Term
| Augustine's arguments against Donatism |
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Definition
i. The church is not meant to be a society of saints, but a mixed body of saints and sinners. The church will always be a mixed community until the Day of Judgment.
ii. The church is holy because of the holiness of Christ.
iii. The validity of the sacraments depends upon God's promise and not upon the moral state of the minister worthy recipient. Whatever a sacrament does results from the holiness of God, not from holiness or lack of holiness on the part of the minister. |
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Term
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Definition
i. Love and desire for the wrong things which turns humanity away from God.
ii. A "disorder/disease" that could not be avoided even by placing oneself in a pure environment. |
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Term
| Freedom of the will (free will) |
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Definition
| Humanity does things not out of necessity compelled by God, but of our own volition. |
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Term
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Definition
i. On Free will...
1) Pelagius: Human beings can freely choose the good.
2) Augustine: Human free will is biased towards evil, even though humans can still make decisions
ii. On grace...
1) Pelagius: The ability given by God to enable humanity to choose to avoid sin; also, external enlightenment.
2) Augustine: God's generous and unmerited attention to humanity, through which we may be healed, forgiven, and restored.
iii. On salvation..
1) Pelagius: Humanity is justified on the basis of its merits
2) Augustine: Humans are unable to redeem ourselves, so God offers us grace. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God is able to deal with fallen humanity to give us what we do not deserve (salvation) and withhold what we do deserve (eternal condemnation). |
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Term
| Consequences of Chalcedon |
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Definition
a. After the council of Chalcedon, there were still controversies on whether or not the "Physis" (nature) of Christ was 1 or 2
i. Monophysitism = divinity and humanity were united in one nature
1) Led to the creation of the Syrian church (Nestorian church)
ii. Cyril of Alexandria -Cyrillian Monophysitism
iii. Severos of Antioch -Moderate Monophysitism |
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Term
| 2nd Council of Constantinople |
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Definition
a. Called to order by Justinian in order to reconcile the church
b. The church in Rome did not like monophysitism
c. Concluded that the unity of Christ in is one entity, but a "hypostatic" union between divine/human nature |
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Term
| Christ is the image of God |
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Definition
a. Emphasizes that God was seen on Earth
b. Affirms the continuing incarnation
c. That Christ in human flesh was not temporary = something he retains after he returns to the father. |
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Term
| Conflict with the Orthodox Church |
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Definition
a. Linguistic differences
b. Ongoing dispute about papal "primacy"
c. Filioque controversy
i. ilioque-proceeds from the father and the son
ii. Attempt to combat an old heresy
d. Schism between the Latin West and the Greek East in 1040
e. Latin invasion of Constantinople in 1204 |
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Term
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Definition
a. Baptism
i. began with infancy baptisms
b. Communion (Eucharist) -doctrine of transubstantiation
c. Confession
i. Telling one's sins to a priest
ii. Similar thought to infant baptism
1) No one to die without confessing their sins
d. Confirmation
i. Profession of faith in God
e. Marriage
f. Ordination
i. Usually reserved for new members of the clergy
g. Last Anointing
i. Blessing with oil
ii. Sometimes referred to as "last rights" |
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Term
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Definition
a. Objectives of the Crusades
i. To check the spread of Islam
ii. To retake control of the Holy Land
iii. To conquer pagan areas
iv. To recapture formerly Christian territories and support the eastern churches
v. To properly guide militaristic activity in Western Europe
b. Background and context
i. An overhaul of the ecclesiastical structure (Gregorian reforms)
ii. Population growth in Western Europe
iii. Economic Stability
iv. Western European capacity to launch a major military effort
v. Peace movements led to a concept of sacred militancy
vi. Split between the East and West churches in 1054, but improving relations between them.
1) After, there was a short lived sense of peace between the two.
c. 4 Significant developments at the time of Clermont
i. Popular religious fervor with eschatological tendencies in which the holy city of Jerusalem figured prominently (c. 1000)
1) Anticipation of the end of the world
2) Jerusalem is seen as a key of a "new age" that would come after the last days
ii. War against Muslims had come to be regarded as a religious undertaking; a work pleasing to God.
iii. Western Europe had the ecclesiastical and secular institutional capacity to plan a war and carry it through.
iv. The multinational nature of the church and the empire was able to appeal to a vision of a unified Christendom.
1) Christendom-linking Christianity with the ideals of the empire.
d. Outcomes of the Crusades
i. Greeks recaptured Constantinople in 1261
1) Byzantine would never regain its strength
ii. Weakened the East militarily
iii. Slowed the advance of Islamic forces in Western Europe
Impacted the development of Western historical literature |
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Term
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Definition
a. Goal was to free the Holy Lands
b. Initiated by request of Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus
c. Called for at Council of Clermont in 1096-97, proclaimed by Pope Urban II and wandering preachers
d. Established Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem |
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Term
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Definition
a. Intended to regain Edessa and Damascus-was unsuccessful
b. Proclaimed by Bernard of Clairvaux
c. Led by Louis VII of France and Emperor Conrad III |
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Term
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Definition
a. Intended to recapture Jerusalem-failed, but claimed some land in Palestine
b. Led by Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) of England, Phillip II of France, and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I. |
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Term
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Definition
a. Intended to reclaim Jerusalem-failed because Crusaders were diverted to support son of a desposed Byzantine Emperor
b. Proclaimed by Pope Innocent III
c. Led to the sack of Constantinople and lasting division between churches of the East and West |
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Term
| Bernard of Clairvaux, on gold and silver images in monasteries: |
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Definition
a. "Tell me, o poor men," this is my question, "tell me O poor men -if you are really poor men -why is there gold in the holy place?" It is not the same for monks and bishops. Bishops have a duty toward both wise and foolish. They have to make use of material ornamentation to rouse devotion in a carnal people, in capable of spiritual things. But we no longer belong to such people. For the sake of Christ we have abandoned all the world holds valuable and attractive. All that is beautiful in sight and sound and scent we have left behind, all that is pleasant to taste and touch. To win Christ we have reckoned bodily enjoyments as dung. Therefore, I ask you, can it be our own devotion we are trying to excite with such display, or is the purpose of it to win the admiration of fools and the offerings of simple folk? Living among gentiles, as we do, it seems that we now follow their example, and do service to their idols."
b. Joined the cistercians in 1111 |
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Term
| Suger justifies the artistry on the principle of the incarnation: |
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Definition
| Whoever you may be, if you wish to pay homage to these doors, admire not their gold nor their cost, but instead the work they represent and the art. Like gold, a noble achievement gleams, but it gleams nobly; may it enlighten men's minds and may its true light of which christ is the true gateway. |
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Term
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Definition
a. Characteristics
i. A particular approach to Christian theology, associated with the Middle Ages, especially in 1200 -1500.
1) Does not refer to a specific systems of belief, but to a way of doing and organizing theology
ii. Emphasizes the rational justification and systematic presentation of Christian theology
1) Focus on the use of reason
iii. A way of building up knowledge through discussion
1) A method of questions, assertion, denial, counter-assertion, and resolution of the debate
iv. Skeptical and analytical
1) These tendencies that remained in Western intellectual exploration |
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Term
| "Ontological" Argument for the existence of God |
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Definition
a. Claim: If the definition of God as "that than which no greater thing can be thought" is correct, it necessarily implies the existence of God.
i. If God does not exist, the idea of God remains, yet the reality of god is absent.
ii. Yet the realityof God is greater than the ideaof God.
iii. Therefore, if God is "that than which no greater thing can be thought," the idea of god must lead to accepting the reality of God. Otherwise the ideaof God is the greatest thing which can be thought. This contradicts the definition of God on which the argument is based.
b. Key elements
i. No justification is offered for the notion of God as "that than which no greater thing can be thought." It is taken to be self-evidently true.
ii. Anselm argues that a real entity is greater than an idea
iii. He concludes by saying that since the idea of God is inferior to the reality of God, it must follow that God exists. |
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Term
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Definition
a. Witchcraft becomes a dominant discourse in Europe in the 15th century. It reflects social changes that inspired fear and anxiety.
b. Persecutions are focused on:
i. Older women
ii. Rural communities
iii. Western Europe and its colonies
c. Public confessions extracted by similar inquisition and persecution techniques throughout Europe
d. Witchcraft persecutions reflect:
i. The emergence of "secularization" against religious power and schism within the church
ii. Religious and political concerns about non conformity and heresy
iii. Development of theories of the devil and the devil's kingdom in scholastic theology
iv. Changes in government authority, legal administration, and procedure
v. Changes in control and lifestyles in rural communities
vi. Devaluation of involuntary poverty and economic changes
vii. Turmoil and death from plagues, wars, and crusades
viii. Concern with regulation of bodies, gender roles, sexual practices, and procreation
ix. Misogyny -the hatred (and fear) of women |
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Term
| Ransom Theory of Atonement |
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Definition
a. Irenaeus and other patristic writers give the image of Christ's death as a ransom, a place of central importance.
b. Origen asks: "If Christ's death was ransom, who is it paid to? It was paid to the devil"
c. Gregory the Great
i. The devil had acquired rights over fallen humanity, which God was obliged to respect. The only means by which humanity could be released from this satanic domination was through the devil exceeding the limits of his authority, therefore having to forfeit his rights. Christ is like a baited hook: his humanity is the bait, but his divinity is the hook that catches the devil. |
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Term
| Satisfaction Theory of the Atonement |
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Definition
a. God created humanity in a state of original righteousness, with the objective of bringing humanity to a state of eternal blessedness.
b. That state of eternal blessedness is contingent upon human obedience to God. However, through sin, humanity is unable to achieve this necessary obedience; this appears to frustrate God's purpose for creating humanity in the first place.
c. Because it is impossible for God's purposes to be frustrated, there must be some means by which the situation can be remedied. However, the situation can only be remedied if a satisfaction is made for sin. In other words, something has to be done by which the offense caused by human sin can be purged.
d. There is no way in which humanity can provide this necessary satisfaction. It lacks the resources which are needed. On the other hand, God possesses the resources needed to provide the required satisfaction.
e. Therefore, a “God-man” would possess the ability (as God) and the obligation (as a human being) to pay the required satisfaction. Therefore, the incarnation takes place, and the required satisfaction is made and humanities redeemed through the atonement.
f. Notes about satisfaction theory
i. Sin is understood as an offense against God
ii. It is likely that Anselm is appealing to the existing penitential system of the church. Remember, priests would require that sinners do something (such as going on a pilgrimage or undertaking some charitable work) as a satisfaction for their sins, in which satisfaction is a means of publicly demonstrating gratitude for forgiveness.
iii. God is obliged to act according to the principles of justice. |
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Term
| Five arguments for the existence of God (Five Ways) |
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Definition
a. Motion/change
i. Observes that things in the world change
ii. How did nature come to be in motion?
iii. Everything that moves is because of something else
1) Unless there are an infinite number of causes, there must be a first cause (God).
b. Causation
i. Points out the causes/effects of the world
1) Events are explained by other influences of the world
c. Contingent beings
i. Contingent = unnecessary beings
1) i.e. -the world would still function if humans were not around
ii. God is a necessary being
iii. Contingent beings come into existence because something else brought us into existence.
c. The origin of human values
i. There must be something that is good, true, noble, etc.
ii. God is the source of these values
d. The teleological argument, or the argument from design
i. Teleological = ending/goal
ii. The world shows obvious signs of intelligent design
1) Objects were created with a degree of purpose
e. Like responses to Anselm's ontological argument, there were a number of criticisms of the five ways mad during his time, most notably by Duns Scotus and William Occam:
i. Why does there have to be a Prime Unmoved Mover?
ii. How do these lead to belief in only one God? Why can there not be multiple causes, or a number of prime unmoved movers?
iii. Do these prove that God continues to exist? |
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Term
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Definition
| Aquinas argues that the world mirrors God, its creator. God brought the world into existence and place the divine image and likeness within it. We can know something of God by seeing the likeness of God in God's creation. |
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Term
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Definition
a. Heresies -based on theological or political reasons
i. Cathars or Albigensians
1) Religious sect that appeared in southern France in 11th century and flourished in 13th
2) Adopted Gnostic/Arian views
3) Attacked by a crusade
ii. Waldensians
1) Emerged in southern France in 1170
2) Spread to Germany
3) Name from wealthy merchant in leon, named waldo
4) Argued that preaching should be done in the local language so people would understand
5) Were considered a threat to church and deemed a heresy
iii. Lollards, John Wyclif (Wycliffe)
1) Wyclif argued that the bible should be translated into the English language.
2) Supporters were deemed heretical for arguing against the position that only clergymen could interpret the Bible
iv. Hussites, Jan Hus
v. Beguines
b. The church reacted by preaching a repressing the movements that were deemed heretical
c. The inquisition process involved
i. Investigation
ii. Questioning and trial (and torture)
iii. Punishment
d. Medieval Inquisition (begins in 1184)
i. Targets heretics
ii. Took part in primarily other areas of Europe other than Spain
e. Spanish inquisition (begins in 1492)
i. Targets conversosand other outsiders
1) Conversos-individuals originally Muslim or Jewish that were forced to convert in order to remain in Spain
ii. Promoted by Catholicism by Isabella and Ferdinand
iii. Flourished in the 16th century
iv. Controlled primarily by the monarchy |
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