...and examination questionnaire will be provided on the morning of administration. This is a closed-book examination, which means that no other materials are allowed on your desk, or within reach during testing other than a pencil (or two) and the aforementioned examination items. Your success on the examination entails an ability to correctly respond to the questions/prompts within each of the following topics: The Emergence/Spread of the Early Christian Church: 1. Know commonalities between themes in Luke and Acts of the Apostles. 2. Which disciple is chosen to replace Judas Iscariot? 3. Know the significance of the following numbers: 12, 40, and 50. 4. Why is the Pentecost significant in Judaism and Christianity? 5. Identify the three internal conflicts encountered during the spread of the early Christian church. Be able to use their key question and central concerns to identify them in a given scenario. 6. Identify the three external conflicts encountered during the spread of the early Christian church. Be able to use their key question and central concerns to identify them in a given scenario. 7. Who is the undisputed author of the Epistle to the Galatians? 8. What is the significance of temporal (worldly) law in the Epistle to the Galatians? 9. Who does the Epistle to Diognetus state is “…not distinguished from the rest of (hu)mankind either in locality, in speech, or in customs” in 5:1? 10...
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...How the Nag Hammadi texts discovered in Egypt reintroduced the world to Gnostic Christianity Biblical Archaeology Society Staff • 07/01/2014 This Bible History Daily feature was originally published in March 2011. It has been updated.—Ed. The Nag Hammadi texts were contained in 13 leather-bound volumes discovered by Egyptian farmers in 1945. Dated papyrus scraps used to strengthen the bindings of the books helped date the volumes to the mid-fourth century A.D. Photo: Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, Claremont, CA. Until the discovery of the Nag Hammadi codices in 1945, the Gnostic view of early Christianity had largely been forgotten. The teachings of Gnostic Christianity—vilified especially since they were declared heretic by orthodox Christianity in the fourth century—had been virtually erased from history by the early church fathers, their gospels banned and even burned to make room for the view of Christian theology outlined in the canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But when two peasants discovered the Nag Hammadi texts, a 13-volume library of Coptic texts hidden beneath a large boulder near the town of Nag Hammadi in upper Egypt, the world was reintroduced to this long-forgotten and much-maligned branch of early Christian thought, Gnostic Christianity, from the Greek word gnosis, “knowledge.” The Nag Hammadi codices are 13 leather-bound volumes dated to the mid-fourth century that contain an unprecedented collection of more than 50...
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...the way you expected. The “Edict of Milan” (3)which was a direct order from the emperor in 313 stating that Christianity and other religion will be tolerate also that Sunday would be treated like other pagan feast and those who were martyrs would be honor.(2) The fall of the Western Empire on the Church was highly published and it sent ripples though out the world it shifted the world into the Dark Age politically, economically, and socially.(5) Even though it was predicted and the hand writing was on the wall many were dishearten by it. Before we go further with the impact of the fall we must explore some of the causes the first being the decline of the family area like divorce of marriage as well the divorce of family value and the failure to see the enemy lurking in the shadows. The sexual perversion which is in our nation politics the effect or the impact that the fall had on the Church the Roman culture continue until 1453 and was finally taken over by the Turks and the Mohammed religion. (3) “The bishop of Rome became a primmest person” giving the know church more political muscle. This left the church to educate and Christianize those Barbarian tribes (10) and once more we see the spreading of the Gospel. Another thing that accrues was an increase in Monasticism; during which time man dedicate them to the service of the Lord. The role of heretical Christianity on the advent of Islam is unclear. Heresy can be define as any departure from Christian Orthodoxy which is teaching...
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...The Evolution of John the Baptist in Christianity John the Baptist is one of a few recognized prophets in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. John lived by the Jordan River in Perea as an Essene Jew, around the time of Jesus’ ministry. Many know John as a non-divine apocalyptic preacher who claimed baptism would help one get into heaven, and it would be disadvantageous to ignore baptism. John is relevant to understanding historical Jesus not only because he baptized Jesus but because of their conflicting similarities. John and Jesus were both apocalyptic preachers, in the Essene Jewish sub-group, and popular during antiquity. Many scholars actually believe John was more popular in antiquity. Because of his greater popularity, many argue who kick started Christianity John or Jesus? One can see this argument through artistic paintings of John. Art was an important media for communication during antiquity. As Professor Boccaccini mentioned in lecture, most people in antiquity could not read; therefore, they used paintings to communicate. Painters use symbolic elements in their paintings to portray a message. These symbolic elements, such as red for matador, acted as stories or religious instruction (Boccaccini). Just as a written source, one can extract information from these paintings to find out about the historical character John. The first popular painting of John the Baptist originated in the 12th Century, right after the fourth crusade. During this time, medieval...
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...through the city, leaving a trail of destruction wherever they went. The plundering continued for three days. For the first time in nearly a millennium, the city of Rome was in the hands of someone other than the Romans. This was the first time that the city of Rome was sacked, but by no means the last. Constantine and the Beginning of Christianity One of the many factors that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire was the rise of a new religion, Christianity. The Christian religion, which was monotheistic (to believe in one god), ran counter to the traditional Roman religion, which was polytheistic (many gods). At different times, the Romans persecuted the Christians because of their beliefs, which were popular with the poor. This 16th-century medal depicts Attila the Hun, one of the most vicious and aggressive invaders of all time. In 313 C.E., Roman emperor Constantine the Great ended all persecution and declared toleration for Christianity. Later that century, Christianity became the official religion of the Empire. This extreme change in policy spread this rather new religion to every corner of the Empire. By approving Christianity, the Roman state directly forgot its religious traditions. Finally, by this time, Romans considered their emperor a god. But the Christian belief in one god — who was not the emperor. This weakened the authority and credibility of the emperor. Constantine the Great formed another change that helped speed up the fall of the Roman Empire...
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...INTRODUCTION 1 BIBLIOGRAPHY 2 INTRODUCTION The “Intertestamental period”, or the “Second Temple Period” represent a period within history, which upholds an interpretation for both Christianity and Judaism. According to Judaism, this era acknowledges the “Second Temple Period”, which exemplifies the Jewish Diaspora. First, “diaspora” simply means “dispersion” or “scattering.” This dispersion or scattering began through the efforts of the Assyrians when they defeated Israel in 722 B.C. In effect, the Jewish nation dispersed all over the Middle East, Egypt, and Babylon. These individuals literally disappeared from antiquity due to the results of the Jewish Diaspora. However, Nebuchadnezzar endured the Jewish populaces to inaugurate a cohesive group within Babylon around 597 B.C. Nevertheless, the subject of this essay will focus on the Christian assessment of the “Intertestamental Period.” For centuries, Christian intellectuals describe the era from the final quarter of the fifth century B.C. to the first century A.D. as the “Intertestamental Period.” This era arises with the reconstructing of the Jewish temple in the late sixth century, and terminating with its annihilation in A.D. 70. The “Intertestamental Period” represents a significant account of the supernatural hand of God throughout antiquity. The “Intertestamental Period” characterizes the period from the concluding of the Old Testament, the book of Malachi to the beginning of the New Testament, the book of Matthew. This...
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...Christianity- The Largest Religion PREFACE “Universal Online Solutions”, presents a series of short articles on different religions. A Jew might contain more information on the Judaism. Same could be predicted about the followers of other religions. Then why to compose an article on any religion? That is for the two major reasons: First, all people do not have sufficient information on their own faith. It needs a lot of research to know about a religion. Some people manage to spend the required time and do the needed research. Majority cannot or do not concentrate on the religion. They have the faith because their predecessors had the same. A Christian child follows Christianity without any persuasion. This series will give the major information to its followers which they never struggled to obtain. The article will provide them all the necessary information about their faith in a concise nutshell. Efforts have been made, after extensive research work, to establish the basics of a faith, its worships, prayers, rituals, its history and all interrelated information in one thousand words or so. We have spent weeks in research to introduce this faith to our readers in its fullest context, enabling them to know all about their faith in a few minutes. Second, the individuals who are interested to know about other religions; but refrain to go through scriptures and revelations. This concise article will be of great interest to them. The article is neither a critical...
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...Thuy Tran 10/19/15 101-0032 Outline: History of Middle Ages Introduction: Middle Ages began when Western Roman Empire collapsed. Byzantine and Islamic appeared before the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages is the middle period of three traditional division of Western history: early, the high, and the late Middle Ages. Middle Ages is an important part of Western Civilization. It through many different period of time of the Middle Ages helps Western Civilization development economy and political. Each period of Middle Ages affect to how Civilization changes and growth. Western Civilization had more strong and created many intellect men. Also, the last Pagan Europe was converted to Christianity with the Baltic people in the High Middle Ages, bringing them to Western Civilization as well. I. Byzantine and Islamic influence A. Byzantine influence In the textbook Humanities in the Western Tradition, First Edition Marvin Perry, Baruch College, City University of New York, Emeritus J. Wayne Baker, University of Akron Pamela Pfeiffer Hollinger, the University of Akron that discussion Byzantine and Islamic their cultural contribution to Western Civilization. * “The Byzantine and Islam have in common” by contributing writer that almost 700 years Byzantine and Islamic cultural fought the remains of the Roman Empire, but they also hared many cultural political and artistic that shape their societies in many ways. * Advantage: * Byzantine cultural contributions...
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...European women in the late Middle Ages did not hold considerable power. They were usually passed from the control of their fathers to the control of their husbands. Certain women, however, did not follow this path, which led to their marginalization in society and often to their turn to prostitution. Since prostitution is widely believed to be the oldest profession in history, one might imagine that it was considered an acceptable profession in society. However, prostitution was an area of great debate during the Middle Ages, as it was a practice which was considered morally repugnant, but its value in society could also be seen. Considering the large influence that Christianity had on medieval European society, the church’s opinion of prostitution was adopted by society at large. Since Christianity valued virginity in women so highly, it would seem natural that the church would be against prostitution and would try to eliminate it as a profession in society. However, in practice, the medieval church did not go to great lengths to punish prostitutes. Considering this fact, what was Christianity’s and more generally society’s attitude toward prostitution? In what ways did the church and the legal authorities face the morally unacceptable practice of prostitution? Based on the laws of the late Medieval period and evidence of the abundance of prostitutes in Europe, it is clear that society had an ambiguous standpoint towards prostitution, denouncing it as immoral while simultaneously...
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...a study of what caused the Pueblo Revolt and it takes into account Pedro Naranjo personal description on the events, found in Charles Wilson Hackett’s document of the revolt of the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, as well as David Webber’s The Spanish Frontier in North America and What Caused the Pueblo Revolt of 1680? Historians at Work, Michael Wilcox’s The Pueblo Revolt and the Mythology of conquest: An Indigenous Archaeology of Contact, Henry Bowden’s American Indians and Christian Missions, Zaragosa Vargas’ Crucible of Struggle and Ramon Gutierrez’s, When Jesus Came, the Corn Mothers Went Away: Marriage. Sexuality, and Power in New Mexico, 1500-1846to prove that Indian exploitation and mistreatment, as well as forcible conversion to Christianity were what finally prompted the Pueblos to act. With the Spanish colonization of New Mexico came new ideas, new customs and a new way of life. One very identifiable custom that followed the Spanish conquest throughout the world was the encomienda system. The encomienda system was a system that allowed the “encomenderos” or privileged Spaniards and their descendants to receive tributes from the natives. In its early days, the encomienda, granted a lifetime monopoly on the utilization of a temporary Indian labor. David Webber, a prominent historian and the author of multiple books, stated that “the encomienda represented the survival of a feudal institution through which the King or his representative rewarded the subjects who risked their...
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...Holy Land, the Southern Levant,[2] Cisjordan, and historically has been known by other names including Canaan, Southern Syria and Jerusalem. Situated at a strategic location between Egypt, Syria and Arabia, and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity, the region has a long and tumultuous history as a crossroads for religion, culture, commerce, and politics. The region has been controlled by numerous different peoples, including Ancient Egyptians, Canaanites, Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Ancient Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, the Sunni Arab Caliphates, the Shia Fatimid Caliphate, Crusaders, Ayyubids, Mameluks, Ottomans, the British and modern Israelis and Palestinians. Boundaries of the region have changed throughout history, and were last defined in modern times by the Franco-British boundary agreement (1920) and the Transjordan memorandum of 16 September 1922, during the mandate period.[3] Today, the region comprises the State of Israel and Palestinian territories in which the State of Palestine was declared.[3] Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 History 2.1 Overview 2.2 Ancient period 2.3 Classical antiquity 2.4 Middle Ages 2.5 Modern period 3 Boundaries 4 Demographics 4.1 Early demographics 4.2 Late Ottoman and British Mandate periods 4.3 Current demographics 5 Modern...
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...5 Influences of Christianity in America Christianity is the largest religion in the United States, with around 78% of those polled identifying themselves as Christian, as of 2009. This is down from 86% in 1990 and slightly lower than 78.6% in 2001. Christianity was introduced to the Americas as it was first colonized by Europeans beginning in the 16th and 17th centuries. Today most Christian churches are Mainline Protestant, Evangelical, or Roman Catholic. Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, claiming over a billion members. Its spiritual and administrative head is the Pope. The Church's leadership body in the United States is the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, made up of the hierarchy of bishops and archbishops of the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands, although each bishop is independent in his own diocese, answerable only to the Pope. Catholic beliefs and worship are detailed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (or CCC) is the official text of the teachings of the Catholic Church. A provisional, "reference text" was issued by Pope John Paul II on October 11, 1992 "the thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council" with his apostolic constitution, Fidei depositum. The new Catechism was first published in 1994 in French and was then translated into many other languages. Catholic tradition and doctrine holds that...
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...Scholasticism is the theological and philosophical movement that tried to use the classical Greco-Roman philosophy to understand the religious revelation of Christianity. It was the dominant theological and philosophical thought of medieval times, after the patristic thinking of late antiquity. It was based on the coordination between faith and reason, with the established assumption that reason was subordinate to faith. It dominated in the cathedral schools and general studies leading to medieval European universities. However, its origins are heterogeneous in nature as it adapted not only Greco-Latin philosophical thinking, but also Arab and Jewish[1]. Scholasticism can also be defined as a method of intellectual work where all thought is subject to the principle of authority, and teaching could be limited in principle to the repetition of ancient texts, especially of the Bible which was considered the main source of knowledge. Despite this scholasticism encouraged speculation and reasoning, as it involved a rigid logical framework and a schematic structure of debates[2] exposed rebuttals in order to prepare defenses. The heyday of scholasticism in the thirteenth century coincides with the foundation of universities and emergence the mendicant orders (Dominicans and Franciscans, mostly), from which come most theologians and philosophers of the time.[3] Undoubtedly one of the most influential scholastic is Saint Thomas Aquinas. His work, Summa Theologia accepted the...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Chaplains, the Constitution, and Pluralism Submitted to Dr. Paul B. Greer, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of the course CHPL 500 – B03 Introduction to Chaplaincy by William K. Resor Jr. February 26, 2014 CHAPLAINS, THE CONSTITUTION, AND PLURALISM Introduction The foundation of chaplaincy can be traced as far back as biblical times. Dr. Steve Keith shares in his video that the Old Testament has examples of priests going into battle, marching alongside the soldiers, sounding the horns, and carrying the Ark of the Covenant. He mentions biblical heroes such as Aaron and Gideon as being forerunners to what we call chaplains today.[1] Bergen adds: "Certainly those interested in origins can find numerous biblical accounts of priests at war... Indeed, Old Testament militarism has been a problem for Christian exegesis from early on. Nevertheless, national chaplaincies invoke various examples of chaplain-like functions."[2] There is little doubt that chaplains, or their counterpart in ancient times, have been acting in one way or another with the military groups of their specific era. This paper will examine the history of chaplaincy from the periods of 27 AD to 1600 AD and find that the common principle among these priests of ancient times and chaplains along the spectrum of time is that they offer a glimpse of spiritual hope in situations that can be riddled...
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...Chapter Fifteen The Roman Empire at its Zenith (to 235 CE) In retrospect we can see that a decline of the Roman empire began in the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161-180), when the Germanic barbarians along the Rhine and especially the Danube discovered that the Romans were not well equipped to fight wars on two fronts. When the emperor, that is, was preoccupied with a war against the Parthians in Mesopotamia, the Roman frontier along and beyond the Danube was poorly defended, and the barbarians could make raids deep into the Roman provinces. Despite the danger of wars on two fronts, the Roman empire was able to manage well enough from the 160s until 235, when the decline became precipitous, and brought with it radical economic, cultural and religious changes. This chapter, therefore, will look at the empire in its relatively golden period, from the first century until the death of Alexander Severus, the last of the Severi, in 235. The classes This was a stratified, hierarchical society in all ways. In civic status the top of the pyramid was the emperor, followed by Roman provincial governors, senators and other officials, then by the local gentry, and next by the rank and file of Roman citizens. Of all the free men in the empire, only about a third ranked as Roman citizens. Right behind the Romans were the Hellenes (in the Greek-speaking eastern provinces the Hellenes were enrolled as such in the municipal census), then came Judaeans, and finally the other barbarians. So in...
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