religion exam notes

8/3/2019 Religion Exam Notes

1/6

RELIGION EXAM NOTES

KEY TERMS

Human: characteristics of a person/ persons

Person: individual human beings

Anthropology: science that studies the origin, development and customs of human beings

-Physical Anthropology: physiological and biological evolution 7 classification of human beings/species

-Cultural Anthropology: deals with social development, practices & beliefs of human beingsFreedom: power, rooted in reason & will to act in a certain way act deliberately on our own responsibility. By Free Will

we shape our own lives.

Creation: creation of the universe regarded as an act of God

Culture: arts & other manifestations of human intellectual achievement

Catechism of the Catholic Church: book containing the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church deals with our beliefs,

sacramental life, our relationships and Christian prayer

Chosen People: refers to the Hebrew (Israelites) who God chose to deliver out of Egypt through Moses mission to be

the light to the nations reveal God to everyone in the world to hear

Covenant: solemn agreement originally between a ruler and the people scriptures: relationship between God and his

Chosen peopleThe Law or Torah: Gods instruction about the covenant how to live based on the mutually agreed on relationship with

God 10 Commandments are the code of the covenant with God

Prophets: holy persons in Israel who were messengers of God among chosen People could communicate Gods word

through speeches, visions, judgments or symbolic actions

Revelation: through scriptures God reveals himself to people through his wonderful creation, covenants, prophets and

his son Jesus

Community: group of people who have common traits/ interests. The human person needs o live in a society. A part of

human nature, humans is social beings.

Communion: act of sharing. Group of people having & sharing similar beliefs and exchanging thoughts and feelings

which they have in common are said to live in communion with each other.

Solidarity: unity/fellowship arising from common responsibilities and interests. In society, all should contribute their

gifts and help each other.

Holy Trinity: divine community of the persons THE Father, the Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit

Vocation: ones job or calling. We are called to served one another in the community in many different ways to be the

image of God for everyone.

Talents: gifts each person is a gift from God and gift for others. These gifts are a benefit for oneself and for the good of

others.

Encyclicals: official pastoral letters written by the Pope giving advice on issues concerning the people of God.

SEVEN TRAITS OF BEING HUMAN

1. Humans are created in the image & likeness of Gody Only humans and know & love God and share knowledge and love in gods own life

2. Humans are called to happiness and holinessy Desire for happiness comes from God, where he placed it in our hearts so we may be drawn to him and

only we can fulfill this desire for happiness

3. Humans are rational & freey Due to reason, we can understand the order of things established by God. Using free will we can do

good, which make us good people. The more free will is used for good, the freer we will become


2/6

4. Humans are moral beingsy We act with freedom, our actions become moral: either good or evil. For an act to be good: we have to

choose to the goodact, the reason must be goodand the circumstances of the act must be good

5. Humans have passions or feelingsy Gift from god & part of human nature the human heart is source of these feelings/passions such as

love. Love creates desire for doing good (only the good can be loved) and gives us hope. What we

choose to do with our feelings that may be good/evil

6. Humans are blessed with a consciencey Gods voice telling to do good and avoid evil allows us to know what is right

7. Humans are able to sinDue to free will, sometimes we are unable to love God/ neighbor = Sin. Offense against reason, truth, right conscience

and God. It comes from being wrongly attached to things, causing wrong desires, violence, injustice and drawing others

to do evil too become part of society, through which people victimize each other

The Ten Plagues

Blood in the Nile: the Fish died & the river stank so much, Egyptians wont be able to drink it

Frogs: Land was covered with them, once dead the stench covered the land, attacked the palace, house, feed & rooms

Gnats: all the dust in Egypt turned to gnats, covered humans and animals

Flies: Egyptian houses filled them

Death of Livestock: Egyptian animals struck with disease and died

Boils: ashes thrown in front of Ramses, scattered and the Egyptians & animals were covered in boils

Hails: heavy hailstorm struck down on Egyptians & animals

Locusts: everything not destroyed by hail, eaten by locusts of the Egyptians and destroying crops

Darkness: darkness covered Egypt for 3 days

Death of the First Born: all first born of both Egyptians and animals died even the pharaohs

***None of these plagues affected the land of Goshem, where the Israelites lived***

KEY TERMS

Kingdom of God: symbol used by Jesus to speak about God and Gods actions among us. Jesus said the Kingdom is

already among us.

Metaphor: comparing two things without using the words like or as. Ex: God as a rock, God as a shepherd

Incarnation: God became human and lived personally in the flesh among Jesus of Nazareth

New Covenant: through Jesus, Gods covenant with Israel became even more intimate or personal. Jesus is the new

covenant.

Revelation: To be revealed. The writer of Johns gospel uses veil as a symbol to sow us that in Jesus we come to see God

face-to-face.

PARABLE

y Story that compares something we do know with something we dont know. Jesus used parables to show us themystery of the Kingdom of God and teach use moral lessons

LITERAL LEVEL: what actually occurs in the story obvious to anyone who reads or listen to the story MEANING LEVEL: requires the reader/ listener to think about the story and understand what message is beneath the

surface

1. Parable is a story- Short stories are about ordinary events of day to day life- Based on daily life among us own


3/6

2. Parable is a comparison- Something we do know with something we dont know (Kingdom of God with everyday life)3. Parable contains a crisis- Has a beginning, a crisis (most interesting part) and a resolution- Challenge us to think differently about and us4. Parables have an ending- Happy ending or tragic endings5. Parable is a story about Gods Kingdom, Gods way of acting among us- Idea of the Kingdom, gives story gentle and strange twists- About god and how he takes care of things- Tells us about how God relates to us- Help us when we look for ways of acting as Christians in our culture

THE FOUR GOSPELS

MATHEW MARK LUKE JOHN

Date of Writing 70 90 CE 65-70 CE 70-90 CE 90-100CE

Place of Writing Antioch in Syria Rome Greece Syria/ Palestine

Target Audience Jewish Christians gentiles Greeks All Christians

Character of Author Teacher/Catechist Storyteller Historian Theologian

Purpose of Writing Assert Jesus is the

Messiah who fulfills

Israels hopes and the

words of the prophets

Present the person of

Jesus through his

actions

Give orderly account

of Jesus s Ministry so

readers can rely on

that gospel to build

their faith

Lead to faith in Jesus

as Gods Son so those

who believe will gain

eternal life

Major Emphasis Jesus Teachings Jesus Actions Jesus Humanity Jesus Teachings

Themes -Jesus fulfilled Old

Testament prophecy

-Jesus identifies the

lowly

-Jesus is worlds savior

not just Israels

-Identity of Jesus

-Importance of the

Cross

-Discipleship

-Salvation is offered

to everyone

-Jesus identifies the

lowly and respects

and defends the

dignity of all

-Mary is the first

disciple

-struggle between

forces of light and

darkness

-Jesus is divine Son of

God

-Faith in Jesus

necessary for eternal

life

Features -Handbook of Jesus

teachings

-Easy to memorize

-Contains Jesus

ancestry (Royalty)

-Shortest Gospel

-Gospel of

emotions/gestures

-Visual Gospel

(written in present,

lots of descriptions)

-Chronological gospel

(everything in timely

order)

-importance of

women

-Gospel of Prayer

(Jesus prayer life)

-non-Sypnotic Gospel

(different from other

gospels)

-7 I AM claims to his

role as divine Son of

God

KEY TERMS

Culture: system of meanings, beliefs, values and practices held common by society or by segments of a society. Its a

web of meaning spun under by a particular group in order to live daily life. Each society has unique configuration of

meanings. Beliefs and values cultures differ one from the other. Each culture has a unique identity.

Tradition: beliefs, values, some from a shred or common experience of a society. Theyre inherited from parents,

schools, literature, art and media. Tradition is the sum total of beliefs, values, practices that culture has inherited.

Multicultural Societies: Canada is multicultural. We have many set of beliefs and values. Its referred to as culture

mosaic


4/6

Expression of culture: meanings, beliefs, values and practices are formed around the basic needs of human beings (the

need for food, housing, health, religion, work, communication). Each culture expresses these needs differently. Also,

within each culture, different sets of meanings, beliefs and values interact with other sets to form a total set of beliefs,

values and meanings.

Institutions: over time, the set of meanings, beliefs and values around such things as food, housing, health, education or

the economy become stabilized and take on a lasting form in social structures. Each cultures institution will have things

in common with and different from the institutions of other.

Symbolic Action: culture is the way we eat, dress, live in houses, play and exchange goods. We eat, dress, play and prayin a certain way. We dont just speak, we speak English. All of our actions are symbolic in the sense they reveal

something of our values, beliefs and meanings of structures.

Symbol: connect us with realities that are beyond our direct grasp and beyond our ability to speak. They make use of

tangible objects (earth, rock, water, oil, or stone) to get in touch with our desires, energies, powers and God.

Signs:Objects or gestures that express one specific message or meaning

Ritual: bodily actions surrounded by language that makes symbols effective with culture associated with birth, marriage,

adolescence, death, relationships, relations to earth connect us to community, guide us through changes in life, initiate

us and engage us with important moments of human living.

Habit: rituals of daily living daily rituals eating, getting up etc. Its doing something the same way each time.

UNDERSTANDING CULTURECulture has to do with human activities

- Eating, praying, playing, workingCulture is a set of meanings, values and beliefs

- Farming methods, food service, transporting/ marketing food, architectureCulture identifies me as belonging to a certain group

- For Sunday dinner, we always.On Canada Day, our town always..At Christmas, our parish always.SEVEN TRAITS OF CULTURE

1. Humans create Culture- Plants and animals do not have culture2. Culture consists of ways of doing things- The meaning is given to doing things, not how we do it. It is the set about the things we do everyday3. Culture is public- How we as a group do things, not how I do things4. Culture arises from tradition- Things that arose in our culture, from a time before our birth5. Culture is made up of rule-governed actions- Traditions sometimes functions as rules some are slow to change6. Culture became established in institutions- Ex: what we do in a family, are learned from an institution of a family (marriage, support, eating together)7. Culture gives us identity- The way/ what we do what we do, is part of our identity

OGLALA CIRCLE

- Members of the Lakota Native peoples- Consider Circle to be sacred because the Great Spirit caused everything in nature to be round except stone

Stone: considered as an implement of destruction and symbol for evil

- Association with circle: The sun, the moon and the earth


5/6

THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS

The Sacraments of Initiation:

- Become full member of Church and lay foundations for Christian life. Baptism

Frees a man from original sin and from personal guilt

Members of the Christ and Church and needed for salvation

ConfirmationSacrament of the Holy SpiritSacrament of Maturity and coming of age

Receives the 7 gifts of Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, fortitude, counsel, knowledge, piety and

fear/reverence of the Lord

Eucharist (HolyCommunion)Most sacred > sees the true presence of Christ

Celebrates the sacrifice instituted by Christ at the Last Supper and the passion and sacrifice on the cross He

would endure on Good Friday

The Sacraments of Healing

- Health of our spirits can be restored Reconciliation (Confession, Conversion or Penance)

Jesus gave his apostles power to forgive sins, so Church has power to forgive all sins

Confessors sorrow for sin is committed, the actual confession to a priest and then the penance or compensation

for the sins

The penance is usually in the form of a prayer, fasting or almsgiving

A child should be making their first confession before confirmation, (sometimes called Age of Reason)

Anointing of the SickGiven to account of any baptized person who is in danger of death

Connected to the passion of Christ through this sacrament

Strengthens body and soul

The Sacraments of Vocation

- Aid the salvation of others Matrimony (Marriage)

Gives opportunity for man and woman to grow into union of body and soul

Holy OrdersMission of Apostolic Ministry

Bishops are successors of the apostles

THE FOUR TRAITS OF RITUALS

1. Ritual passes on traditionHelps pass on this history and rite carries a memory of its own history

2. Ritual needs our bodiesInvolve bodies; washed, touched, embraced, anointed, released etc. Not only spiritual l ife but also bodily

3. Ritual accompanied by wordsGives meaning to an event often allied with music and songs

Symbol and ritual needs human ability to speak and make action complete

4. Ritual forms a communityImportant rituals around birth, initiation, marriage, sickness and death arent intended for the individual but for

the human community


6/6

KEY TERMS

Justice: Fundamental equality upheld by all; even those who dont believe in God (goods & facilities)

Distributive Justice: equal and fair distribution of goods of society Judicial Justice: legal system to decide between conflicts that arise against justice

Common Good: social conditions that allow us to reach fulfillment more fully and easily

Rights: entitled; legal rights (laws) based on human dignity

Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you", promotes cooperation. To live according to this

rule, is to interact with Jesus.Social Encyclicals

religion exam notes

Documents