Religions of the Middle East
Monday, 10/28/02
Christianity; The Gospel of John/ Acts

The instructor announced that the test will not be graded on a curve. He will use the standard grading scale- 90+ for an A, 80+ for a B, etc.

Tuesday 10/29 and after students can go to the testing center to see what questions they missed on the exam. (Questions, see Prof. Borrowdale during office hours.)

There was one handout re: the ossuary found that mentions Jesus.
- Aramaic was the language written on the ossuary, which adds to the authenticity, since Aramaic was the language that Jesus spoke. (He may have also spoken Greek.) Aramaic came from Babylon and was picked up by the Jews. (Hebrew was mostly a religious language.)
--------------------------------------------

Desolating Sacrilege- "Anti-Christ":
- Jesus' words about the end of the world and his second coming are not couched in the indefinite future; Jesus and his followers believed his second coming was immanent. (Very soon.) His comments about the desolating sacrilege were directed at the people of that time- he said "run for the hills of Judea."

The Anti-Christ was a reference to a prophecy about a Greek/Syrian ruler- Antiochus Epiphanes, who persecuted the Jews and desecrated the temple (2nd century BC.) He sacrificed a pig to Zeus in the temple.
(This is where the celebration of Hanukkah comes from.)

The Anti-Christ was modeled after Antiochus Epiphanes.


Secular reasons for Jesus' crucifixion:
1. He claimed to be the Messiah, and the Son of God. Actual charges against Jesus were:
- blasphemy; claiming to be the Son of God (Jewish religious charge)
- Sedition; trying to overthrow the government. Jesus claimed to be the Messiah "King of the Jews". (This was written on his cross.)

2. Betrayal by Judas.

3. Jesus criticized religious leaders of the Jews. (Charged the Pharisees w/ hypocrisy.)

4. Prevented commerce in the Temple Court. (Sadducees had set up a "flea market" in a place of prayer. Animals had to be purchased for sacrifice at exorbitant rates.)

Real religious reason for Jesus' crucifixion:
1. To be a sacrifice for sin (once and for all.)


The Doctrine of Atonement:
Mark; Jesus says that he will be a "ransom for many"


Last Supper: Communion.
- Jesus institutes a new ceremony;
- Communion, or the Lord's Supper
- blood poured out for us, body broken
- new covenant


Old Covenant:
- Follow the rules and God will reward you in this life. If you sin, ask forgiveness, sacrifice an animal. At the end of the year, Yom Kippur takes care of all the leftover sins that you hadn't atoned for. (Deut 28, Job)

New Covenant:
- Have faith in Jesus and God, if you sin ask forgiveness, and accept Jesus' death as payment. The reward is eternal life. (Avoiding eternal punishment- Hell.)

Faith in Jesus= believe in atonement (he paid for our sins), resurrection, and the he was the Messiah- the Son of God.


The meaning of the little Christian fish:
Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.

Iasous (Jesus)
X Christos (Christ)
Oeou (of God)
Yeou (Son)
Eoter (Savior)

(The letters on the far left are supposed to be Greek, but I don't know how to make them on my keyboard.) They are an anagram for Ichthus. (Pron. Ick-thoos.)


Gospel of John:
- The Word= Pre incarnate Jesus
- He was with God
- He was God (fully divine)
John 1:14 tells us that Jesus was the Word.

Greek word for "word"= logos. Logos carries the idea of order and creative power.
- Jesus is the means through with God created the world.

The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) share common views of Jesus:

Synoptic Gospels:
- Low Christology
- Less about Jesus' identity, more about the Kingdom of God, exorcisms, healings, The Law, wealth.
- Parables
- Messianic Secret
- Jesus' enemies are the Pharisees and Sadducees
- Primary audience seems to be Jews.

Gospel of John:
- High Christology
- Long metaphysical discourses on Jesus' nature and his relationship with his father. "I am" statements. Jesus is God in human flesh. John 1:1, 14-18, 5:18
- No parables
- No Messianic Secret
- Jesus' enemies are "the Jews" John 8:31
(This gospel was probably written by a non-Jewish author.)


Pharisees- controlled the synagogue system
- emphasized following the law and oral tradition. (Later became the Talmud.)

Sadducees- controlled the Temple/ collaborators w/ the Romans

Zealots- advocated revolution.

Jesus was against all of these- he was against violence against the Romans and didn't advocate revolution. "He who lives by the sword dies by the sword."


Gospel of John- Questions:
Being Born Again- John 3 (literally means born from above.)
- spiritual rebirth
- becoming a "child of God" (John 1:12; you start as an enemy of God, you must become a child of God.)

John 3:16- become spiritually reborn through believing in Jesus.
- believe in Jesus and God gives you eternal life.

*the serpent of brass- the serpent that God instructed Moses to make- people of Israel could look upon it and be healed (snakes would stop biting them.)
- metaphor for Jesus being raised on the cross.*


Requirements for Salvation (from God's wrath, hell, punishment):
1. repentance (Acts 2:37)
2. faith

*Baptism was a pre-Christian practice used by Jews to convert people to their faith (cleansing ritual). In the instructor's opinion it is not required for salvation. (Romans 6) Ref: Acts 2:37, 16:30, Romans 6:2, 1 Peter 3:21, 1 Corinthians 1:17*

*James- "Faith w/o works is dead.". True faith will manifest itself in works. If you have faith, you should have something to show for it.*


Trinity:
- Father
- Son
- Holy Spirit
* Three personas, one God.

- There is only one God.
- The Father is called God.
- The Son is called God.
- The Holy Spirit is called God.
Therefore, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the one God.
- 3 centers of conscience
- 3 persons/ 1 essence (nature)


*Arian heresy- God created Jesus. Modern day Arians= Jehovah's witnesses.*


Pentecost:
- Greek name for a Jewish festival
- Christian name for the coming of the Holy Spirit
- followers receive the "gift of tongues"
- allows them to speak foreign languages that they don't know to reach a multi-lingual audience. (Actual known languages.)

- Speakers have tongues of fire resting on their heads- phenomenon that happens when they are speaking or perhaps when followers are hearing them.

- There were many converts that day- part of God's evangelistic plan.


How was Saul converted?:
- Saul of Tarsus becomes the Apostle Paul
- He was a zealous persecutor of Christians
- He becomes just as zealous an evangelist for Christianity
- converted when he gets knocked off his horse and has a vision of the resurrected Jesus as a blinding light (Acts 9)

*this is where the phrase "blinded by the light" comes from*

- the men w/ him heard the voice but saw nothing.
- his eyes were open, but he was blinded- after he is told the story of the gospel, scales fall from his eyes.
- Paul wrote most of the New Testament
- Paul never met the living Jesus. (In the flesh.)
- Some scholars doubt the value of the writings by Paul since he didn't know Jesus "1st hand".
- He was adopted as the 12th apostle, replacing Judas.
*Matthias was officially chosen as Judas' replacement in the beginning of Acts. He was chosen by lot- there was the idea that God controlled lots since God controls everything. Most people believe that Matthias was a false start, and that Paul was actually meant to be the 12th Apostle.*