World Religions

Lecture Outline for Quiz #3: Christianity

Fall 2001

Earliest Christianity

Christianity as Judaism
Diversity in Hellenistic Judaism
Issue of canon
From Saducees to Qumran
Song of Songs
Apparent genre
Allegory
Intentional (Animal Farm, Parables)
Imposed (Homer, many OT passages)
Enoch
Christianity as Judaism
Messianism
Jesus movement vs. millenarian groups
Bar Kokhba revolt
Christian millenarianism
2nd coming of Jesus fulfills political aspects of messianism
Views of the Jesus movement / Christianity from without
Roman view
Mystery religions
hard to know what is true
some misunderstood aspects of proto-orthodox Christianity
problem of early Christian diversity
Some accusations Christians made about each other
hard to know what is true
Mainstream Jewish view
Starts as Jewish 'cult'
becomes increasingly gentile
exclusion from the synagogue
emergence of Sunday as day of Christian worship
earliest Christians kept Sabbath on Saturday
celebrated 'Easter' on Sunday morning, probably before work
Problem of virgin birth
Traditions like the Toldot Yeshu
Christians and critics agree on problem of paternity
Joseph Pandera
Mysterious birth in Infancy James
Jewish critics do not deny miracles - accuse J of magic

Salvation by faith

Paul & Epistle to the Romans
Defining 'righteousness'
doing right things
Judaism as orthopraxy
Paul: right with God
concept of 'justification'
justification of actions
justified margins
Ways of getting right with God:
Obedience to Law
Justification by faith
Jesus' fulfillment of the requirements of Law
Participation in Jesus' righteousness by faith
Conflict over definition of faith
Conflict over importance of works

Asceticism

Perception of the body as evil
Pre-Christian asceticism
Desires to do what is forbidden
All desires of flesh problematic
comfort
Food
Terminal fasting
Pleasure
Esp. sexuality
Emergence of monasticism

Sexuality

Orthodox Jewish view
Paul's view of sexuality
Mystical nature of sex and marriage
His advocacy of celibacy and why
Contrast ascetic view of celibacy
Josephite marriage
Protestant views

Gender

Role of women in earliest Christianity
Contrast roles of women in Judaism of the time
Eschatological considerations
View of women in classical and medieval Christianity
Influenced by asceticism and larger culture
Emerging changes in modern Christianity
Reasonable resistance among conservative groups

Apocalypticism

Apocalyptic world view
Chart
Contrast Teleistic world view
Archaism
Historical Apocalypticism
Nero
Sylvester II
Reformation
Hitler
Modern Apocalypticism
Dispensationalilsm
Rapture
Pre/Post/A-millennialism

Reading

WR: ch. 2, pp 130-146
Bible: Revelation
Eschatology link