticism during 320-5, which would become normative in later monasticism
75
what did the physical structure of a monastery reinforce?
spiritual values
76
characterise monastic life (life in a monastery)
common clothing, meals, furnishing of cells
77
when did monasteries Spain?
fourth century
78
when did Augustine establish 2 monasteries in Africa?
400-25
79
when did monasteries reach Italy
with century
80
when did monasteries begin to spread considerably?
after the fall of the Roman Empire
81
what did the Benedictine community hold as integral?
unconditional following of christ, regular private prayer and the reading of scripture
82
when was Benedict of Nursia's Monastery established?
around 525
83
what did the assimilation of cultural norms with Christianity result in for women?
exclusion from liturgical leadership, even if they had helped with social and political influence in the past
84
which role in the church did women remain active in
deacon
85
what did the 'Didascalia of the Apostles' (dated from first half of third cent) suggest about men and women?
deacons to be compared to christ | deaconesses to be compared to the Holy Spirit
86
what did the Council od Chalcedon 451 rule about women
shouldn't be allowed to ordain as deaconesses until they were 40
87
most significant areas of christianity for women
martyrdom
88
examples fo female martyrdom
perpetua and Falicitas who were martyred together in Carthage in the first decade of the third century
89
how was martyrdom used by women
as a means of self empowerment

Medieval Christianity (7 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions