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10 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Humanity: One in Christ |
- All humans, male and female, have been created in the image of God and were given "dominion" over the Earth (in the traditional sense) or to be stewards of the earth (in the liberal sense).
-Humans are more than their material bodies; they have souls. Under the influence of Greek philosophy, Christianity has traditionally emphasized a distinction between soul and body.
-Paul writes that humans are one in Christ: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are on in Christ Jesus" |
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Problem: Separation from God |
- The fundamental human problem is alienation from God... referred to as "sin". Acts of disobedience ("sins") follow from the underlying state of existence that separates humanity from God. Christianity has largely emphasized the problem as an individual matter which needs personal transformation. It can, however, be a "corporate" concern. |
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Cause: Original Sin |
-The doctrine of original sin was developed by Augustine in the 5th century to explain the pervasiveness of sin. This doctrine holds that humans are by nature sinful creatures. Although never directly stated in the Bible (and not accepted by Jewish or Muslim interpreters, or even all Christians), Christians have tended to see in the story of Adam and Eve the basis of a doctrine of "original sin."
-In addition, traditional Christianity accepts the existence of the supernatural Satan/Devil and his demonic forces to draw persons into sinful behavior. |
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End: The Kingdom of God in Heaven and on Earth |
- Many Christians believe that "life after death in heaven" is the chief goal toward which Christian life is oriented. "Heaven" is seen as a spiritual realm in which God dwells and to which those who experience salvation will go after death to live in eternal blessedness. This is the Kingdom of God, in their view. "Hell" is a place of torment where the damned are destine to spend eternity separated from God. Traditional Catholic teaching adds "purgatory," a place of purification for those who die while still in a state of sin. According to traditionalist understanding of Biblical teaching, entrance into heaven or hell will occur at the end of time, after the resurrection of the dead and a final judgment.
- Liberal Christians prefer to focus on transforming life in this world so that people can experience, here and now, the fullness of life that God intends. |
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Means: Grace, Faith, and the Sacraments |
- A basic Christian teaching is that humans are powerless to save themselves from sinfulness; therefore, humans have hope for salvation only because of God's grace. Christ's death on the cross has atone for human sinfulness, and his resurrection open the way for humans to enter into eternal life. Anyone who responds to God's free gift of divine grace enters into a new, spiritual life in Christ characterized by love, joy, peace, and hope... a process called sanctification |
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Means: Grace, Faith and the Sacraments |
- How is grace made available to humans? The sacraments of the Church are the instruments of divine grace.
-Roman Catholics have 7 sacraments (baptism, confirmation, eucharist, marriage, ordination, anointing the sick) while Protestants have 2 (baptism and communion)
- The Reformers also said that the sacraments are signs, not instruments of grace...one is justified by faith alone, not by the mediation of the Church.
-Christianity is still divided over the meaning of the sacrament of Holy Communion: transubstantiation vs consubstantiation (actual body and blood vs. spiritual symbols)
-Christianity also is divided over whether to baptize Christians at infancy. |
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Means: Grace, Faith and the Sacraments |
- New Testament, the right way to live is to "imitate Christ."
- For most Christians the day in the week set aside for worship is Sunday.
-Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and many Protestant churches observe a liturgical calendar.
-Traditional festival celebrations: Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Epiphany, Advent, Birth of Jesus (Christmas).
-In addition to these cycles, the Christian liturgical calendar includes festivals commemorating saints, typically on the dates of their deaths. These festivals are rejected by conservative Protestant churches.
- Devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus, has played an important role, particularly in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican Churches.
The reaction in Christianity to a perceived overemphasis on rituals, doctrines, and the veneration of saints is called pietism.
- Prevalent Christian symbols: Cross, fish, alpha/omega, IHS, and chi rho |
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Reality: Creation and the Cosmic Christ |
- Christianity views reality as the creation of the one God, who transcends the created order. The creation is "good," as created by God.
-The Gospel of John introduces the notion that Christ, as fully divine (as well as fully human), participates in the creation as a prehuman celestial being.
-Christianity is eschatological (theology concerned with death, judgment, final destiny of the soul and human kind) in its view of time... God will again send Christ into the world to restore the original harmony (the Second Coming).
- Liberal Christians: Christ's "Second Coming" is a symbolic way of saying that God's intention is for the terrible mess humans have created on Earth to be cleaned up. |
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Sacred: One God, Three "Persons" |
- The term Trinity, meaning one God but three "persons", is not mentioned in the Christian Bible
-The Council of Nicaea in 325 c.e. stated that the Son is "of the same substance" as the Father.
- First Council of Constantinople in 381 c.e. upheld the divinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit but said that within the Godhead the Father "unbegotten," the son is "begotten," and the Spirit proceeds from the Father.
- In the fifth century, Augestine's conceptualizations of the Trinity helped shape orthodox Christian teachings as it is still expressed today. |
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Sacred: One God, Three "Persons" |
- Christian theologians have wrestled with ways to explain how Christians can maintain the unit of God:
-Avoid tritheism, the worship of "three gods"
-Preserve the humanity of Jesus (and avoid docetism, the teaching that Jesus only appears to be human).
-To explain the relationship of the Spirit to the Father and Son (and avoid pantheism, the view that God is present in all reality).
- Although it is ultimately a mystery beyond human comprehension, the doctrine of the Trinity represents a relationship of love.
-Angels are heavenly being created by God to be God's emissaries in the world. Some, however, are evil, having rebelled against God...Satan.
-A modern movement known as "process theology" has, for example, sought to reinterpret the traditional notion that God is a power external to the world who causes events to happen in strict accordance with a preexistent divine plan. |
