Annie Michaelson's Notes- 2/9/16

Religion 204- Christian Traditions

Notes

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

·      Trinity does not equal #PUPPYMONKEYBABY

o   Not a mismatch of three things

·      orthodox (little “o”)- right belief, what the councils of the time period consider to be right teaching

·      The Trinity is not:

o   Some parts are not subordinate to other parts

·      Diverse perspectives on the Trinity (Heresies= opposite of orthodoxies)

o   Monarchianism- God is more superior to Jesus.  Some parts of the Trinity are subordinate. 

§  Modalism- The idea that God the father is on top but God changes person. (Sometimes God is God and sometimes God is Christ…when Jesus is alive, it was believed that God is in Jesus or sometimes in the spirit)

o   Adoptionism- the father adopts a good person (believed to happen at Jesus’ baptism)

o   Arianism- God and the father are not quite equal (more equal than monarchianism) and do not exist at the same time. Takes away some of Jesus’ divine powers. 

o   Nestorianism- Not about the relationship between God and Christ, rather non-orthodox perspective in how they are related.  Divinity and humanity are two separate parts. 

·      Council of Nicaea (325)

o   Called by Constantine

o   A council of bishops

o   Odd that Constantine seems invested in settling a conflict among Christian bishops about the nature of Christ and Christ’s relationship to God.   

o   “There was a time when Christ was not”- Arius

§  Issues: suggests that Christ isn’t preexistentà orthodox wants to believe that Christ is preexistent and is there at the beginning

o   The bishops assert that God and Christ as homousios (Greek)/ consubstantial (Latin)

§  Homo- Same

§  Usios- Substance

·      Debate over what Homousios actually means

§  After the Council of Nicaeaà Weird to think of God and Christ as exactly the sameà they proposed Homoiousios- not the same but similar stuff

·      Just because there is an agreement (Nicene Creed) it doesn’t mean that everyone agrees and stops debating

§  Cappadoscian Fathers- argue that Homousios means that God and Christ have the same stuff but three different forms

·      Important because the Trinity represents how humans are saved through Christ

·      Logos (Greek word)- word and idea, thought, and argument

·      John 1 draws a distinction between God and the logos

o   Jesus is the logos (Word)

§  The rest of the text goes on to explain that the word is Jesus (v.14)

·      Genesis- God is creating through speaking (through the word)= God creating through Christ

·      Christ preexists Jesus…Christ was there and then came into flesh (Jesus) and after the death of Jesus, Christ lives on. 

·      Christ= Logos

·      Jesus= In the flesh

·      There is a time before the beginning that Christ does not exist but God exists before the beginning

·      Incarnation= the spirit in the flesh

·      Searel- bishop of Alexanderà Standard Christian beliefs- idea of original sin

o   Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden and rejected the divine.  This is the reason why all humanity to follow sin.  Jesus came and was immaculate and that is what separated him from everyone else. 

§  If the flesh isn’t fully flesh and fully sinful and if the divine is not fully divine and fully sinless, what’s the point? 

·      Issue between the divine and human continues onà

·      Counsel of Chalcedon- Theotokos (means God bearer) Mary gives birth and bears God. Christ is fully human but also fully divine. 

·      Council of Jerusalem (50s)- debate about whether you have to convert to Judaism to be a follow of Christ or whether you can follow Christ without being circumcised.  Ultimately decide that it is OK for gentiles to stay as they are and not convert. 

·      The Letter to the Gelatians- Paul has the authentic gospel and his is the one for the Gentiles, not Peter.  Contradicts the words in Acts (which comes later than the Letter)

o   Paul is calling Peter a hypocrite

o   Emphasis on faith rather than action

o   Gentiles for him, don’t need to become Jewish

o   Also a tension or pull between Paul and Peter

·      Canon- The rule at which you judge other texts and teachings

From Ash Wednesday to Easter

This will be a short one, but I felt inspired to write this post after reading Dr. Huber's post about Ash Wednesday.

As a Presbyterian, Ash Wednesday is something that is recognized in "my" liturgical calendar.  When talking about Easter with someone, a common question that comes up is: "Which holiday do you like better, Christmas or Easter?"  To this day I still can't decide, however; the season of Lent that leads up to Easter is so important to me.  The pastor at my church did a sermon about how it is "unfair" to just skip to Easter without partaking in the 40 previous and important days.  Ash Wednesday marks the 40 day lead up to Jesus' resurrection.   Ash Wednesday is a moving service-- a service in which at the end ashes are pressed into your forehead while the words: "from ashes to ashes, dust to dust" are whispered.  I used to be embarrassed to walk around the street with ashes on my head, but now I realize that there is arguably no point in going to the service if I will just wipe away the ashes from my head when I leave.  Whether you celebrate Ash Wednesday religiously or not, I think it is a good reminder, like Dr. Huber touched on, to remember the suffering--  the violence, and injustice in the world. So I believe that no one should feel embarrassed to walk around with ashes on his or her head because whether onlookers are religious or not, we all need a reminder of the injustice in this world.

Religiously and personally, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of a journey- the journey to Easter.  Towards the end of the 40 day period, Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, which closes with Easter.

Indifference toward Others

Have you seen a person walking around with ashes smudged on their foreheads? If so, you've seen a Christian who has been to an Ash Wednesday service. The ashes are a sign of penance and of grief and a reminder that in Christian tradition humans are believed to come from dust or earth.  You've heard the expression "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust ..." right?

Ash Wednesday, more importantly, marks the beginning of Lent, an important time on the Christian calendar (traditionally 46 days long) marking the period of time that Jesus lived in dessert before his public ministry (40 days). It also serves as a time of reflection before "Holy Week" (e.g. the days before and including Easter). Lent is considered a time of penance, a time when Christians are to remember their humanity, imperfection, and sinful nature. They are also to remember the pain that is in the world, including violence and structural injustice. It is a time of fasting (e.g. not eating meat and rich foods) and refraining from festivity. (Hence, Carnival or Mardi Gras is the period celebration and excess leading up to Lent.)

Typically the Christian who observes Lent (not all Christians mark Lent) gives up something during the six weeks as a way of remembering Christ's time in the dessert sacrifice, where he fasted, and his life of sacrifice. Some Christians, however, mark Lent by taking up a particular practice, such as contributing time and resources to fight homelessness. This year Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, has suggested something along those lines, as he is asking Catholics to give up indifference to other people.  Click HERE for a short piece on this interesting call.

The Irony in Monasticism

"Monasticism in Western Medieval Europe" is an account of monastic monks and nuns' lifestyles, monasteries, and rituals that all result from their decision to put aside material possessions and live lives full of simplicity, as Jesus Christ did. The essence of monasticism is following a humble way of life in order to reach salvation, but I could not help noticing that these nuns and monks are quite inconsistent with their views and practices. These individuals claim to live lives that divert from luxury or extravagance, yet they seem to be extremely preoccupied with adorning their monasteries with ornate and ostentatious artworks and decorations. Filling their churches with these items is not only expensive, but it also defeats the purpose of their attempt to live simply. Because of this, I wonder whether other people who lived during this time period questioned the faith of these monks and nuns because their actions and words contradicted one another. Since these religious people preached one thing but lived another way, I feel as if many other Christians were taken aback and hesitant to accept the Christian faith. These monks and nuns seemed to care a lot about the appearance of their churches to attract visitors and worshippers, but they should have focused on more substantial ways to entice them, such as through preaching, living by example, and committing good deeds. If I were an inhabitant of this time period, I would definitely question the intentions of the monks and nuns. The inconsistency of these monks and nuns' practices and beliefs represent that no matter how hard humans try to live like Jesus Christ, they will inevitably fail since all of humanity is inclined to succumb to sinfulness and temptation.

Notes from 2/9

Notes 2/9

·      Marcionism

o   Heresy that Jewish and Christian gods are different

·      The Trinity is not equal to the Puppy Monkey Baby

o   Puppymonkeybaby is three things mushed together

o   For the orthodox, the trinity was not a mishmash

§  orthodox- right belief

·      what the councils in 3^rd and 4^th century thought was right

·      heresy- opposed those beliefs, incorrect teachings

o   What is the trinity not? These beliefs were considered heresy.

§  Some parts were not subordinate to other parts

§  Not monarchianism-adoptionism

·      That Jesus was not always divine. God chose Jesus (at His baptism) to do His work.

§  Modalism

·      God the Father is the monarch and changes person.

·      He rotates between the three persons of God

§  Arianism (c318 CE)

·      God the Father predates Jesus

§  Nestorianism (5^th century CE)

·      Christ’s divinity versus humanity are separate

o   Council of Nicea (325 CE)

§  Place in Turkey near Constantinople

§  Constantine, the emperor, calls the council of bishops

§  No separation of church and state at that point

·      But still odd because Constantine seems invested with solving an issue between bishops or does he just want to consolidate power?

§  What is the relationship between God and Christ?

§  Response to the Arians

·      Arius has a lot of money and influence

·      Arius says that there is a time when Christ did not exist

·      Orthodox view is the Jesus was always present

o   Says so in their scripture

o   John 1:1-4, 14

§  Differentiates Word and God

§  Word=Logos=thought, argument, idea

§  Logos is manifest in Jesus

§  God creates through Jesus

§  Christ is bigger than Jesus because Christ has been present for forever and will continue to exist, but Jesus was just the flesh manifestation

o   Comes out of Hellenistic Jewish tradition

§  A word that God speaks that brings about creation

§  Genesis 1:1-6

§  Creating through speaking

·      Arians argument implies that God and Christ are not of the same substance

§  Bishops assert that God and Christ are homousios (consubstantial)

§  Creed of Nicea

·      Emphasis that Christ is begotten and not made

·      God didn’t create Jesus

·      Foundation of belief- what everyone believes to in the 4^th century

·      Language of creed and canon changes over time

o   Make more contemporary? Change doctrine?

o   When you translate anything, meanings change

·      At this point everyone is orthodox

·      Holy Spirit is just tacked on. Not much said about it.

o   After the Council of Nicea: what does homousias mean?

§  Arians say God and Christ can’t be exactly the same!

·      Homoiousios- similar stuff

§  Once a creed is set, people continue to talk and debate and disagree

§  Cappadocian Fathers

·      Greek trained philosophers

·      Homousias means God and Christ have one substance, but three different manifestations (called hypostasis)

§  This matters because how you imagine this relationship indicates how humans are saved through Christ

·      Bigger meaning

§  Cyril- from Egypt

·      Augustine- Carthage

o   Early Christianity is not just Europe!

·      How the trinity and incarnation are salvation

o   Incarnation- in the flesh

·      On the Unity of Christ

·      The incarnation changes the nature of human flesh

·      Adam sinned (and rejected the divine) and then the flesh of humans became corrupted (why we suffer)

·      Jesus is put into corrupted human flesh and does not sin, so He saves humanity and redeems flesh

·      About God’s mercy and graciousness

§  If Christ is not fully divine and fully human, then the salvation doesn’t work.

§  Avoiding the idea that God chooses one person to simply sacrifice.

§  Christ’s death on the cross is important because God is identifying with suffering

§  First Adam- things didn’t go right

§  Second Adam (Jesus)- fixing what humans messed up

·      He is divine, so He can’t mess it up

·      He is made up of different substance than the corrupted humans

§  We can never fully understand the trinity

·      Mystery

·      The point of faith- we can’t do it on our own, we need God to help us understand

o   Council of Chalcedon

§  Affirmation that Christ is fully human and fully divine

§  Definition of Chalcedon

§  Thoetokos- God-bearer

·      Mary gives birth after bearing God

·      Christ is fully human and fully divine, throughout His development in the womb

§  An elaboration/clarification of Nicea

o   Council of Jerusalem

§  1^st century CE

§  Recounted in Acts 15 and Galatians 1&2

§  Can Gentiles be Christians? Or do you have to covert to Judaism to become Christian?

·      Circumcision, laws of Moses

§  Acts:

·      Paul and Barnabus: Gentiles don’t have to convert

·      Peter is claiming that he is the one who is supposed to go to the Gentiles

·      It is okay for Gentiles to come as they are and not convert

·      Paul goes right away to Jerusalem

§  Galatians:

·      People are telling Galatians that they need to be circumcised

·      Paul is pissed off

·      Paul waits 14 years to go to Jerusalem

·      Claims one person goes to the circumcised and another person is the one for the gentiles

o   Paul is claiming authenticity and that his is the right message for the Gospel

·      Stay as you are

·      Contradicts Acts

·      Calling Peter a hypocrite

·      Faith over actions

§  Diversity and difference within the canon

·      Make decisions, don’t let it get too far out of control

·      Idea of the canon includes the idea that there will be other teachings against which they judge

·      4 gospels- different perspectives on life of Jesus

o   they didn’t canonize the harmony

The Impact of Religious and Cultural Changes on American Politics

On February 4, 2016, I attended a cultural talk presented at Elon where Robert P. Jones, founder and CEO of Public Religion Research Institute, as well as an author, spoke on the impact of religious and cultural changes on American politics.The first part of his statistical findings focused primarily on the shifting American religious affiliations. From 1974 to 2016, the percentage of Protestants decreased from 63 to 46 percent. Adding on to this he explained that most of the decline of these Protestants are whites, whereas Hispanics are growing to be more Protestant, likely because of immigration. Catholics also declined by five percent within the same time period, and the unaffiliated rose sixteen percent, the highest number it has ever been. The second part that Jones discussed was the Economic anxiety and pessimism in Americans. In 2015, his data showed that 72 percent of Americans still believed the country was in a recession. Along with this, there is a widespread agreement that the government is looking out for the wealthy. When people that were surveyed were asked if they still believed the American dream was still a reality, 42 percent said it still holds true, and 48 percent thought it used to but does not anymore. Part three of the talk dealt with cultural anxieties. From 2012 to 2016, there has been an increase on whether or not it bothers Americans when an immigrant does not speak English. Today, 48 percent say it bothers them. Another fact Jones touched on was that there has been an increase in whether Islams are at odds with America's’ own values. Lastly, Jones tied religion into the presidential elections. According to his statistics, in 2012, 79 percent of votes to Mitt Romney were white evangelicals, and 95 percent who voted for Barack Obama were black protestants.

Overall, I was glad I attended the talk because I have always been ignorant to the correlation between religion and politics, and this helped me become more aware. This talk tied into out class because it talked about the importance that religion is having on out time period, just as it did thousands of years ago. Also, the differing of cultures today, such as Americans being bothered by an immigrant speaking another language, or Islams having different values, relates to the spread of Hellenism. Also we see that there was a gymnasium which lead to the undoing of circumcision which was sacred for the Jews, but Greeks did not like body imperfections. Differing cultures affected this time period, as well as today.