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Medieval Christianity > Week 8: medieval religious thought > Flashcards

Week 8: medieval religious thought Flashcards

1
Q

what was scholastic theology?

A

a systemic approach to theology making use of rhetoric and logic, was now taught in most academic settings

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2
Q

why was Berengar of Tours (999-1088) regarded with suspicion?

A

criticised for reducing eucharistic mystery to some kind of dialectical puzzle

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3
Q

why was scholastic theology such a difficult approach?

A

hard to maintain academic rigour and theological orthodoxy

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4
Q

What did Anselm (died 1117) propose

A

that early christians had different ways of reading biblical stories and offered the means in which we should resolve divergences, producing a synthesis of dialect

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5
Q

who carried on Anselm dialectic tradition?

A

Peter Abelard (1079-1142) in ‘Sic et Non’ (yes and no), where he discussed 150 debated theological points, and in the 12th century text book ‘The Four Books of the Sentences’ set out multiple issues and left readers to resolve them

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6
Q

by the beginning of the twelfth century what was there an appetite for?

A

systematic articulation of theological positions, justified through rationality but, formed upon a biblical basis

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7
Q

Aquinas’ famous work

A

‘Summa Theologiae’ c.1265

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8
Q

what did Summa Theologiae weave together?

A

the reconciliation of competing biblical and patristic statements within the rational framework needed to defend the christian faith sufficiently

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9
Q

in 529 what did Byzantine emperor Justine order?

A

the closing of the philosophical school in Constantinople

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10
Q

after the philosophical school of Constantinople was closed, where did people continue work on Plato and Aristotle?

A

Edessa in Syria

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11
Q

what lead to a new interest in Aristotle?

A

The Islamic conquest of the Middle East

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12
Q

what was Aristotles work first translated into?

A

Syrian, then Arabic

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13
Q

what made Aristotles texts more widely available?

A

a major school of translation established by the bishops of Toledo in Spain in the mid- twelfth century. With increased contact with islamic scholarship in Spain, many texts were translated from Arabic to latin

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14
Q

how was philosophy regarded in relation to Theology?

A

in the Middle Ages it was regarded as useful as scaffolding to theological ideas but wholly inferior

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15
Q

why was the theological use of Aristotle’s work seem controversial?

A

his ideas didn’t always fit easily with christian orthodoxy and at times completely contradicted it - eg his views on the eternity of the world, if the world had no beginning it could not be created

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16
Q

which of Aristotles works were admired and came to be basic texts for many medieval universities, including Paris during the thirteenth century

A

his logical works yet his scientific works were seen as misleading and erroneous.

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17
Q

what did a local church declare in 1210?

A

that Aristotles works or commentaries should not be read in Paris in public or private

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18
Q

what did the bishop of Paris list in 1277?

A

two hundred errors in Aristotles writings

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19
Q

after the declaration of the bishop of Paris in 1277, how did theologians begin to consider Aristotles work?

A

more critically, scrutinised them before accepting them

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20
Q

how many lines of argument did Aquinas draw up in support of the existence of God?

A

five

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21
Q

what did Aquinas’ ‘five ways’ highlight?

A

how it was reasonable to find pointers towards the existence of God drawn from general experiences of the world

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22
Q

according to Aquinas, what does the world mirror?

A

God, as it is his creation

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23
Q

Aquinas- why can be observe things in the world e.g. natural order, and explain it using God?

A

because he believed that because god was the creator of the world he impressed his divine likeness and divine image upon it

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24
Q

according to Aquinas where should we look for evidence for the existence of God?

A

in the order within the world, this is the most convincing

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25
Q

what is the first of Aquinas’ five ways?

A

‘argument from motion’ why is the world not static? everything that moves had to have been moved by something in the first place, so for every motion their is a cause. each cause of motion has a cause. there cannot be an infinite number of causes tho. there must be one original cause of the great chain of motion which reflects the way the world behaves this is God as everything has motion

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26
Q

what is Aquinas’ second way?

A

‘causation’ all effects maybe tracked back to a single original cause which is God

27
Q

what is Aquinas’ third way?

A

the existence of ‘contingent’ beings which the world is full of, not necessary beings. we are all products of another being and effects of causation. what was the first necessary thing to bring us into existence? God

28
Q

what was Aquinas’ fourth way?

A

where do human values such as goodness and nobility come from? there must be something which in itself is true, good, noble this is what brings our good values and ideas- God

29
Q

What is Aquinas’ with way?

A

‘teleological argument’
the world displays traces o intelligent design, natural processes seem to be designed with an objective in mind, they seem to have a purpose. things don’t design themselves, they are caused and designed by God

30
Q

what is the structure of each of Aquinas’ five ways

A

each depends on a causal sequence of events, traces these back to their origin, identifies their origin with God

31
Q

criticism of Aquinas’ infinite regression

A

why is infinite regression deemed impossible by Aquinas? argument of motion only works if it can be proven that the sequence of cause and effect stops somewhere. doesn’t demonstrate the notion of a prime unmoved mover.

32
Q

criticism of aquinas’ monotheism

A

why do each of his five ways only lead to one God?e.g. motion, each different thing that moves can be moved by different things, no pressing reason for there to be only one mover accept fundamental christian insistence.

33
Q

criticism of Aquinas and continuity

A

the continuing existence of events does not necessarily imply the continuing existence of their originator

34
Q

what was Anselm’s ontological argument

A

The existence of God is far greater than the idea of God. God is ‘that that nothing greater can be conceived’. if this is true than God cannot be merely and idea, he must exist otherwise greater things than him would exist

35
Q

what was the most significant achievement of the medieval period?

A

the consolidation of a theology of the church and its practices

36
Q

what was Eusebius of Caesarea’s order of ministry that was adopted in the medieval period?

A 
sextons
readers
exorcists
acolytes
subdeacons
deacons
priests
37
Q

most important development: construction of sacramental theology which recognised seven sacrament:

A

Confirmation, eucharist, marriage, penance, ordination, extreme unction

38
Q

who is said to have laid down foundations for the seven sacraments in the fifth century?

A

Augustine who declared sacraments were ‘signs, when applied to divine things are called sacraments’, must bare relation to what they intend to signify

39
Q

problems with Agustine’s work on sacraments?

A

imprecise and didn’t relate to things that later became sacramental e.g creeds and lords prayer

40
Q

what did Hugh of St Victor (1096-1141) say about Augustine sacramental suggestions?

A

‘not every sign of sacred thing can properly be called a sacrament’ and proposed: a sacrament is ‘a physical or material element set before the external senses, representing by likeness, signifying by its institution, and containing by sanctification, some invisible and spiritual grace’

41
Q

four essential components for Hugh’s definition of a sacrament:

A

1) ‘a physical or material’ element, such as water of baptism, bread of eucharist
2) a ‘likeness’ to the thing it signifies
3) authorisation, a good reason to believe in the sign
4) efficacy to explain what it signifies to those worshipping it

42
Q

what would not be a sacrament according to Hugh?

A

penance

43
Q

Peter lombards definition of sacrament which includes all seven sacraments.

A

‘if it is a sign of the grace of God and a form of invisible grace, so that it bears its image and exists as its cause’

44
Q

what played a major role in personal devotion and theological reflection in the Middle Ages?

A

the bible, benedictines laid down that their members must read the bible and reflect on themes

45
Q

when was the bible read in benedictine monasteries?

A

aloud during meals and monks were encouraged tai memorise passages that could subsequently be recalled during periods of work for devotional purposes

46
Q

what was the standard method of biblical interpretation used in the Middle Ages?

A

Quadriga ‘fourfold sense of Scripture’

47
Q

what did Quadriga allow?

A

believers to understand the bible in terms of its literal, allegorical, moral, anagogic meanings

48
Q

when was Dante’s divine comedy composed?

A

1308-21

49
Q

how long is the divine comedy

A

14000 lines long

50
Q

how is Dantes divine Comedy widely seen?

A

imaginative poetic vision of medieval way of thinking about the world, life and death (especially heaven and hell)

51
Q

why is Dante’s poem named ‘comedy’

A

relates to the latin Commedia which is translated as drama

52
Q

what is Dantes divine comedy about?

A

the pets journey through hell, purgatory and paradise, picturing a changeless world ordered by god

53
Q

what does Dantes poem consist of?

A

three interconnected poems: inferno (hell), Purgatorio (purgatory) and Paradiso (paradise)

54
Q

the order of events in Dantes Divine Comedy

A

beings at nightfall on Good Friday, journeys downwards through hell for an entire day before entering Purgatory, after climbing mount purgatory, Dante rises further until he eventually enters paradise on the following Wednesday on Easter Day

55
Q

how does Dante use his guide Virgril?

A

as a symbol of classic learning and human reason

56
Q

Dante use his Guide Beatrice

A

leads him through the outer circles of heaven

57
Q

What does Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) do in Dantes Divine comedy?

A

leads the poet into the precedes of God

58
Q

how can Dantes Divine Comedy be read?

A

as a commentary on medieval Italian politics, poetic guide to Christian beliefs concerning afterlife, a journey of self discovery and spiritual

59
Q

why is Dante’s geography of hell interesting?

A

describes hell as consisting of a group of concentric circles, the perfect shape according to ancient geometry

60
Q

who is in Dantes first circle of Hell?

A

non christians / pagan philosopher e.g. Aristotle, Seneca, Virgil

61
Q

who’s in Dantes second circle of hell?

A

those who ‘made reason slave to appetite’ achilles Cleopatra Helen of troy

62
Q

in the purgatory part of the poem which myth does Dante rebuke?

A

the belief that medieval christians believed the world was flat, he speaks of a spherical earth

63
Q

what does Dante do in the paradise part of the poem?

A

describes the structure of the universe, concentric spheres arranged in hierarchical order

Medieval Christianity (7 decks)

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