Judaism and Early Christian Beliefs

Messiah

• Refers to the anointed one, a ritual act of spreading oil across someone's forehead, signifying a divine office.
• Considered a direct descendant of King David, meant to re-establish the king on earth and usher in the rule of God.

Essenes

• Monastic religious group who lived away from cities.
• Rejected luxury and dedicated their lives to God.
• Known for their strict communal lifestyle, focusing on purity, prayer, and the study of scriptures.
• Believed in life after death, angels, and divine judgment.

Pharisees

• Influential teachers of Jewish law and tradition.
• Believed in life after death, angels, and divine judgment.

Gnosticism

• Belief system that suggests knowledge (gnosis) is essential for understanding human existence and the nature of God.
• Some believe nothing can be known about these subjects.

Paul

• Wrote 13 letters, some authentic and some potentially forged.
• His writing style is a tool for analyzing his time period and his writings.

Apologia

• A formal defense of an opinion.

Eucharist

• A Christian ritual involving bread and wine.

Marcion

• Suggests a possible discrepancy in the account of Jesus' resurrection from the dead.

Constantine the Great

• First Christian emperor of the Roman Empire.
• Assembled ecumenical councils like that of Nicaea.
• Condemned Arianism (a belief about the nature of God).

Antony of Egypt

• Christian hermit, a wealthy man who gave away his fortune and chose a life of prayer and solitude in the wilderness.
• His teachings and lifestyle inspired other hermits in the Christian tradition.

St. Thomas

• Disciple of Jesus, believed to have been sent by Jesus to preach the gospel in India after his resurrection.
• Example of spread of Christianity.

Anchoritic Monasticism

• A form of Christian monasticism where individuals lived a solitary life, often attached to a church, to focus on prayer.

Pachomius

• Egyptian man who converted to Christianity and became a hermit in the desert.
• A key figure in the development of cenobitic monasticism (monasticism that involves living communally).

Evagrius of Pontus

• Fourth-century monk who wrote about demons and their influence and approaches for combating them.
• Authoritative figure for early Christian thought.

Council of Clermont

• Meeting where Pope Urban II instigated the Crusades.
• Religious sanctioned campaign to reclaim Jerusalem.

The Crusades

• Series of religious wars initiated by Pope Urban II to recapture Jerusalem.
• Participants were promised forgiveness of sins.

Syncretism

• Combining of different religions into one.

Nestorian Stele

• Information about the spread of Christianity to China.

John Wycliffe

• Early proponent of religious reform in England, translated the Bible into English.
• Precursor to Protestantism.

John Knox

• Key figure in establishing Presbyterianism in Scotland.
• Played a role in religious reform and changing church practices and burial customs.

Nicolaus Copernicus

• Astronomer who proposed a heliocentric model of the solar system.
• Put the sun at the centre of the system and had the Earth revolve around the sun.

Anthropocentrism

• Belief that humans are the most important beings in the universe.

Anglican Realignment

• Reorganization or shift among Anglican Christians to form new alliances during periods of change.

Biblical Interpretation

• Acknowledges that interpreting the Bible is influenced by personal experiences, beliefs, and historical context.

Prosperity Preaching

• Belief that God favors wealthy and successful individuals.

Biblical Criticism

• Involves studying the Bible to understand its meaning, history, and development.

Sepphoris

• Israelite city known for its wealth and culture, possibly where Jesus worked as a carpenter.

Zealots

• Jewish group who used violence to oppose Roman rule.

Sadducees

• Powerful Jewish religious group who favored cooperation with the Roman authorities.

Q (Quelle)

• Hypothetical source for sayings and teachings of Jesus that appear in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

Judaizers

• Those who insisted that Gentiles follow Jewish laws to become Christian.

Didache

• An early Christian text sometimes translated as "Teaching," that contains instructions for believers.

The Noble Death

• Portrayal of Jesus' death that emphasizes a sense of peace and acceptance.

Orthodoxy

• Adherence to established Christian beliefs and traditions.

Nag Hammadi Texts

• Collection of ancient texts, possibly Gnostic, that provides insight into early Christian beliefs.

Hagiography

• Writings about saints, their lives, and their deeds.

Reliquary

• Container for relics (objects connected with saints or holy figures).

Coenobitic Monasticism

• Type of monasticism practiced by communities of people.

Holy Land Pilgrimage

• Religious journey to holy places connected to the life of Jesus in the Holy Land.

Inter Caetera

• Papal bull that granted Spain and Portugal the right over newly discovered lands in the Americas.

Protestant Reformation

• Religious movement that challenged Catholic teachings and practices, initiated by Martin Luther.

Purgatory

• Belief about a place where souls can be purified after death, a form of in-between stage before heaven.

Council of Trent

• Roman Catholic Church response to the Protestant Reformation to confirm their beliefs and reinforce traditional church hierarchies.

Galileo Galilei

• Astronomer who observed astronomical phenomena and contributed to the understanding of the solar system.

Theistic Evolution

• Belief that God directs the process of evolution.

Foundationalism

• Theory that emphasizes using certain concepts (like the Bible) as a secure basis for understanding religion.

Literary Criticism

• Method of analyzing texts and their cultural context.

Creationism

• Belief that the universe and life were created by God.

Pentecostalism

• Christian movement emphasizing the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

Passover

• Jewish religious observation marking the freedom of Jews from slavery in Egypt.

Synoptic Gospels

• Three similar Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) that share similar stories and characterisations of Jesus' life.

Council of Jerusalem

• Meeting of Christian leaders to discuss whether Gentile converts needed to follow Jewish traditions.

Apocalypticism

• Belief of a world-ending event where God will intervene.

Martyr

• Someone who sacrifices their life for their religious beliefs.

Baptism

• Christian initiation ceremony.

Edict of Milan

• Legal document that granted religious tolerance to Christians in the Roman Empire.

Arius

• Early Christian theologian, debated about the nature of Jesus.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

• Church built over a site believed to be the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection place of Jesus.

Christian Persecutions

• Instances of mistreatment and violence directed toward Christians in the Roman Empire.

Pliny's Letter to Trajan

• Correspondence where Pliny requests instructions on how to handle Christian cases.

Basil of Caesarea

• Important early Church Father; stressed charity and giving back to the community.

Simeon the Stylite

• Hermit who lived on a pillar for many years, demonstrating extreme piety.

Military Monastic Orders

• Groups combining monastic life with military duties.

Missionaries

• People who travel to spread religious beliefs in other lands.

Prester John

• Legendary Christian ruler who was believed to exist in the East.

Martin Luther

• Initiated the Protestant Reformation to oppose the sale of indulgences and other aspects of the Catholic Church.

Indulgences

• Releasing oneself from punishment for sins through good deeds or donations.

Johannes Gutenberg

• Inventor of the printing press, revolutionizing communication and the dissemination of knowledge.

Heliocentrism

• Theory placing the Sun at the centre of the solar system.

NOMA

• Concept of non-overlapping magisteria of science and religion.

Fundamentalism

• Literal interpretation of religious texts.

Evangelicism

• Emphasising personal conversion, biblical authority and spreading messages of faith.

Second Vatican Council

• Meeting to modernize the Catholic Church.