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111 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is the New Testament
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The NT is the name of second part of the Christian Bible, containing the writings of the Christian community. The term New Testament distinguishes this section from the “Old Testament” (or Hebrew Bible), which contains the texts that the Christians inherited from the previous Jewish tradition.
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What does the term "Testament" mean?
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The word “Testament” derives from the Latin; it means, “covenant”
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Is the New Testament one book?
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No, the NT is not a single book, but a collection of 27 books.
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Did Jesus write the New Testament, or any of the documents in the New Testament
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No, Jesus was a preacher. He did not leave any writings, nor dictated any texts.
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Who wrote these texts?
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They were written by disciples and believers in Jesus. None of the NT texts was written by independent witnesses or non-Christians. In this sense, they are biased: the goal of the authors of the NT texts was to preach the Christian message.
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What kind of documents are in the NT?
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They are very different from one another (different literary form, or genres). There are biographies of Jesus (the Gospels), letters, a survey of Church history, one apocalypse.
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What do they have in common?
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They are all about Jesus and the religious movement. The NT is a collection of Christian religious texts.
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Who is the most represented author in the NT?
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Paul, to whom 13 letters are attributed.
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Do these texts contain reliable historical information?
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The problem of the historical reliability of the NT is very complex. The NT texts contain a lot of important and reliable information that must be critically assessed. There are different opinions among scholars about the historical reliability of the New Testament. And of course there are different opinions about the Truth of the message. Even among Christians there are different opinions. In this class we will look at these text as evidence of the beliefs of their authors. We will not discuss the problem of their Truth, which is a personal matter of faith. None of us is in this class to promote or dismiss any particular religious belief, but to understand the meaning of these texts in their original context.
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When were these documents written?
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Between 50ca and 120ca CE
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Are all Christian documents written during that time included in the New Testament
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No, the New Testament is a “canon”, an authoritative collection, or better, selection of documents.
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Who collected these texts in the New Testament?
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It was a gradual process. It took three centuries before the leaders of the Church defined the universally accepted canon of the New Testament.
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When do we find the first evidence of our canon of 27 books?
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The current 27 books in the NT are named as authoritative for the first time in a letter of the bishop of Alexandria, Athanasius, in 367 CE.
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What was the situation before that time?
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Each Christian community had its own “canon” that often included either a limited number of texts or texts later rejected. Each canon reflected the theological diversity of the Church. There was a great deal of diversity in the early Church. Groups such as the Marcionites or the Gnostics had their own distinctive canon in competition with other Christian groups.
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What is the Nag Hammadi Library?
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The Nag Hammadi Library was a Gnostic Library, discovered in 1945 in Egypt. It contains some fifty-two documents written in Coptic. It gives us an idea of the canonical writings of a Christian Gnostic Community in the first four centuries of the Common Era—documents that were later rejected by the Church.
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What prompted the creation of a unified canon?
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In the fourth century Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Emperor required unity of Christian organization and belief.
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Which criteria did the Church use in the fourth century in order to define the canon of the New Testament?
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Two major criteria were used:
(a) apostolicity/antiquity (a text had to be written by an apostle or in the name of an apostle. (b) recognition/orthodoxy (the authority of a text had to be recognized by the majority of the Churches) |
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Who were the Apostles?
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The apostles were considered the eyewitness of Jesus.
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Are the apostles only the 12 chosen by Jesus?
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No among the apostles were reckoned also the members of the family of Jesus (James, Jude) and Paul. According the early Christian tradition the risen Christ appeared to James and Paul, too.
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Did Paul know Jesus?
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No, but he was considered an apostle because as his authority and importance in the early Church. According to the early Christian tradition he saw the risen Jesus in a vision, he was considered to be an apostle.
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Are among the author of the NT texts people who are neither apostles nor eyewitnesses?
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Yes, for example Mark and Luke were certainly neither apostles nor eyewitness. They were included because they were believed to reflect the teaching of an apostle.
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What happened if the authority of a text was recognized but not its apostolicity?
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Texts such as the Letter of Clement, the letter of Barnabas, etc. were not included in the NT but continued to be used in the Church. They are called the “Apostolic Fathers”
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What happened if the apostolicity of a text was recognized but not its authority?
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Texts such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Apocalypse of Peter, etc., which were attributed to Jesus’ apostles but whose authority was not universally recognized, were excluded and their usage in the Church discouraged. They were called “New Testament Apocrypha”.
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Do we have evidence of apostolic writings that were lost?
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Yes, for example, in 1 Corinthians Paul says that he had previously written a letter to that Church—letter that is no longer extant.
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Were the texts of the New Testament arranged according to the chronological order of composition, from the Gospel of Matthew to the Revelation of John?
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No, the texts in the New Testament were arranged according to their content: first, the Gospels; than, the historical book (the Acts) and Paul, and then the letters (including, at the end, Revelation). Compare the New Testament to the Hebrew Bible, which is also divided in three parts: Torah, Prophets and Writings (including the apocalyptic Daniel).
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Which are the earliest texts in the New Testament?
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Not the Gospels, as many think, but the Letters of Paul. The earliest extant letter of Paul is the so-called First letter to the Thessalonians, written around 50 CE.
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What is the original language of the New Testament?
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All NT texts were written in Greek; occasionally they contain some Aramaic words.
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What was the language spoken by Jesus and his first disciples?
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The spoken language in 1st century Israel was Aramaic. Hebrew was the language of the ancient Scripture of Israel and was also known. Greek was the international language of communication of the ancient world (like English today, or Latin and French in the past). This explains why the NT texts were written in Greek, even though Jesus preached in Aramaic.
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Do we have the originals of any of the books of the New Testament?
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No, the original manuscripts are all lost. What we have, are only copies of copies. We have only a tiny fragment copy of the Gospel of John from the 2nd century (p. 486). Most of the around 5,000 extant manuscripts of the NT are from the Middle Ages.
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Do NT manuscripts contain a lot of careless mistakes?
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Yes, a lot. Words are either misspelled, or repeated, or skipped. Copying was a very difficult and tiring job.
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Do ancient NT manuscripts also contain some theologically motivated "corrections"?
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Yes, many times Christian scribes had the tendency to transfer back their theology on the text. As some Christian scribes of later times did not approve of the high profile women occasionally enjoyed in the early churches, they changed the text accordingly. In many manuscripts, the “prominent women” of Acts 17:4 became “the wives of prominent men”, etc. In order to save the omniscience of Jesus, some ancient manuscripts deleted the reference to the Son in Mt 24:36, where is written: “About that day and hour [of the End] no one knows… not event the Son, but the Father alone.”
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How can we reconstruct the "original" text?
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Scholars do so by comparing the many manuscripts between themselves and with ancient translations and quotations by ancient authors
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Can we reconstruct the text by simply accepting the most common reading?
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No, the majority may not count: 9 manuscripts may be copies of the some mistaken text while only one contains the original text.
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Can we reconstruct the original text by accepting the reading of the most ancient manuscript?
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Not necessarily. Sometimes a late manuscript is the copy of a very ancient and reliable manuscript, while some ancient manuscript may already contain some mistakes.
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Did ordinary Christians read the New Testament in antiquity?
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No. Most people could not even read. Copies of the NT were very rare. Only Monasteries and Parishes could afford it. The NT was read by priests and preached in sermons. NT scenes were painted on the walls of the churches for instruction.
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Was the NT known in the original language, or in the everyday language?
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The NT was known neither in the original Greek nor in the everyday language, but in Latin, which in the West had became the language of the Church., and the reading of the holy texts was restricted to the clergy.
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When do we have the first translations of the NT in modern language?
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It was only in the 16th century that the NT was translated into modern languages.
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Were these translation accepted by all Christian Churches?
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No, it was only the Reformation that promoted the translation of the Bible. Martin Luther was the author of the first German translation (1522-1534). Around the same time the invention of printing made finally the NT available and affordable to ordinary Christians. But not everybody agreed. When in 1525, William Tyndale translated for the first time the New Testament in English he was tried for heresy and burned at the stake. In the Catholic Church, the reading of the New Testament was encouraged only after the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.
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What is the King James Version of the Bible?
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The King James Version is an English translation published in 1611 for the official use in the Anglican Church. Is a poetic masterpiece but his language is now largely outdated and his text is not always reliable as it was based on a limited number of ancient manuscripts.
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What is the most recent and reliable English translation?
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The socalled “New Revised Standard Version” published in 1991 is probable the best translation now available. But nothing can replace the original text.
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Is the division in chapters and verses part of the original NT text?
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No, it was first made in the 16th century (see Box 29.1, p. 482) and ever since used in all printed editions of the Bible.
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What is the core question of the NT?
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Who is Jesus?
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What is the NT answer?
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He is the Messiah foretold by ancient Jewish prophets, the divine Son of God, who in his first coming became human to save other humans from evil, died and ws risen, and now sits at the right end of the Father until his second coming when He will return as the eschatological Judge at the end of times.
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Was Jesus a Jew?
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YES -He was born, lived, and died as a Jew. His family was Jewish, his name was Jewish. He was circumcised; he attended the Synagogue; he went to the Jerusalem Temple to celebrate the major Jewish festivals; he read and practiced the Torah.
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Was Jesus a Christian?
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Christianity is a religion based on the celebration of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah. Jesus did not follow any of the practices that would later characterize Christianity. He did not celebrate the major holidays, he never attended a Church. He never read the New Testament. But as a reform preacher Jesus was the beginner of a new movement that would later develop in what we now call Christianity.
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Messiah (in the earliest Jewish traditions)
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It meant "anointed" An appointed leader, such as a king priest, or prophet. A future leader announced by the prophets or the messiah as the human "son of God" The messiah is singled out as the adopted beloved "son of GOd" amongh the people of the "sons of God"
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Who is David and Aaron?
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David - the first King/ Aaron - the first High Priest
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The Messiahs of the Sadducees and Hellinistic Jews
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Sadducees are the priestly party that controlled the Temple. They believed that his world was the good world created by God where everybody receives, in his/her lifetime, what he/she deserves. There is no final Messiah, no afterlife retribution, no end of time, no world to come.
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The Final Messiah of the Pharisees
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There Pharisees were NOT a conservative party. On the contrary, they were an opposition party, a reform movement. They believed that this world, created by God had been corruped by the sins of humans. People have to expect a difficult time in this world and not to be rewarded or punished according to their deeds. But there will be an end of time and a world to come, a final judgment and an afterlife retribution where each eventually receives according to his/her own deeds. The hope for the son of David.
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The messiah of the Zealots
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Warrior-like An avenger of Israel will come immediately BEFORE the end of times and revolt against foreign nations.
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The Son of Man in the Book of Daniel
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Power and authority are not given to the Son of David, but to a heavenly, angel-like being coming from Heaven. He is the heavenly representative of the 'people of the Most High" It appears in the context of the Last Judgment, but does not describe his role.
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The Son of Man/Enoch in the Book of Parables of Enoch
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He is a heavenly figure, the name of the Son of Man is known since the beginning of the world/pre-existent. He is the eschatological Judge; he will perform God's judgment. He is not as much the redeemer of Israel as the redeemer of the poor and oppressed from the tyranny of the powerful. He will be worshipped and He is the light of the Gentiles, as well as of Israel. He is full of wisdom and the revealer of wisdom. Enoch is the Son of Man.
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The heavenly Melkisedek at Qumran and 2 Enoch
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He is the eschatological High Priest and Judge, Melkisedek, who was born miraculously by the Word of God and now is hidden in paradize until the end of times and will come back as the messiah.
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The Gospel of Mark
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Not the earliest document in the NT, but the one who preserved some of the earliest traditions about Jesus. Work of Mark, who is a disciple of Peter.
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What is the Gospel of Mark about?
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About Jesus of Nazareth. There, however, is no infancy narrative, no virgin birth in Mark. Mentions Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist
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What is Jesus' role in the Gospel of Mark?
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A preacher/teacher and miracle worker.
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What was Jesus's identity in the Gospel of Mark?
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Jesus called himself a prophet. He was an apocalyptic teacher who taught how to enter the kingdom.
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Is Jesus the Son of David?
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No. Jesus never refers to himself as this or the "king of the Jews". He says himself that David calls the messiah Lord, so how can David be his son?
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The Messiah in Mark
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Jesus speaks of the Son of Man and the coming of him and the Kingdom. Jesus is the heavenly Messiah, the eschatological Judge.
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How is Jesus no different than other messiahs?
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There were several messianic movements during his time and several people who believed there was a different Son of Man (Enoch).
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What makes Jesus unique?
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Christians believed that Jesus the Son of Man who was sent to Earth with the power to forgive and die for human sins.
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The letter of Barnabas was excluded from the NT canon because
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it did not fit the criterion of apostolicity
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According to Papias, an ancient source, Mark was the interprerter of
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Peter
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The doctrine of the Trinity was first officialy articulated in
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the Nicene Crede
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The figure of Melchizedek occurs in....
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The book of Genesis, literature from Qumran, and the book of Enoch
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What is the purpose of the first coming of the Messiah?
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To provide a second chance for those who believe through the forgiveness of sins.
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Pharisees placed blame for corruption of the world on
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humans
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The Messiah can be described as the ________ son of God
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beloved, adopted, and begotten
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What is Mark Chapter 1, Verse 1?
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The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God
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Jesus' authority over and recognition by demons was regarded as proof that he was
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the Son of Man
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The Gospel of Thomas was excluded from the NT canon because...
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its content was not approved of the majority of the church
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What literary genre best describes the gospels?
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biography
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Sadducees and Hellenistic Jews would not except what kind of messiah?
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Enoch, the man in Genesis who did not die but was taken up to heaven by God
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"I saw one like a son of man coming from the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away..."
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the Book of Daniel
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The _________ identified the serpent in the Garden of Eden in the book of Genesis as the devil.
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Essenes
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What does elohim refer to?
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God
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According to ___________ the messiah will come twice.
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the Gospel of Mark
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The Kingdom of our Lord is forever over the nations in judgment. Lord, you chose David to be a king over Isreal and swore to him about his descendants forever, That his kingdom should not fail before you. But because of our sins, sinners rose up against us, They set upon us and drove us out....
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Psalms of Solomon
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The Book of Enoch is regarded as canonical by
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Ethiopian Christians
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According to Mark, Jesus was the
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heavenly messiah and eschatological judge
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Two groups who believed in a manifestation of the final Messiah before the end of times are:
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Zealots and the earliest Christians
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Approximately how many manuscripts of the New Testament exist?
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5,000
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The New Testament books were written in
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Greek
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The Pharisees' title for the Messiah was
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Son of David
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According to the Essenes, demons are
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the souls of deceased giants
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Which group is not an example of an early Christian group which provide evidence for the diversity that existed within the Jesus movement
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Cynics
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What is the best time range for when the documents in the NT were written?
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50 CE - 120 CE
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The phrase "Son of God" implies divinity. T or F?
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False
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In the Parables of Enoch, Enoch is
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the object of worship, the eschatological judge, and the light of the Gentiles
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What was not a unifying belief in ancient Judaism
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A belief that there would be one messiah
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What two criteria were used to decide if a book could become part of the NT canon?
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Apostolicity and Orthodoxy
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What are the narrative passages found in the Gospel of Mark?
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the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptism, parables and teachings which talk about the Kingdom of God, the cleansing of the temple, Jesus celebrating Passover with his disciples, and the passion
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The Pharisees and Sadducees had this in common: for them messiah could only be ________
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human
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What is a source that is not a pgan source providing us with information of Jesus
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Josephus
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The Essenes thought of the Messiah as
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the Son of Man, Enoch, and Melchizedek
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The oldest list of the canonical NT books can be found in a letter written by
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Athanasius
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According to the Gospel of Mark we know that
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Jesus' mother was Mary and Jesus had siblings. We do not know if Jesus was the son of Joseph
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Judas the Galilean and Theudas are both examples of
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Zealots
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Where was the Gospel of Mark popular?
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Rome
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The Parables of Enoch is an interpretation of
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the Book of Daniel
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In Marks' account of the baptism of Jesus who hears the voice from heaven?
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Jesus
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How do you achieve apostolicity?
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You are one of the original twelve disciples, the immediate family of Jesus, and Paul
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Jesus asks Peter what he is and Peter replies. Jesus tells him not to tell anyone. What did Peter say?
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Jesus is the Messiah
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T or F: The sadducees and Hellenistic Jews believed that there had been a ware in heaven.
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False
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The translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek is known as
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the Septuagint
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As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took his throne, his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire...The court sat in judgment and the books were opened..And as I watched, the beast was put to death and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire...As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a son of man coming from the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away..."
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Daniel 7:9-14
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Enoch
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A collection of 5 books dating between the 4th and the 1st centuries BCE.
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"Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, Joseph, Jude and Simon? And are not also his sisters with us?"
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Mark 6:3
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"They were astonished at his teaching; for he was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes...What is this? A new doctrine taught with authority. He commands the unclean spirits, and they obey him."
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Mark 1: 22-27
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According to the Gospel of Mark, who was Jesus?
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Jesus says, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country." Mark claims that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God by his opening sentence, "The beginning of the good news of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God."
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"Jesus saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven: You are my Son. The Beloved, with you I am well pleased."
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Mark
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