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119 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What happened at the Council of Nicaea?
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-attained consensus in beliefs of all Christians by representative assembly
-Resolved disagreements between Clemet of Alexandria and the Arians about whenter Jesus was the same substance as God |
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What did the Sack of Rome mean for Christianity?
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If Rome is vulnerable, Christianity is vulnerable. Insead Christianity replaced Roman Empire as keeper of peace and unity, became Holy Roman Empire
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Lactantius
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Apologetic Tradition, Return of Golden Age, Iusitia,
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What is meant by the Golden Age?
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The age when Saturn ruled the universe. Saturn was the father of the Gods, who was killed by his oldest son. Lactantius thought these were historical characters, not God
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Who was the first Christian thinker to think ideas of justice?
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Lactantius
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What were Lactantius's three main aspects of Iusitia (justice)?
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1) justice system, social order/laws
2) virtue of justice, habit of behaving justly 3) Word that means righteousness, rightful to God |
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"Three Aspecs of One thing" What does that refer to?
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Iusitia
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What two commandments give Lactantius the components of justice?
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piety, equality and humanity/mercy
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What is meant by piety?
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the commandment to love god
reverence/knowledge of God |
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What is meant by equality and humanity/mercy?
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commandment to love thy neighbor
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Who was one of the first peopel to work out what it means for Christians to love God and Neighbor?
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Lactantius
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What was the basis for loving God and neighbor?
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Justice or Iustitia
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Who wrote Divine Institutes?
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Lactantius
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When did Lactantius die?
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Before either Augustine or Ambrose were born
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What did Lactantius reference?
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Greek and Roman poetry, not scripture
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Abrose's background..(4 things)
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Old Roman Christian Fam, Father was VP Emperor in charge of the North Roman Empire, well groomed and educated, Governor of Milan
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Who was largely responsbile for Christianity as a state religion?
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Ambrose
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What did Ambrose undergo in a week to be Bishop?
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Be baptized, become priest, and bishop all within a week
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How did Ambrose set up wrangles of power between Church and State?
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By excommunicating the emporer Theodosius twice.
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Why was Theodosius excommunicated?
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The first time for tolerating paganism (doctoral), the second time for massacre of a small CHRISTIAN town (moral)
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What does the fact that Ambrose's excommunication of the emporer worked show?
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The power of Christianity over the empire
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What was Ambrose's De officiis ministrorum based on?
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Cicero's De Officius
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what does De officiis ministorum mean?
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The duties of the clergy
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What were the four cardinal virtues discussed by Ambrose? What does each mean?
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justice, prudence, temperance, fortitude..
fairness, wisdom/caution, self-control, courage |
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Why were the four cardinal virtues so important?
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They were supposed to direct you, put you on the right road
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What was added to these virtues by Ambrose? What example does he make of these?
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He adds love and makes a scriptural example of all of the virtues
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What was the most important Ethics Manual in the ancient world?
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De officiis Ministrorum
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What is meant by decorum?
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right way of action, virtue, orderliness
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What were Ambrose's views on wealth?
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The rich don't have to give away everything, however this turned into less and less and eventually nothing
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What is Usury?
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lending money with interest expected as well as pay back, early mid evil church agreed that this was not allowed
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Who was heavily influenced by Ambrose? How?
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Augustine was influenced by Ambrose's rigor/silent reading
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What was Augustine' background? (7)
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Christian mother, pagan father, dedicated as a child, very well educated, rhetoric, mistress for fifteen years, son, from what is now nigeria
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What was Augustine's first transformation?
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search for truth, caused by reading a work by Cicero
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Why couldn't Augustine accept Christianity?
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1) Stories were too incredible
2) Too morally strict |
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What was Augustine's next transformation?
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Neo-Platonism/Manichaeism
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What did Manichaeism entail? (5)
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Dualist heresy, one evil and good god fighting for human souls, similar to teachings of Marcion, very morally strict: vegetarianism and sexual abstinence, if you didn't want to abstain you could be a hearer
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When did Augustine first hear Ambrose preach? How was he influenced?
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In Milan, when he moved with mother son and mistress..He became interested in Platonism
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What attracted Augustine to Platonism? (3)
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1) God being a spirit, souls returning after death made sense to him intellectually and spiritually
2) Nothing is absolutely evil, just less and less good, "evil is absence of good" 3) Allegorical interpretations of teaching, this way he didn't have to accept the stories literally but they taught lessons |
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What did Ambrose finally convert to? Why?
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Christianity, Ambrose convinced him Christian beliefs could be compatible with Neo-Platonic spirituality
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What was Augustine's remaining concern after conversion?
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Shedding of things of the body, he knew what he should do but could not do it.
Specifically had trouble with givin up sex. |
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What caused despair for Augustine?
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Young wife, sent mistress away, waited for young wife to be of age, got new mistress, he knew he shouldn't be doing that
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What does Confessions talk about?
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inner struggle with giving up sex
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What eventually happends to Augustine?
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Settled by scripture, becomes baptized dropping mistress and betrothed
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What is the order of Augustine's scale of being? Where does he get this influence?
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Platonism describes things as getting farther and farther from god
GOD Angels Soul/Mind Human beings Body MATTER |
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What does love mean?
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That your will is focused on something. It is not an emotion but an attachment
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In what direction could we love on Augustine's scale of being?
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we could only love things above us
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What is evil? (3)
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1) lack of good, avoid saying it exsists
2) Misdirected will or love 3) Will or love turned to that which is lower |
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When is love good? (3)
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When it is turned toward God, you can only love others as the root to loving God, We can love the things above us on the scale though
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What was Augustine's view of the Fall?
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Adam was created perfect and free with his will turned toward god, by him choosing to turn away from god, we are all turned in the wrong direction and love the wrong things
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What is original sin?
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misdirected will and love, pride, turning of the will
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How have future generations acquired original sin?
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It was passed on through sex, acquired through sperm
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What is concupiscence?
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inordinate desire, any human desire to want or have more, desire that is out of order
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What is something new that Augustine focuses on that hasn't been focused on before this time?
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The sin lies in the will. There is a step between knowing what you should do and doing it. The sin lies in the consent.
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What was different about Augustine's views that Iraneaus'?
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Damage from fall is worse, image is also damaged. We cannot be morally perfect
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What was different about Augustine's view from that of the four eastern fathers?
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They thought that transformation by Christ resulted in the real possibility of moral perfection because it healed your will
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What is the condition for moral progress according to Augustine?
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Human effort is nothing by itself, God must allow us to love him
-Also before, moral perfection meant no serious sin, but now it means that you must not sin for the right reason..purely for the love of God |
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What is grace according to Augustine?
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the gift of God, what god gives
how much of our ability to be ethical debends on us/on god? |
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What is prevenient grace?
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God's grace that comes before our love for him, the necessary grace for us to even want to come to God
-the grace comes before any effort on our part |
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What characteristics does Augustine give grace?
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1) Unmerited 2) Free 3) Comes to some and not others (mystery of election) 4) irresistible
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posse non peccare
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-able not to sin
-before the fall -free will -Adam was capable of not sinning because his body was attuned with his will |
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non posse non peccare
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-not able not to sin
-after the fall but before grace -we are now not able not to die because our bodies are not lined up with our will which is lined up with God -We can disintegrate |
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non posse peccare
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-not able to sin
-after grace -will aligned with God's will -freed will, free from sin |
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Why is Augustine not a universalist?
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he believes that we will not all be saved, we are all damned because of original sin but God chooses to save some of us
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What was the job of the christians?
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to bring people into the church so that they could get grace and be saved
-only place to get grace was the church |
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Describe the Pelagian controversy
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-Pelagius was a British monk
-took issue with Augustine's impossibility of moral perfection -He says we have to become perfect because that is the only way a perfect God would make us -Doesn't believe in original sin, instead says Adam's actions symbolize every human falling, it's a story |
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Describe the Donatist controversy
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-sinners in church
-validity of sacraments -compel them to come in |
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Sinners in Church
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-clergy that denied faith & ppl baptized by those clergy were out could not be back in church
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Validity of Sacraments
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-invalid because clergy are sinners, sinners can't be in church
-Augustine: church is the place for sinners, validity of sacraments |
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Compel them to come in
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Church alone is where grace can be found, so those who are predestined to save must be brought in (donatists)
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manifest destiny according to Augustine
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to include everyone in order to have those that were going to be saved, saved
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Why did Pelagius oppose Augustine's teachings?
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We can and must make some effort of our own to start our good, and once we did this, God would give us some form of transforming grace, which would make us capable of really good effort, once we put in this really good effort we would be saved
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Human responsibility according to Pelagius
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salvation is a reward for what we do
christ gives you the power to be morally perfect and if you don't use it you won't be saved |
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Human respobsibility according to Augustine
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We can't be morally perfect, God's grace is a gift, not something we earn
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What were two complicators of the argument between Pelagius and Augustine?
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-Monastic ideas emphasized efforts (more pelagian)
-Semi pelagians |
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What was the view of the semi-pelagians?
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-your effort is assisted by god's grace
-salvation is a combination of effort and God's grace -E-->G-->E+G-->S |
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Gregory the Great
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-semi pelagian monk, first to become pope
-reworks augustine's thought -semi pelagian |
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Gregory the Great's view on grace
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-grace gets you into church which gets you even more grace, makes you capable of better effort
- G-->G-->E+G-->Salvation |
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Salvation according to Gregory the Great
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Gift and Reward
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Grace according to Gregory the Great is like having a what?
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full need based scholarship to college
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Who popularized the seven deadly sins?
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John Cassian
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First Semi-Pelagian
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John Cassian
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What are the seven deadly sins?
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pride, avarice, lust, gluttony, anger, envy sloth
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idolatry
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greed, gluttony
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adultery
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lust
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Murder
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anger, envy
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Why be moral? How Can i be saved?
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-The Penitential system
-Salvation depends on it -church and taking sacraments allow for it |
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How did the Celtics influence the penitential system?
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-monks tried to civilize christianity in western europe
-pelagians emphasized details of sin and it's correction |
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Manuals are of what origin?
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Celtic
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wergild
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if someone is murdered you must pay the amount of money that the person was worth or become a slave
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Punishments
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money, exile
punishments in penance system: monastic: sleep, food deprivation, flagellation serious: servitude, exile, monastic vows |
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Why did the church oppose the manuals? How did they respond?
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-the manuals varied by area, one preist could control punishment and that caused corruption
-developed a sacrament of penance |
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absolution
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after confession of sins the priest would assign penance and then offer absolution (forgiveness)
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commutation
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substitution of lesser sentence for first sentence
pay money instead of going to jail or go on pilgrimage |
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Final points on penance system
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1) weren't harsh because they soothed anxieties and created uniformity
2) They were very negative but when compared with ten commandments we can find positive aspects |
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Thomas Aquinas' background (3)
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monastery when he was five years old
university in naples where he met Dominicans and became interested in them, family was unhappy but he stood his ground and they eventually gave up |
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"great synthesizer"
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Thomas Aquinas
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"the philosopher"
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Aristotle
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synthesis
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taking two or more substances and creating something new out of them, in christian ethics the way that Augustine would take things from stoicism and christianity and explore why they were both right and wrong
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Thomas' views on grace
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grace perfects/completes nature
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Before Thomas what was their an antithesis between?
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grace and nature, revelation and reason
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What was Thomas' reason that grace and nature can't be at odds?
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because the logos permeates everything
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Augustine's view of grace and nature
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grace overpowers nature
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Revelation for Augustine
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supercedes reason, can only take us so far and then we have to rely on revelation
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Thomas' view of nature
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-grace perfects/completes nature
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Aristotle's view of grace/nature
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we can know the truth of things by looking at what is around us
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Thomas' synthesis of grace and nature
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-clear distinction between nature and supernatural
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natural behavior
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knowing how to raise a family, make friends, hold a job
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supernatural things
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loving god/knowing God
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without grace to assist nature..
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we cannot act like god/get to know god
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Thomas says human being can still be good if they do not have grace but cannot be..
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supernatural
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what is lost in fall according to thomas?
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supernatural ability
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Who began discussion of conscience?
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Thomas Aquinas
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What is syllogism?
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major premise, minor premise, conclusion theory
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moral syllogism
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stealing is wrong, to take this loaf of bread would be wrong, taking a loaf of bread is wrong
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What are the four steps of the conscious?
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1) Asses situation
2) Select correct major premise 3) Draw conclusion 4) Instruct will |
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Conscious operates without..
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grace.
With or without grace humans are responsible for their actions, grace just helps |
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invincible ignorance
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you can never plead ignorance of a major premise, only minor premises
-no way you can know something is wrong -Ex. man marrying woman who has been married before and didn't tell him, it is still adultery but it is not his fault |
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Importance of obeying conscience..
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you must always obey your conscience even if it is based on something incorrect
because reason brings you closer to God |
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4 types of law
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eternal, natural, human, divine
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