Christ. Flashcards
(44 cards)
percentage and number of christ
32%, 2.3 B
people have maintained their culture for over 4000 years and spread unique aspects of it to the other major religions in our world
• Monotheism
jewisg
jews believe themselves to be God’s chosen people • Forbids images of God
• The Name of God – Yahweh – “He causes to be”
covenant
What historical facts do you know of the figure known as Jesus of Nazareth?
Born in Bethlehem, probably 4 or maybe 6 BCE
• Stepson of a carpenter and his fiancée
• Lived in Nazareth
• Preached for about three years at the end of his life
• Executed by crucifixion by the Romans in Jerusalem
What historical facts do you know of the figure known as Jesus of Nazareth?
• Tell me some of the specific things that this historical figure taught his followers?
One God, creator of all
• Children of God, capable of improvement
• Shortcomings can be forgiven
• Life is eternal
• Intention (act of the personality) is greater than the deed (act of the person)
• Great Commandment, plus one more
formerly, Saul of Tarsus
• Originally persecuted Christians, then converted, was instrumental in spreading Christianity throughout the Empire
paul
recognized as the “first Bishop of Rome,” first Pope
• Paul and Peter were responsible for separating Christian thought from that of Judaism and creating a uniquely different religious belief
peter
(the Apostle)
• Logos - “the word,” connection between Greek and Jewish civilizations/philosophy and their synthesis into that of the Christian world
• Of cours
John
has two main meanings
• human reason - the rationality in the human mind which seeks to attain universal understanding and harmony
• universal intelligence - the universal ruling force, i.e., the Divine
• Isn’t interesting how this same word has these two separate meanings. Any lessons there?
Logos
Logos…universal intelligence - the universal ruling force, i.e., the Divine • universal intelligence, “divine reason.”
• An eternal and unchanging truth present from the time of creation, available to every individual who seeks it.
• A unifying and liberating revelatory force which reconciles the human with the divine; manifested in the world as an act of God’s love in the form of the Christ.
• “In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God.”
John
354-430
• Floated through several religious beliefs and philosophies until he converted to Christianity and was baptized in 387
was instrumental in “protecting” the Church from various heresies • Heresies centered around the interpretation of elements of Jesus’ teachings. • e.g. the nature of Jesus, the Holy Trinity, the material world, etc…
• Council of Nicaea – called by Constantine, resulted in Nicene Creed
• “I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible…
Augustine vigorously enforced the ideas espoused in this creed
also combined some of his previous knowledge of philosophy with religious beliefs of Christianity
• Can a corrupt priest adequately administer the sacraments to ensure salvation for those who participate in them?
• God is a mystical being, not an “intellectual principle,” • What’s the difference?
• knowledge of God was available to all human beings, through God’s grace
• Union with God was the only genuine happiness for people
God’s mind has two aspects – the eternal truth (basic patterns of the universe) and creation (physical substance)…former is eternal, the latter exists in time, and is finite
• God dwells in eternity – a timeless instant, all is the present, all events are simultaneous. Hmmmm…modern physics anyone?
• Man dwells in a direct flow of time toward the godlike
• Augustine also debated the nature and value of the material world
The nature and value of the material world
• On one hand, it was made by God, so it had to be good, right?
• On the other, being too materialistic can distract you from contemplating God and lead you away from Him
• These ideas of Augustine were a modification of Platonic dualism
Augustine of Hippo
orm
“According to Plato, for any thing or property there is a corresponding Form, a perfect example of that thing…” existing separate from the mind that conceives it.
Plato’s theory of form
The nature and value of the material world
• On one hand, it was made by God, so it had to be good, right?
• On the other, being too materialistic can distract you from contemplating God
• Augustinian doctrine of the material world: physical, didn’t laud it either, later Christians will absolutely do the former…
- Physical things – temporary and changing
- Spiritual things – eternal and perfect
- Augustine didn’t quite condemn the
is a uniquely human cognitive capacity that understands deductive truths and logical necessity.
• Augustine adopted a subjective view of time and says that time is nothing in reality but exists only in the human mind’s apprehension [understanding, grasp] of reality.
• “Time and space are cognitive constructs…”
reason
“…Greco-Roman world…history is…the cyclical patterns that forge the past, present, and future into a continuous whole, emphasizing what is repeated and common over what is idiosyncratic and unique.”
• “Augustine…human history…provid[es] a linear account [in] which…history [is] the dramatic unfolding of a morally decisive set of non-repeatable events.”
history
Originally, all belonged to the City of God, then angels revolted and Satan was expelled from Heaven, creating the City of Man, where most dwelled until the coming of Jesus
• After Jesus, some dwelled in one, some in the other, dwellers in the CoG were also members of the Church
• not necessarily vice-versa—lots of people would pick up on that, esp. later ;)
End of history will come with Jesus’ return and the Last Judgement
city of god vs city of man
Another important idea: original dwellers in CoG were Hebrews, other ancients did NOT know the truth. In essence, Augustine condemned Greek and Roman civilizations
• Why is that significant (esp. for later times)?
Greeks – the individual
• Romans – the state
• Judeo-Christians – God (esp. for Augustine)
• Christianity emphasizes…
• The importance of the human personality
• The worth and dignity of the individual soul
• An individual soul’s responsibility to itself, aka ownership
• The rise of Christianity created a massive shift from a secular to a religious world-view with God as the ultimate reality
Middle Ages began with the fall of the
Middle Ages began with the fall of the Roman Empire, c. 476 CE
The first 300+ years (sometimes extend to 1000 CE) of that period sometimes referred to as the
• Why was this period called the Dark Ages?
• But…that description is somewhat inaccurate, some history to prove that point…
Dark Ages
Germanic tribes that migrated into France, took over most of Western Europe, dominated that land for several centuries
• Clovis I – first leader of a unified Frankish kingdom, established the Merovingian dynasty, ruled from 481-511, also the first Frankish king to be baptized Catholic (at the urging of his wife, Saint Clothilde, after discounting the apparent bad luck of being baptized) and after making a deal with God
• “…war broke out with the Alamani … The two armies were in battle and there was great slaughter. Clovis’ army was near to utter destruction. He… raised his eyes to heaven, saying … If thou shalt grant me victory over these enemies… I will believe in thee and be baptized in thy name.”
franls
first of the Carolingian line to rule France…, defeated the Moors (Saracens) at the Battle of Tours (732), stopped Muslim advance into France, also given credit, by some, for popularizing an innovation so important some rank it with the wheel and printing press in terms of influence in history—the stirrup.
Charles Martel a.k.a. “the Hammer”
742-814
• King of the Franks, Lombards, crowned the first Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day, 800
• “To Carolus Augustus crowned by God, mighty and pacific emperor, be life and victory”
• Noted for creating the largest European empire since the Romans • Began the Carolingian Renaissance…
Charlemegne, “Charles the Great)
What were the three classes in Frankish society in the early
Middle Ages? Peasants, nobility, clergy
• What advantages did each have?
Peasants - not much, although they did all the work • nobility – the soldiers and political leaders
• clergy – most educated, only ones who truly understood Christianity, “monopoly on knowledge, religious beliefs and practice”
Give examples of several policies Charlemagne implemented.
• What economic, political, and cultural reforms did Charlemagne make in the HRE?
Expansion and conversion • What economic, political, and cultural reforms did Charlemagne make in the HRE? • land to soldiers who fought for him • divided empire into administrative units w/military govs • helped improve trade • stressed education • building libraries • Carolingian miniscule • “Christian Empire”
