New Testament Theology - Candida Moss

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Macedonia

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- northern part of modern-day Greece
- Paul engaged in missionary activities
- established churches in cities such as Philippi and Thessalonica

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Stoics

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Greco-Roman philosophers who urged people to understand the way the world worked and to live in accordance with it, letting nothing outside themselves affect their internal state of being

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Thessalonica

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- Capital city of Macedonia
- Acts 17:1-9
- Paul came during second missionary journey with Silas and Timothy to establish church
- Port of considerable size
- Temples to numerous gods and center of imperial cult

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Corinth

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- capital city of Achaia
- in Roman province of Achaia between mainland Greece and the Peloponnesse (southern Greece) and overlooking two separate harbors
- Thriving center of trade and cultural diversity that contained temples to various gods
- Paul spent eighteen months in second missionary journey there, between 50 and 52 C.E.

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Galatia

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- Roman province in central Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey)
- According to Acts, Paul visited 3 times
- Populated mostly by descendants of a Celtic tribe that settled the region in 3rd century BC

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Onesimus

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- convert of Paul who was a slave of Philemon, another of his converts
- About whom Paul wrote the letter to Philemon

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Philemon

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A wealthy Christian of Colossae
Owner of the slave Onesimus

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Philippi

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- City in east Macedonia where Paul established a church
- Originally founded b y Philip of Macedon adn then refounded by August in 21 BCE
- Roman colony in Macedonia situated on the Via Egnatia, a major road connecting the eastern and western parts of the Roman empire
- Junction for trade by land and by sea
- Visited by Paul in second missionary journey
- Acts 16

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models of salvation

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ways of understanding the relationship between Christ's death and salvation

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Judicial Model of Salvation

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- one of the two principal models of salvation Paul believed
- Salvation comparable to a legal decision
- God (lawmaker and judge) treats humans as "not-guilty" for committing acts of transgression (sins) against his law - even though they are guilty - because Jesus' death has been accepted as a payment

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Participationist model

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- one of the two principal models of salvation Paul believed
- understand sin to be a cosmic force that enslaved people
- salvation (liberation from bondage) comes by participating in Christ's death through baptism

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Gnosticism

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- Greek for "knowledge"
- Group of ancient religions (some closely related to Christianity)
- Elements of the divine have been trapped in this evil world of matter
- Can be released only when they acquired the secret gnosis of who they were and how they could escape
- Generally thought to be brought by an emissary of the divine realm

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Nero

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Roman emperor from 54-68 CE
Possibly the target of some of the polemic book of Relevation
Ruler when many of Paul's letters (and maybe death) are dated

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Didache

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"Teaching" in Greek
Treatise "The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles"
100 C.E., earliest surviving church manual
Contains teachings on Christian ethics, rituals, church organizations, and how to conduct affairs of the church, warnings against itinerant prophets who were abusing the good graces of churches they visited

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666

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"number of the beat", the antichrist
Revelation 13
Total of numerical value of letters in antichrist's name
Perhaps reference to Caeser Nero, who name in Hebrew letters adds up to 666

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apocalypse of Peter

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Pseudonoymous work that describes a guided tour o heaven and hell given by Jesus to Peter, to reveal to him the blessing of the saved and the eternal torments of the damned

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apocalypticism

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-worldview held by many ancient Jews and Christians
- Present age is controlled by forces of evil
- These forces will be destroyed at the end of time when God intervenes in history to bring in his kingdom, an event thought to be imminent

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Domitian

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- Roman emperor from 81 to 96 CE
- Ruler when Revelations and many other books of the NT were written

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Whore of Babylon

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- Image used in Book of Revelation to refer to city of Rome
- "Babylon" thought to be the enemy of God's people, since it was the city responsible for the overthrow of Judea in Hebrew Scriptures
- city called "whore" because of it ways of dealing with other countries

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Signs Source

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A document, which no longer survives, thought by many scholars to have been used as one of the sources of Jesus' ministry in the Fourth Gospel; it reputedly narrated a number of miraculous deeds of Jesus

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Discourse Source

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Source for the gospel of John, written by the same author
- Source (allegedly) for all of the discourses following the signs
- Document with explanations about the signs

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Ephesus

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- Capital of Roman province of Asia
- Port city on the intersection of several trade routes
- Contained many temples, including the Artemision, an enormous temple to Artemis and one of the seven wonders of the world
- Visited by Paul during his third missionary journey (Acts 19)

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The Seven Seals

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- seven symbolic seals that secure the book or scroll that John saw in his Revelation of Jesus Christ
- opening of Apocalyptic document occurs in Revelation 5-8
- In John's vision, only one worthy to open book is "Lion of Judah" and "Lamb having seven horns and seven eyes"
- Upon the Lamb opening a seal from the book, a judgment is released or an apocalyptic event occurs
- Seals 1-4: Four Horsemen released, each with own specific mission
- Seal 5: releases cry of the martyrs for the "word/Worth of God"
- Seal 6: prompts cataclysmic events
- Seal 7: Cues 7 angelic trumpeters who in turn cue the 7 bowl judgments

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High Christology

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- emphasizes Christ's divinity
- Stresses Christ as second person of the Trinity on equal playing field with God and descending to meet us
- John has highest Christology
- Jesus referred to as Lord, Yahweh, "I Am", "Most High" (1 Cor. 8:6), "Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians, Corinthians), "If you have seen me...(John 14:9)
- Characteristic of theologians in Alexandria

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Low Christology

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- Emphasizes Christ's humanity
- Stresses Christ as ascending toward God or returning to God
- Mark has lowest Christology
- Jesus referred to as Son of God, Messiah, Son of Man, Teacher/Rabbi, Apologist
- Characteristic of theologians in Antioch

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Arianism

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- idea of Christ developed by Arius 250-336
- Interpreted John 14:28 literally ("for the Father is greater than I")
- Christ did not always exist, but was created by God the Father and therefore distinct from God the Father
- Son and Father not equally divine
- Deemed heretical by First Council of Nicea 325

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theodicy

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Theological construct describing how one rationally justifies God amidst evil and suffering; coined by Leibnitz and comes from theo (God) + dike (righteousness)

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Melchizedek

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- King and Priest mentioned in Genesis 14
- Introduced as king of Salem and high priest
- Brings out bread and wine and blesses Abraham
- In letter to Hebrews, Christ identified as "a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek", thought to allude to the fact that Jesus is the high priest once and for all

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Theophilus

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- Person to whom Luke dedicated both his Gospel and the Book of Acts
- May be actual person, Roman administrator, or symbolic for the Christian reader (one who "loves God" or is "loved by God"

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Ego Eimi, "I Am"

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- Group of sayings found only in the Gospel of John, which Jesus identifies himself
- Metaphor ("I am the bread of life", "I am the light of the world", "I am the way, the truth, and the life"
- Possible reference to the name of God from Exodus 3 ("Before Abraham was, I am", John 8:58)

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Johannine Prologue

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- first eighteen verses of John's Gospel
- Describe "Word" that was with God, equal with God, through whom God made the world, and that became flesh in the man jesus

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Deutero-Paulines epistles

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- Letters of Ephesians, Colossians, and 2 Thessalonians
- "Secondary" (deutero) standing in the Pauline corpus because scholars debate whether they were written by Paul

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Council of Chalcedon

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Held in 451, response to Christological debates
Repudiated idea of a single nature in Christ and declared that Christ had 2 complete and distinct natures in 1 person (hypostatic union)
Most Protestants consider this the last ecumenical council

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Docetism

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Idea in the early church that Jesus' humanity was an illusion
Unable to reconcile Jesus' humanity and divinity
Interpreted "Word was made flesh" literally
Rejected at First Council of Nicea in 325 as heresy

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Council of Nicea 325

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Denouced Arianism, asserts that the Son is begotten of the Father
Establishes Nicene Creed
Establishes celebration of Easter