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139 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Bible
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Meaning "the books", christianity's sacred and inspired literature.
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canon
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the collection of authoritative writings of a particular religious group.
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testament
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a synonym for covenant, this term is applied by Christians to the two major collections of books of the Bible.
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Tanakh
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an acronym for Torah ("Law"), Nevim'im ("Prophets"), and Khetuvin ("Writings"); a term used to refer to the Jewish scriptures.
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Torah
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the Hebrew scriptures as a whole; the first five books of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament, also known as the Pentateuch or the Law; the Jewish Law, or system of laws, believed to have been revealed by God to Moses and set down in writing in the first five books of the Old Testament.
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Pentateuch
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the first five books of the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament, also known as the Torah or the Law.
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Documentary Hypothesis
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the theory that the Pentateuch was produced by combining four strands of tradition (the Yahwist, the Elohist, the Deuteronomist, and the Priestly traditions) over a long period of time.
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Yahwist Tradition
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according to the Documentary Hypothesis, the earliest of the four sources that make up the Pentateuch; it dates to the ninth century.
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Elohist Tradition
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according to the Documentary Hypothesis, the second earliest of the four sources that make up the Pentateuch; it dates to the eighth century.
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Deuternomist Tradition
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according to the Documentary Hypothesis, the third earliest of the four sources that make up the Pentateuch; it dates back to the seventh and sixth centuries B.C.E.
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Priestly Tradition
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according to the Documentary Hypothesis, the latest of the four sources that were combined to form the Pentateuch, written around the fifth century B.C.E. or later.
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Former Prophets
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also known as Teuteronomistic History; the biblical books which tell the stories of legendary early prophets like Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, and Elisha.
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Latter Prophets
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comprised of the Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekial) and the Minor Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi), also called the Book of Twelve.
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Hebrews
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referring to the ethnic group to which Abraham belonged, the term is sometimes used interchangeably with the terms Israelites and Jews.
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Israelites
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one of the people who claimed Jacob, also known as Israel, as their ancestor. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with the terms Hebrew and Jew.
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Jews
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the term originated with the return of the people of Judah from the Babylonian Exile in the latter part of the sixth century B.C.E. It is sometimes used interchangeably with the term Israelite and Hebrew.
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YHWH
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Yahweh, the name for God that is most commonly used in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
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Apocrypha
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name given to the seven books that are included in the Old Testament by Catholics and Orthodox Christians but excluded from the scriptures by Protestants and Jews. The term is also used more broadly to refer to vertain Jewsih and Christian religious tests written during the same time as the biblical books and considered inspired by some, but not included in the Bible itself.
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deauterocanonical
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meaning "second canon", the term refers to the certain Old Testament books and parts of books whose canonical status has been disputed over time. Christians who do not accept them as canonical call them apocryphal.
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Septuagint
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a Greek version of the Hebrew scriptures, created in the centuries before Christ by Greek-speaking Jews, but differing from the Hebrew Bible in the order of the books and in its inclusion of the apocrypha or detuerocanonical books; appropriated by Greek-speaking Christian Jews, it became the dominant version of the Christian bible for hundreds of years, and remains so for Orthodox Christians.
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verbal inspiration
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the belief that the Bible was written under the influence of the Holy Spirit and that it contains the Word of God.
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biblical inerrancy
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means that the Bible is completely accurate in all aspects and contains no mistakes whatsoever.
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pagan
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a term used to describe people who are neither Christians nor Jews.
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imperial cult
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in the Roman world, a partly political and partly religious ceremony in honor of the emperor who was recognized as a superhuman or divine figure.
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martyrs
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from the Greek term meaning "witness", someone who, under persecution, dies rather than give up his or her faith.
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relics
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the bodily remains of martyrs or other saints
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confessors
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in early Christianity, those who were arrested during persecution and stood firm in their faith but who were not put to death. Confessors enjoyed great prestige in the churches, and some claimed the right to forgive sins.
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apostasy
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falling away from the faith or renunciation of the faith under threat of persecution.
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apologists
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meaning "defender". The apologists of the early church attempted to respond to pagan criticisms of Christianity by explaining what Christians believed and how they lived their lives in terms that made sense to outsiders.
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orthodoxy
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meaning "right teaching" or "right opinion". The term is often used to describe doctrine or teaching that is declared by the church to be correct and binding for believers; it is contrasted with heresy.
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bishop
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meaning "overseer". In early Christianity, bishops were overseers of local churches, chiefly responsible for teaching and presiding at the Eucharist. Later, the bishop is an overseer of a group of churches known as a diocese.
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episcopacy
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government by bishops. The adjectival form of the word is episcopal.
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heresy
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false teaching, or teaching that goes against orthodoxy (correct teaching) in the eyes of the church.
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gnosticism
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from the Greek word "gnosis", meaning "knowledge". Gnostics claimed to have access to a special kind of knowledge known to them alone and by which they could be saved. They believed that there were two gods: one who was the supreme godhead of the divine realm (representing good) and who was unknown until Jesus came to reveal him; and the other the creator of the physical universe (representing evil), whom they equated with the God of the Old Testament. Gnostics believed that they belonged to the divine realm and their goal was to return there unharmed by this physical world.
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docetism
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from a Greek word meaning "to seem" or "to appear to be". The belief of some early Christians that Jesus Christ did not really become flesh but only seemed to have a body. In reality he was a spiritual being who could not suffer or die.
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Irenaus of Lyons
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a late second-century bishop of the church at Lyons, he wrote Against Heresies, primarily in response to gnosticism.
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recapitulation
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a doctrine about redemption taught by Irenaus.
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Didache
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meaning "teaching", the term refers to the title of an early church document, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. It is a church order, that is, a document describing how the Christian ought to live and how the sacraments ought to be celebrated.
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Origen of Alexandria
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an early Christian theologian, he wrote a number of works including Against Celsus, a response to a non-Christian critique of Christianity, and On First Principles, an exposition of Christian doctrine as it was understood at that time.
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allegorical
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term used to describe a method of interpreting scripture; it involves looking for a hidden spiritual meaning beneath the bare literal or historical meaning of the text.
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Theodosius I
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emperor of Rome who established Christianity as the sole legal religion in the Roman Empire and who affirmed the Nicene Creed as the benchmark of orthodox Christian faith.
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ecumenical
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meaning "worldwide"
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general council
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(ecumenical council); a universal gathering of Christian bishops called to resolve urgent issues affecting the whole church.
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dogma
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doctrines or teachings that have been proclaimed authoritatively by a given religion or church.
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cathedral
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a bishop's church. It gets its name from the bishop's chair, his cathedra, which is the symbol of his teaching authority.
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memoria
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a type of church building built to honor the tomb of a saint or martyr, or a holy site. Memoriae had a centered design, focusing attention on the place of honor.
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baptistery
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in the early church, a Christian building used for Baptism; later, a place in the church set aside for Baptism. The baptisteries of the early church had a centered design, and the focus was on the baptismal font into which the candidate stepped.
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catechumens
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a candidate for Baptism who s undergoing instruction in the Christian religion.
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penitents
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a person who is denied communion because of serious sin such as murder; adultery; or apostasy and who is doing penance (a penalty) for that sin.
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penance
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actions that show repentance for sin (praying, fasting, giving alms, making a pilgrimage); the sacrament of forgiveness of sin, which consists of the penitent's acts of repentance, confession of sin, the intention to make reparation, and the priest's absolution of sin.
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lent
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a period of forty weekdays in which Christians fast and do penance in anticipation of the feast of Easter; commemorating the ressurection of Jesus Christ.
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pentecost
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a Jewish harvest festival that came to mark the fifty days separating the Israelites' escape from Egypt and God's gift of the Law on Mt. Sinai; a Christian feast celebrated fifty days after Easter, commemorating the day on which the Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus' disciples when they were in hiding after his death and resurrection. According to the Acts of the Apostles, this happened during the Jewish feast of Pentecost-- in Luke's account the gift of the Spirit is thus intended to parallel and transcend the gift of the law.
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Augustine
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theologian and bishop of Hippo; his conversion is described in the autobiographical work Confessions; best known for his opposition to Donatism and Pelagianism, his theological doctrines of grace, original sin, and predestination, and his solution to the problem of evil.
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Monica
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Augustine's mother.
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apostolic tradition
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the witness of the apostles and early disciples of Jesus.
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synoptic gospels
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from a word meaning literally "seeing together." The term is usually used with reference to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, which tell the same general story of the life and teaching of Jesus.
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synoptic problems
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the question concerning the literary relationship between the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which are so similar that it is almost universally believed that one or more of their authors used another gospel as a source.
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Two-Source Hypothesis
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a theory that explains the literary relationship among the synoptic gospels by suggesting that the writers of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke used the Gospel of Mark and a hypothetical source Q as sources for their gospels.
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Q
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representing the German word Quelle, meaning "source". A hypothetical written document or documents, mostly containing parables and sayings of Jesus, used as a source for the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
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Christology
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meaning "words or teaching about the Christ." A study concerned with who Jesus is as the Christ (Messiah) and what his role is in God's relationship with humanity.
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Messianic Secret
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a term used to describe the apparent commands to silence concerning the identity of Jesus contained in the Gospel of Mark.
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infancy narratives
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stories about the birth and early childhood of an important personality. The gospels of Matthew and Luke contain infancy narratives concerning Jesus.
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beautitudes
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meaning "blessed" or "happy," a statement of blessing to be conferred on a person.
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Logos
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a Greek word meaning "word" or "reason", John's gospel uses this term to describe Jesus as the revelation of God.
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incarnation
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meaning "enfleshment"; the Christian doctrine that asserts that God became human, specifically, that the divinity called the Word (Logos) or the Son became human, or took on flesh, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
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agent of God
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drawn from the analogy of a king and his messenger, this phrase is used by biblical scholars to describe how first-century people might have understood the relationship between God and Jesus, who acts on God's behalf in the world.
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kingdom of God
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the reign of God, which is manifested in the coming of Jesus Christ, in the Spirit's continued presence in the world, and in the conviction that God will triumph over the forces of evil.
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disciple
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a learner or a follower. Christians use the term to refer to those who followed Jesus.
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apostle
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from the Greek word apostello, which means "to send out". It is used by Christians to refer to "one who is sent out by Jesus to preach the word about him".
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parousia
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meaning "coming", the term is used of the second coming of Christ at the end time.
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Quest for Historical Jesus
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an area of modern scholarly research that seeks to uncover what can be known about the actual historical person,Jesus of Nazareth, and to reconstruct his story based upon verifiable historical and scientific evidence.
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Constantine
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the first Christian emperor of Rome. He paved the way for the establishment of Christianity as the sole legal religion in the Roman Empire and began the practice of calling ecumenical councils to resolve urgent issues affecting the whole church.
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Constantinople
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a major city in what is modern-day Turkey; formerly the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, founded by Constantine on the site of the ancient city of Byzantium; historically, one of the five patriarchal sees from which Christianity was coverned; today, the seat of the foremost of the four patriarchs who govern the Eastern Orthodox Church.
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Arius
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a fourth-century priest in Alexandria who taught that only God the Father was God in the true sense; the Son (Jesus Christ), though also divine, was created by the Father and therefore was less than him. His teaching was rejected at the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Constantinople.
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Athanasius of Alexandria
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bishop of Alexandria and firm opponent of Arianism.
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Council of Nicaea
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an ecumenical council held in AD 325, which maintained the true divinity of the Son (Jesus Christ) against the teaching of Arius.
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Council of Constantinople
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an ecumenical council held in AD 451, which considered the question of Christ's human and divine natures and taught that the incarnate Jesus Christ possessed a complete human nature and a complete divine nature united in one person.
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Cappadocian Fathers
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a group of Christian priests, including Basil of Caesarea, his brother Gregory of Nyssa, and Basil's friend Gregory of Nazianzus, whose theological advances and appropriation of Greek philosophical thought are reflected in the clarifications of the Nicene Creed adopted at the Council of Constantinople.
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Apollinaris of Laodicaea
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a Christian theologian who solved the problem of the dual nature of Christ (human and divine) by saying that Christ had a human body but not a human soul. His views came to be regarded as heretical.
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Nestorius
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a fifth-century AD patriarch of Constantinople, who taught that it was inappropriate to call Mary the Mother of God on the grounds that God could not be said to have been born; at best she was only the Mother of Christ, the man. His views were condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431, on the grounds that he divided Christ into two separate persons.
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Council of Ephesus
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an ecumenical council held in AH 431 that taught that Mary, the mother of Jesus, should be venerated as Theotokos ("Mother of God", "Godbearer"). This safeguards the unity of Jesus Christ as one human-divine person.
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Council of Chalcedon
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an ecumenical council held in AD 451, which considered the question of Christ's human and divine natures and taught that the incarnate Jesus Christ possessed a complete human nature and a complete divine nature united in one person.
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monophysites
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from the Greek words for "of one nature"; one who holds that Jesus did not have two natures--one human and one divine--but only one. Eutches, for example, believed that the humanity of Christ had been absorbed into his single divine nature. Dissenters against the two-natures definition of the Council of Calcedon went into schism as separate Christian churches in Armenia, Syria, Egypt, and Ethiopia; though unfairly stigmatized as monophysite, they held and still hold that Jesus Christ was fully human, while rejecting Chalcedon's two-natures terminology.
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patriarch
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an early father of a people or (male) founder of a group, like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; bishop of one of the leading seats of early Christianity: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, though the title has since been extended to bishops of other important churches as well.
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pope
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the bishop of the church in Rome and the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
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Papacy
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referring to the reign of a pope or the office of popes in general.
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Asceticism
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the training or discipline of the passions and the appetites (abstaining from food and sexual activity, denying the body comfort). In the case of hermits and monks, the practice was designed to foster spiritual development.
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Monasticism
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from the Greek word monos, meaning "one", "unique", "solitary", or "alone". A rule and way of life for Christian men or women dedicated to holiness by separating from existing society, either by withdrawing into unpopulated areas or by living within a cloister (walled enclosure).
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Monk
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from the Greek word monachos, meaning a single or a solitary person, the word monk was coined in the fourth century AD as a name for the many men and women who had begun to withdraw to secluded desert retions to lead lives of prater and spiritual discipline. Later it would come to refer to anyone who abandoned life in the everyday world to devote himself or herself completely to religion.
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Antony of Egypt
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the father of Christian monasticism. Antony felt that Christ's teachings called him to sell all of his possessions and devote himself completely to following the gospel through a life of prayer in isolation from the world.
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cenobitic monasticism
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a form of monasticism in which monks live together in a community, rather than as hermits.
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abbot
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the spiritual leader who governs an organized community of monks.
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basilica
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a style of Christian church architecture, distinguished from other churches by its adaptation of the standard rectangular layout of royal audience halls and public buildings in Roman cities. The Christian version of a basilica was conceived as an audience hall for Christ, the heavenly king.
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Justification by Works
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the belief taht the right relationship with God can be acheived by avoiding sin and atoning for any transgressions with good deeds. In Paul's writings, the phrase is shorthand for justification through observance of works of the Law.
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Justification by Faith
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the belief that humans cannot achieve right relationship with God through their own actions but that humanity is justified by God as a free gift to those who trust in Jesus Christ.
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grace
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free, unmerited assistance given to human beings by God for their salvation. It is participation in the life of God.
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sacrificial atonement
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making up for one's sins with a sacrificial offering; specifically in Christianity, the idea that our sins are forgiven through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
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passive or alien righteousness
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Martin Luther used this phrase to explain that God is the one who justifies people. Salvation does not depend on a person's own goodness or righteousness, but on God's righteousness, which is imputed or credited to believers because of the merits of Christ's atoning death.
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contrition
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sorrow for sin.
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absolution
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forgiveness for the guilt associated with sin.
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works of satisfaction
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prayers, fasting, pilgrimages, or works of piety assigned to a person in the sacrament of penance to remove the penalties or consequence of sin.
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treasury of merit
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in the late medieval period, a treasury of surplus good works of the saints and of Christ. The pope could draw from this treasury and transfer excess merits to a repentant sinner in the form of an indulgence.
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Adeotatus
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meaning "gift of God", the son of Augustine of Hippo; born of Augustine's relationship with a concubine whose name we do not know.
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Manicheism
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a strongly dualistic religion deriving its name from Mani, a third0century AD prophet and cisionary. Like the gnostics before them, they believed in a dulaism of evil matter and good spirit. They taught that people could liberate spirit from matter through the strict practice of asceticism.
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Elect
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meaning "chosen". Although the term is used widely in Judaism and Christianity, the Manichees used it to refer specifically to their leaders.
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Hearers
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the name given to the members of the Manichees who did not have leadership roles. Augustine was a Hearer for a time prior to his conversion to Christianity.
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Ambrose of Milan
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bishop and former provincial governor whose sermons inspired the young Augustine to take Christianity seriously.
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Donatists
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a group of Christians that split from the main body of the church (mainly in North Africa) in the fourth century AD in a dispute over whether priests or bishops who collaborated with Roman persecutors of Christianity could retain their offices or administer the sacraments. Donatists maintained that clergy needed to be free from any serious sin to administer the sacraments validly. They were vigorously opposed by Augustine.
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original sin
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the idea that human nature is wounded and deprived of original holiness and right relationship with God because of the sin of Adam and Eve. As a result of original sin, human nature is subject to suffering and has an inclination to sin. Western Christianity traditionally holds that all human beings also inherit the guilt as well as the consequences of the sin of Adam and Eve.
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Pelagius
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a Christian monk who introduced the Pelagian notion that original sin did not seriously damage the human capacity to do good, that human nature remained essentially good, and that human beings could lead holy lives if they exerted sufficient effort; these notions were opposed by Augustine and eventually condemned as heretical by the Catholic Church.
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Basil of Caesarea
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one of the Cappadocian Fathers; known as the father of Eastern monasticism
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John Cassian
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known as the "father of Western monasticism", he sought to establish a standardized form of monasticism for the Western Roman Empire based upon the ideals of Eastern monasticism.
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Benedict of Nursia
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founder of the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino and author of the Rule for Monasteries, which eventually became the primary rule of monasticism in the West.
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feudal system
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in the early medieval period, the organization of society on the basis of bonds of personal loyalty between a lord and his vassal, based on mutual duties and benefits. Feudalism provided security and protection at a time when central political authority was weak. Wealthy landlords deeded large tracts of land to vassals who, in return, agreed to provide certain services like military assistance for the landlords. The vassals, in turn, required serfs or peasants to work the land.
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lay investiture
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during the early medieval period, secular rulers took upon themselves the right to appoint bishops, abbots, and other church officials; the right of appointment was expressed ritually in the ceremony in which the secular ruler "invested" the official with the spiritual symbols of his office.
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simony
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the buying and selling of spiritual things, including church leadership positions.
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concubinage
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during the early medieval period, the practice among some clergy of maintaining concubines in a relationship something like marriage.
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Gregory I
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also known as "Gregory the Great". Statesman, theologian, and prodigious writer, his wise and pastoral leadership made him a model for subsequent popes. Among his accomplishments was his decision to sponsor a mission to convert the Anglo-Saxons in England.
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Gregory VII
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a reform pope, he attacked abuses such as simony, alienation of property and lay investiture. He also declared the pope to be the supreme judge under God, holding the absolute powers of absolution and excommunication.
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sacramentary
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a book containing the prayers needed by a priest to celebrate the Eucharist and other sacraments.
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Roman Rite
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the primary form of liturgy for the Roman Catholic Church, which was standardized by Charlemagne in the second half of the eighth century. Some of its prayers are thought to have been composed by Pope Gregory I.
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Gregorian chant
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a repertoire of music consisting chants used in the city of Rome together with the native chants of the Frankish churches, mandated by Charlemagne to be used as church music throughout the empire.
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Romanesque architecture
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the style of buildings developed during the Carolingian and Ottonian dynasties of early medieval Europe. The structures featured stone vaulted cielings, heavy walls and piers, and small openings for light, creating a fortress-like impression.
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Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
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the pseudonym of an anonymous Syrian monk of the early sixth century AD who authored several important and influential theological works. He is perhaps most famous for his via negativa ("negative approach") in which all affirmations concerning God must be denied since the divine reality so far supersedes any word that can be said about it.
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Symeon the New Theologian
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an Eastern Christian mystic and theologian, representative of the spirituality and theology of the medieval period.
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mysticism
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a spiritual phenomenon that expresses itself in direct, intense experiences of union and oneness with God. Generally, the mystical journey consists of three phases: purgation (cleansing from sin), illumination (an attraction to all the things of God), and union (the state of oneness with God).
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Anselm of Canterbury
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Benedictine monk and archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm is known for his "debt satisfaction" theory of atonement and for his ontological argument for the existence of God.
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Counter-Reformation
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a term given to the efforts of those who, during the Protestant Reformation, were loyal to the pope and supportive of the customary practices of the Roman Catholic Church in order to counter the teachings and practices of the Protestant reformers.
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Catholic Reformation
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a term given to the efforts of those Roman Catholics who wanted to bring about the internal rebirth of Catholic sensibility--in theology, spirituality, religious piety, and morality--in the sixteenth century, during the time of the Protestant Reformation.
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polyglot Bible
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a single Bible in which the text was presented in several languages.
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Society of Jesus
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also known as the Jesuits, this religious order was founded by Ignatius of Loyola. Dedicated to the service of the pope, they played an important role in the Catholic Reformation both as missionaries and teachers. Today they are the largest Catholic religious order, with a large and respected system of high schools, colleges, and universities.
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Ignatius of Loyola
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founder of the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits. A Spaniard, Ignatius was trained as a knight, but he took up a life dedicated to the church after reading devotional books, including a life Christ and lives of the saints, during a long convalescence.
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Spiritual Exercises
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developed by Ignatius of Loyola, this month long spiritual examination allows the individual to participate in the drama of sin and salvation, leading to a turning over of everything, especially the will, to obedience to one's religious superior, to the teachings of the church and its traditions, for the spread of the faith.
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Capuchins
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a reform branch of the Franciscan movement, this religious order was officially recognized in 1528 during the Catholic reformation. Members got their name from the unique fourpointed hood that they wore with their brown habit.
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College of Cardinals
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originally the "cardinals" were local Roman clergy who assised the pope in his work as the bishop of Rome; in the Middle Ages they gained exclusive responsibility for electing a pope and for advising him on matters pertaining to the operation of the Roman Catholic Church. Today they come from all over the world and represent, along with the college of bishops, the universality of the church.
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Council of Trent
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declared by the Roman Catholics to be an ecumenical council, this church council met over a period of eighteen years to address doctrinal and practical issues of reform, both within the Catholic Church and in response to the Protestant Reformation.
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Vulgate
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a Latin translation of the Bible, containing also the books of the apocrypha, widely used in the West at least from the sixth century AD and declared by the Council of Trent to be the only authoritative translation of the Bible.
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breviary
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a prayer book containing the Liturgy of the Hours, the official prayer of the church, regularly prayed by priests, monks, and religious sisters. It is composed of psalms and reading from the Bible and other religious literature.
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seminary
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a school of theology especially designed for the training of priests. The Council of Trent ordered that every Roman Catholic diocese establish a seminary for the training of its priest candidates. Many dioceses still retain their own seminaries today.
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