Key Terms and Concepts for Final Exam Review

Group 1: 

    Salvation
        Redemption – God buying us back
        Parts of sin
            Fallen beings
            Act against God
        Meaning of original sin
            Disorder
            Privation of being and of justice
    What is the point of being good
        Morality should not be imposed but appropriated
        Personal & social distinctions
        You may make a decision that will hurt you, is that anyone else’s business
        Social justice
    What’s the point of talking to other religions
        All one family with regard to race and creed
    Where do we go from here
        Hope of a future / meaning in life

Group 2: 

-   Sin: act against god, moral disposition
-          Ontological: something that changes nature (Adam and Eve changed human nature)
-          Anthropology: delves into what it means to be human
-          Humanity is sempiternal: has a beginning but no end
-          3 worlds of Karl Popper: Physical world, World of Ideas (concrete knowledge), World of the Mind (subjective knowledge)

-          Grace: getting what you done deserve, like a gift, grace perfects nature
-          A sacrament
-          The primordial sacrament: incarnation
-          What’s the point of being good – virtues, being moral
-          Deification: process of becoming a deity, all creation returns to God
-          Habit of Mind / Habit of Action
-          Suffering: everyone experiences it, the common thread between all of humanity, how does suffering lead to happiness
-          7 principles of Social Justice:

1.       Life and Dignity of the Human Person
2.       Community and the Common Good
3.       Rights and Responsibilities
4.       Option for the Poor
5.       Dignity of Work
6.       Solidarity and Subsidarity
7.       Care for God’s Creation

-          3 principles of Social Ethics
-          Nostra Aetate: dignity of human life, tolerance of other religions, “no person should be persecuted because of their faith”

1.       human dignity
2.       Pursuit of truth
3.       Comparative theology

-          Tolerance after Holocaust
-          4 issues for future of Christianity:

1.       Leadership
2.       Acceptance,
3.       Attrition
4.       Critical reflection

-          Eschatology: study of the end of history, Jesus second coming
-          Resurrection
-          Teleological: putting into perspective of the end
-          Semiotic: signs and symbols

Group 3: 

Terms
-Salvation
-Redemption
-Sin (Original, Social)
-Theological Anthropology
-Sempiternal creation
-Justice versus Mercy
-Social Justice
-Suffering
-Cuius regio eius religio principle
-Historiography
-Teleological Thinking
-Apocatastastis

Things
-Fallenness of humanity
-Fundamentals of Christian ethics
-Virtues
-Cardinal Virtues
-Theological Virtues
-Penitential Life
-Catholic Social Teachings
-Evolution of Tolerance
-Nostra Aetate
-Comparative Theology
-Eschatology

People
-Karl Popper and his 3 worlds
-Martin Luther
-John Calvin

Group 4: 

Virtue: theological virtues and cardinal virtues; and Morality: social vs. personal
Theological Anthropology- humanity as: creation of God, sempiternal creation,
defined as an embodied soul
Original Sin
Atonement- Jesus as perfect sacrifice; redemption; grace; restoration
Systemic/social sin
Justice vs. mercy
Sacrament
Deification
Social justice: rights and responsibilities, option for the poor, dignity of work,
solidarity and subsidiarity, care for God’s creation
Suffering and social ethics
Attrition
Purging
Christian Ethics
Eschatology
Teleological thinking
Semiotic thinking
Comparative theology
Christian concept of resurrection

Group 5: 

Sempiternal
Karl Popper
Fall of Humanity
Social Sin
Justice & Mercy

Point of Being Good
Redemption and Sacrifice
Christian Morality
Personal and Social Morality
Justice and Chastity
Premises based on God’s Wisdom, Humanity’s Fall, and Christ’s Saving Work
Habits of Mind
Habits of Action

Fundamentals of Christian Ethics (3)
Call to an ascetic and chaste life (monastic answer)
Suffering
Non-monastic and ascetic lifestyle
[4 principles of Christian Salvation]
Life, Justice, Truth

Social Justice
7 principles of catholic social teaching

Point to talking to other religions
Religious context of Christian orgins
Christianity as a minority religion
The Chrsitian Threat
The Christian Era
The Modern Era
Evolution of Tolerance

The Historical Impetus

Nostra Aetate

It's later than I promised and for that I apologize -- but here is the link for the document, Nostra Aetate:

http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html

See you all Monday morning.

Human Nature and the Concept of Sin

In his column today in the New York Times, David Brooks raises the question of what it means to talk about evil in human beings.  His single case in point is the horrible killing of 16 Afghan civilians by Robert Bales.  As we consider the theological concept of sin in relation to the broader topic of salvation,  it may be helpful to consider this example.  There is a natural desire to bracket out actions such as this, that is, to consider them to be done by people who are completely evil.  Bales's situtation, however, challenges this; but it also raises some fundamental questions about the relationship between depraved actions and psychological conditions (such as PTSD).

Some questions to consider:

1. How do we describe human nature? If it is basically good, how should we account for events like the one described in this newspaper column? If it is basically evil, how should we account for the many, many noble actions of people? 
2. What is the relationship between evil or sinful  behavior and psychological diagnosis?  Is there any rationale to "pathologizing" such behavior?
3. Is immoral action simply a result of individual decisions, or is it possible to talk about sin and evil as social and/or systemic?

Essay Question for Mid-Term

Question: "How does the claim of the divinity of Jesus affect Christianity?  Your answer should make direct references to Scripture and the early history of Christianity."

Answer the question by making a central point (a thesis) and supporting that point with good evidence.  Your essay should  be 750-1,000 words in length.  Essays longer than 1,000 will be have marks deducted.  You must answer in full and properly constructed sentences. 

This essay component is due by 11am CST, Friday morning, 9 March 2012.  Please upload a PDF version of your essay to your Google Docs folder and share it with the instructor.   Essays made available later than 11am on the due date will have marks deducted. 

Key Terms and Concepts for Mid-Term Review

Below is the list of key terms and concepts you all put together at Friday's class.  I have edited them down to their bare essentials so you can use the list for reviewing your own notes and going over the readings again.

feel free to use the comment section on the to raise questions or offer ways of defining this items.  As I said, on Monday we will create a question set based on this list.

Section 1: Language, Texts and the Concept of God

• Being human,
• Revelation & reason: 
• Bible: New & Old Testament (Jewish Scriptures). 
• Literary modes of expression. 
• The Trinity
• Scripture and history
• Scripture and human enquiry 
• “Word made Flesh”
• Fides quae
• Fides qua
• Augustinian Hermeneutic 

Section 2: Why the Old Testament Matters

• The dominant themes of the Old Testament (plus role of Genesis in setting up these themes): Covenant, Movement to monotheism, Salvation
• 2 approaches to understanding the Old Testament (Manichean, Unfolding Revelation)
• 3 different topics in the Old Testament (prophecy, law, writings)
• What are the four different author types in Genesis (JEDP Theory)
• Theophany
• Mosaic Covenant
• OT sectons: Torah (teaching), Ketuvim (writing), Nevi’im (prophets)

Section 3: Why the New Testament Matters

• Gospels-(Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John)
• Synoptic Gospels,
• ‘Q’ source
• Acts- Greek and Roman History
• Ars dictaminis
• Pauline, and Deutero-Pauline letters
• Apocalypse 
• Jewish-Christianity
• Jesus as the messiah
• Struggled with resistance to Jesus’ message against Palestinian Jew
• Sack of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
• Gentile Church
• Nature of Christian Life: Gnosticism, Leadership, Faith and works

Section 4: Why Jesus Matters

• Heavenly Christ
• Man of the indefinite past
• Hellenistic Hero
• Revolutionary
• Man of the spirit
• Prophet of Social Change
• Apocalyptic Prophet
• Savior
• Jesus as prophet, priest, and king
• Savior and mediator
• atonement and redemption
• antagonists in the “passion” narrative
• Prophet as Confronter and foreteller
• The Kingdom of God
• Jesus’ relationship with society’s outcasts and rejected  

Section 5: Why Chistian Community Matters: the Early Church

• Geographic growth of Christianity: (Judea, Syria, Asia Minor, Lower Nile [Egypt], North Africa)
• Lex Orandi and Lex Credendi
• Bishops,  priests, deacons
• Martyrdom and Martyrs
• Monks, Nuns, Hermits
• Edict of Milan
• Impassibility of God
• Created and Uncreated
• Perfection of unity and imperfection of multiplicity
• Arius of Alexandria and Arianism
• Council of Nicaea
• Nicene Creed
• Homoousios

Section 6:  Why Christian Community Matters: the Sixteenth Century Reformation

• Martin Luther
• “Faith Alone”
• John Calvin
• Anglicans
• Anabaptists
• Puritans
• Magisterial Reform
• Radical Reform
• Remnant Theory
• Reform Issues
• Faith, Grace, Works
• penitential system 
• Indulgences
• Renaissance
• Authority
• Canon Law
• Tradition

For those wondering how to post....

A few of you have asked about how to post to the blog.  First, go the blog (uh, well, you are already there if you are reading this post!).  At the top right it will either list your gmail or it will say "sign in."  Once you are signed in, to right of your gmail will be the words: New Post. Click on that link and you will get the "new post" page. It looks like this:



Contact Dr. Ginther if you need additional guidance.

Annual De Lubac Lecture

http://www.slu.edu/x57896.xml

7:00 p.m., February 08 Busch Student Center, St. Louis Room, 20 N Grand Blvd., St. Louis Room (Room 300), Third Floor, St. Louis, MO, 63103-2051


The Department of Theological Studies will host the 17th Annual DeLubac Lecture at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, in the Saint Louis Room in Busch Student Center. A reception will follow afterward.
This year's lecture will be delivered by David Neuhaus, S.J., and will be titled "Christians in the Middle East: A Rich Past! Any Future?"
Neuhaus is a professor of Scripture at Bethlehem University and Catholic Seminary of the Holy Land, the patriarchal vicar for Hebrew-Speaking Catholics in Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and he participated in the Special Synod of Bishops on the Church in the Middle East.

Neuhaus was born into a Jewish family in 1962 and converted to Catholicism at age 26. He joined the Society of Jesus in 1992. A distinguished academic, Neuhaus has published a great deal of work on Palestinian and Israeli political issues, and Jewish-Christian relations.

Blog Posting Assigments for the Rest of the Semester

Here is what I have recorded from class on 1 February for which student will post on the blog for which week: Check for your name and if I have made a mistake, please let me know.

Week of	Topics/Assignments
18 Jan	Introduction: Does Christianity Matter?
20 Jan	Tools of the Trade: Language, Texts and the Idea of God [Assigned and Done!]
30 Jan	Why does the Old Testament Matter? [Assigned and Done!]
6 Feb	Why does the New Testament Matter? Kate McEvilly and Cindy Smith
13 Feb	Why does Jesus Matter? Trevor Lawson and Renae Hooks
20 Feb	Why does Christian Community Matter? Regan O’Hanlon and Lesley Shulman
27 Feb	Why does Christian Community Matter? Andrew Handel and Lauren Seiler
5 Mar	Mid Terms
12-16 Mar	March Break
19 Mar	Why does Salvation Matter? Matt Hooper, Sean Siering and Ashley Latimore
26 Mar	What’s the Point of Being Good? Eric Zielinski and Mary Dizon
2 Apr (No Class on 6 April)	What’s the Point of Being Good to Others? MJ Distler and Corey Memmott
9 Apr (No Class on 9 April)	What’s the Point of Talking to Other Religions? Denis Buckner and Ryan Welcenbach
16 Apr	Where do we go from here? Sam Peter and Emily Stoner
23 Apr	Where do we go from here? Blake Wappel and Brock Bursott
30 Apr	Review and Preparation for Final Exam
7 May	Conclusion and wrap-up
9-15 May	Final Exams

Additional Guidelines for "Statement of Belief" Assignment

Here is what the Syllabus says:

In 500 words (2 typed pages, double spaced), answer the question: “Does Christianity Matter to Me?”  The aim of this assessment is to determine how each student presents their own beliefs and the reasons for them.  There is no right or wrong answer for this assignment, and ultimately what you believe is not the issue

What I want to see is the following:

(1) An answer to the question.
(2) Reasons why you have answered this question (I would recommend at least three reasons, but two is acceptable).
(3) For each reason, some evidence or argument that supports that reason.

You are free to take any position, and be as honest as possible.  Grading for this assignment will be uniform: as long as you submit it on time, it is the correct page length/word count, and there are identifiable sentences and paragraphs, you will receive full marks.

Submission Procedure

1. Use whatever word processing application you want to write the essay. 
2. Once complete, save the essay as a PDF file.  If you have trouble with this step, contact me.  If you are using MS Word 2007 or later, PDF is an file type option on the Save As window.  If you are on a university computer, choose the print option and you will see  "PDF Creator" as an optional printer.  This will save the PDF as a file. 
3. Upload your PDF file onto your googe docs, which is part of your SLU mail account.  Once you upload it, select the file by clicking on the check box to the left of the file name.  A couple of icons will appear

Select the first one and a pop-up will appear.  At the bottom, Add people, type my email address.  Then click Done.


You must share your essay with me on GoogleDocs by 5pm, 30 January 2011.

Do you have to hate Religion to Love Jesus?

And here's an interesting Catholic Response:

Reading Scripture for THEO 100-12

One thing not mentioned in the course syllabus is which Bible students should use for their assigned readings.  Students are welcome to select their own translation, but they should not use a paraphrase version.  I would recommend the New American Standard Bible (NASB), The Jerusalem Bible, or the New International Version (NIV).  Each version is based on a specific set of principles for translations, and many of those principles have   a theological basis.  To see a broad range of versions of the Bible, students can look at the Bible Gateway, which provides access to some 30 English Translations and paraphrased versions. Another useful site YouVersion (having 25 translations and paraphrases) which also has apps for the iPad/iPod/iPhone, Blackberry and Android platforms.

You can run your selection or English version by me, if you have any questions.

Weclome to the THEO 100-12 BLOG

This will be the place where students enrolled in THEO 100-12 (Spring 2012) will contribute their thoughts and share their web discoveries.   I look forward to seeing your contributions.

Dr Ginther