| Term | Definition |
|---|
| salvation history | saving action of God through human history |
| covenant | solemn promise made between 2 parties; testament |
| Pharisees | most influential religions sect during the lifetime of Jesus; well-education religious leaders that focused on keeping the Jews faithful to the law; also acknowledged the oral traditions of the elders |
| Sadducees | didn't believe in anything that wasn't mentioned in the Torah; many actively worked as Romans; wealthy, conservative, and apart of the aristocratic ruling class |
| Scribes | interpreters and teachers of the law most closely affiliated with the Pharisees, but also associated with the Sadducees; weren't a religious party, Jewish scholars who assisted in writing and telling Jews about their religious traditions |
| Essenes | withdrew completely from the world and political activity to prepare for the imminent coming of God; typically acoided all contact with foreign cultures and followed the Law of Moses to the last detail |
| zealots | formed a rebellious movement of militant Jews who yearned and battled for the recovery of Jewish independence; considered the acceptance of foreign government and subsequent payment of taxes to Rome as blasphemy against God |
| hellenistic | Greek influence |
| tradition | living and authentic transmission of the teachings of Jesus in the Church |
| biblical inspiration | process by which God the Holy Spirit assisted a human author in writing a book of the Bible; the truth that he willed us to know was conveyed without error |
| Epicureans | promoted the ideas that pleasure of the mind is to contemplate the pleasure of the body, the safest social pleasure was friendship, and if gods did exist, they didn't become involved in human affairs |
| Cynics | believed that all pleasures of life were evil and should be scorned; advocated returning to a simple, natural lifestyle |
| stoicism | evolved from cynism; believed that all life is part of a single system called nature and that life is good when one is in harmony with nature |
| divine revelation | God's communicating of himself and his plan of goodness throughout history |
| biblical exegesis | explanation or critical interpretation of a passage of sacred Scripture |
| kerygma | "proclamation"; included miracles and parables of Jesus' ministry; the message that involved Jesus' life- his deeds, Passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension |
| didache | "teaching"; reinforced the living message within the kerygma |
| liturgia | "Christian worship"; recalls key events such as the teachings and prayers of Jesus |
| Q document | hypothetical source believed to consist mainly of the sayings of Jesus; used by Gospel of Matthew and Luke |
| Synoptic Gospels | Matthew, Mark, and Luke |
| evangelists | The Gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; told stories of Jesus to uncover what was at the center of the religious encounter of the community with God |
| infancy narratives | recorded stories in the Gospels of Jesus' conception, birth, and early years |
| YHWH | "Yahweh"; Hebrew name for God |
| beatitudes | Jesus' teachings about the meaning and path to true happiness; descriptions of the way to attain eternal blessedness to which God calls all of us |
| kingdom of Heaven | (kingdom of God/reign of God); gift of salvation and eternal life, God's rule of justice, love, and peace |
| Works of Mercy | Charitable acts by which we care for the physical and spiritual needs of others |
| discipleship | a life rooted in Jesus and the Church |
| Transfiguration | culminating moment in the public life of Jesus; this event points toward the Resurrection of Jesus |
| 3-fold pattern | a writing technique, notably used in Mark, to emphasize particular subjects |
| 3 part structure in Mark | Galilean Ministry, Journeys of Jesus, and Ministry in Jerusalem, Passion, Death, and Resurrection |
| Parousia | 2nd coming of Christ at the end of time, when God's plan for salvation is accomplished and humanity is glorified |
| Shema | Hebrew for "hear" |
| Gifts of the Holy Spirit | 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit that strengthen us to spread and defend the faith |
| Anawim | Hebrew word referring to those who are materially or spiritually poor and are seeking God |
| 8 sections of Luke | Prologue, Infancy Narrative, Preparation for the Public Ministry, Ministry in Galilee, Journey to Jerusalem, Teaching Ministry in Jerusalem, Passion Narrative, and Resurrection Narrative |
| Outcasts in Luke | sick, slaves, sinners and prostitutes, tax collectors, samaritans, and Women |
| logos | word |
| biblical inerrancy | freedom from error in the Bible |
| monotheism | belief in 1 God |
| polytheistic | belief in many gods |
| Ten Commandments | 10 laws that prescribed the moral obligations for the Israelites |
| apostolic succession | uninterrupted succession of bishops; continuity of shepherding responsibility given by Christ to the Church leadership is realized in this line of authority |
| Baptism | 1st Sacrament of Initiation; when a person is forgiven of original sin and united with Jesus |
| Gospels | all tell the Good News; present the story of easter faith rooted in the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John |
| Holy Trinity | 3 Persons in 1 God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit |
| miracles | signs of wonder that can be attributed to God only |
| parables | metaphors and similes drawn from common life experiences or nature to illustrate moral or spiritual truths |
| Pentecost | 15th day following Easter when the Holy Spirit is made present, given, and communicated as a divine Person of the Trinity |
| Sacrament | effective sign that conveys grace and which was est. by Jesus and given to the Church |
| Christ | "anointed"/ "Messiah" |
| Incarnation | 2nd Person of the Holy Trinity who assumed a human nature and became man |
| Messiah | "anointed"; savior sent by God to redeem his peopl from the power of sin and everlasting death and to restore them to his friendship |
| blasphemy | to falsely proclaim oneself as God or falsely claim to have the attributes of God, or to insult God or his name |
| conversion experience | an experience that turns us toward God and away from sin and encourages us to search to understand and do what God desires of us |
| Eucharist | sacrament of Jesus' Body and Blood, truly and really present under the appearances of the bread and wine |
| Paschal Mystery | Christ's work of redemption through his Passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension |
| treason | an attempt or desire to overthrow and replace the head of the government to which one owes allegiance |
| sin | an offense against God; any action, word, or thought contrary to God's law; weakens our relationship with God |
| allegories | expressions of truths or generalizations of human experiences through the use of symbolic fictional figures or actions |
| ecumenism | effort to strive toward unity among all Christians |
| canonization | official Church statement by which a person is declared to have lived a holy life of heroic virtue |
| civil disobedience | act of breaking a law non-violently |
| communion of saints | all faithful Church members on earth, in heaven, and in purgatory |
| martyr | Greek for "witness"; people who died for their beliefs |
| persecution | act of causing suffering because of a person's belief |
Combine with other sets
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