NBST 515 Exam 2

Josephus - Jewish Antiquities - The first-century non-canonical author who made two references to Jesus. Also be sure to know the name of the work that contains these references. Babylonian Talmud - "He then went and raised Jesus incantation" - Jewish source that includes a reference to Jesus' resurrection. Did not - just attributed them to sorcery - Whether or not opponents of Christianity during the second century typically denied that Jesus performed miracles. Tacitus - Annals - Roman historian who noted that Jesus was executed during the reign of Tiberius by Pontius Pilate. Suetonius - Roman historian who erroneously believed that Jesus was still alive and created unrest at the time the Jews were expelled from Rome in 49 A.D. Pliny the Younger - Roman ruler who noted that Christians gathered before dawn on a particular day to chant hymns "to Christ as to a god" and to partake of a meal together. Thallus - Roman writer who made references to the darkness that occurred at the time of Jesus' death. Lucian of Samosata - Roman satirist who referred to Jesus' death, His Palestinian origin, and His founding of a new faith. Miracles did not occur and Biblical accounts needed to be stripped of miracles in order to be more "reasonable". - How advocates of the first quest for the historical Jesus viewed miracles and the veracity of the Biblical accounts about Jesus. Aim of source criticism - To identify the historic Jesus, though it also serves for the purpose of exegesis - quest to determine the literary relationship amongst texts (most often the Gospels). R. Bultmann - Scholar who emphasized the importance of demythologizing the early church's stories about Jesus in order to isolate the kernel of truth they contained for the Christian faith. Stated that a Jesus divorced from history could be applied to any agenda - Jesus needed to be connected to early Christianity, thus a higher emphasis was placed on historical background. - How advocates of the Second Quest challenged the prevailing assumptions of the so-called Abandoned Quest. Jesus Seminar - Name of the controversial group that is a modern manifestation of the second quest for the historical Jesus. Desire to place Jesus in the context of first-century, Second Temple Judaism, locate him as an actual historical figure. - Key objective of the Third Quest. Date of beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist - in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius. - Only precise date explicitly mentioned in the Gospels and which Gospel includes this information. Herod the Great - Death of which ruler provides a helpful clue about the year in which Jesus was born? The 46 years refers to how many years following the completion of the temple this conversation took place. Therefore, John 2:20 and the start of Jesus' ministry occurred in AD 29ish. - Manner in which the authors believe John 2:20 should be understood and the relevance of the passage for the dating of Jesus' ministry. John - 3 times. Synoptics - 1 time. All 3 visits of John were Passover visits. - Number of times the Gospel of John and the Synoptics record Jesus visiting Jerusalem during his ministry. Gospel of Thomas - Non-canonical Gospel which members of the Jesus Seminar have regarded as a fifth Gospel. De Spinoza - Influential Jewish philosopher who published the important work "Tractatus Theologico-Politicus" and was known for his rejection of the possibility of miracles. No miracle was witnessed by large enough group of observers to ensure that the witnesses either had not been deceived or were not misleading others themselves. Stated that miracles only occur amongst primitive people. - Major arguments against the validity of miracles as articulated by David Hume. Accounts of Jesus' words and deeds were significantly altered and embellished during a lengthy period of oral transmission before the accounts were preserved in writing. - Key assumptions shared by advocates of form criticism about the origin of the Gospel accounts. Three major weakness of form criticism according to the textbook. - 1. Accounts transmitted orally in the first century Palestine were much more stable than many form critics believed. 2. Compelling evidence suggests that the Synoptic Gospels were written between 20 to 30 years after Jesus' death. 3. Supposition that the Gospels contain highly evolved accounts of Jesus' ministry ignores significant evidence suggesting that the early church was correct in its claim that the 4 Gospels were based on eyewitness testimony. Original sense - Whether or not the Gospel writers were obliged to record the exact words of Jesus or merely the original sense or gist of what Jesus had said. "To see together, to have the same view or outlook" - Meaning of the term "Synoptic". Synoptic Problem - Questions regarding the puzzling combination of differences and similarities between these 3 Gospels - especially questions about the possible sources the Gospel writers used. Wording, order, parenthetical and explanatory material, and OT quotations. - Four major similarities that are evident when comparing the Synoptic Gospels. Suggest the possibility of a literary relationship, as if one or more of the Gospel writers was familiar with one or more of the other Gospels, probably Mark being first or that he followed the other two. - Most common scholarly explanation for the similarities among the Synoptic Gospels Augustine - Fifth-century church father who believed that the canonical order of the Gospels was the order in which the Gospels were written. J. J. Greisbach - Scholar who is credited with the development of the two-Gospel hypothesis of Gospel origins. Matthew written first, then used by Mark and Luke (Mark possibly written last). - Basic premise of the two-Gospel hypothesis. Matthew - Gospel which early tradition pointed to as the first to be written. Primary arguments used to support Markan priority. - Mark is shortest of three, contains Aramaic expressions into Greek, more difficult readings, Matt and Luke do not agree in wording, stylistic features. Premise of two-documents hypothesis. - Mark was written first, when Matthew and Luke wrote their Gospels, they wrote independently but in reference of Mark and an additional source, "Q". B. H. Streeter - Scholar who was responsible for popularizing the two-document hypothesis in the English-speaking world. Premise of Farrer-Goulder hypothesis. - Similarities between Matthew and Luke are best explained if Luke used Matthew in addition to Mark when he wrote his own, making Q unnecessary. Mark - Gospel which the majority of modern scholars believe was the first to be written. Main objection of redaction criticism. - Examine how Gospel writers adapted their sources in order to understand the theological purpose that prompted this adaptation. View a given document as a composition and literary whole; focus on the theological contributions made by the evangelists in their own right as they processed and shaped their source material. Does not - Whether or not Matthew identifies himself as the author in the body of the book. Early if not original - Whether or not the titles of the Gospel likely originated early in the transmission history of the Gospels or in subsequent centuries. Matthew was written in Hebrew - What Papias claimed about the original composition of Matthew. Yes - Whether or not there was a consensus in the early church regarding the authorship of Matthew's Gospel. Levi - The alternative name by which Matthew was also known. Mid to late 80s - Most common date scholars have suggested for the composition of Matthew's Gospel. Three reasons scholars such as Schnakenburg believe Matthew must have been written after 70 AD. - 1. Assumes that Jesus' reference to the fall of Jerusalem was not possible unless the fall of Jerusalem had already occurred. 2. Claims that references to strong tensions between Jews and Christians Matthew implied a complete break of the church from the synagogue. 3. Suggests that the belief that the disciples of Jesus constituted the true people of God requires a late date for the Gospel. Primary evidence suggesting that Matthew was written prior to 70 AD. - If Matthew used Mark's Gospel, he may have written in early 60s - Irenaeus claimed Matthew wrote while Peter and Paul were preaching in Rome (60s). Matthew's reference to sacrifice make sense is temple is still standing. Palestine or Syria - Location that the majority of scholars believe was the place of Matthew's authorship. Ignatius - First Christian author to quote from Matthew's Gospel. Messiah, new Abraham, new Moses, Immanuel. - Four aspects of Jesus' identity emphasized in Matthew's Gospel. Theological biography, though also a manual for discipleship. - Primary function (literary genre) of Matthew's Gospel. Matthew's attempt to present His Gospel as new Pentateuch. Mirrored the five books of Moses in OT. - Matthew's purpose in dividing his Gospel into five major sections according to B.W. Bacon. 1. Sermon on the Mount. 2. Instruction of the Twelve. 3. Parables of the Kingdom. 4. Parables of the Kingdom. 5. Olivet Discourse, More Kingdom Parables. - Five major discourses of the Gospel of Matthew. Shows that Jesus is the fulfillment of God's covenants with Abraham and David. - Primary purpose of Matthew's genealogy. Isaiah 7:14 - OT passage quoted by Matthew in order to affirm that the circumstances of Jesus' birth were the fulfillment of prophecy. Exodus 1-2 - OT event that parallels Herod's slaughter of the innocents. Branch (netser) - Similar-sounding word to "Nazareth" that Matthew drew attention to in his introduction. Isaiah 40:3 - OT passage that Matthew believed to be connected to the ministry of John the Baptist. Capernaum - Galilean town in which Jesus established his ministry headquarters according to Matthew 4:12-16. Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas Iscariot. - The 12 disciples. Jesus' ascent of the mountain is reminiscent to Moses' ascent of Mt. Sinai - Ways in which Jesus' Sermon the Mount portrays him as the new Moses. Feeding of the 5000 - provision of manna in wilderness. Walking on water - crossing of the Red Sea. They contribute to Matthew's emphasis on Jesus' identity as the New Moses. - What the two miracles recorded in Matthew 14 were reminiscent to in the Old Testament.