This document is a study guide for a theology exam covering topics such as God, metaphysics of being, virtues, grace, marks of the Church, apostolic tradition, early Christian martyrs, heresies, and more. It provides definitions, explanations, and examples for each topic in an outline format with some information highlighted or in bold/blue to help with remembering answers.
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Semester 1 Exam – Theology 3 Study Guide
blue and bold text – my weird way of remembering something
highlighted text – I don’t know the answer / unsure answer
1) God: Supreme Being, pure spirit, infinitely perfect, who is self-existing, and made all things and keeps them in
existence
2) Metaphysics of Being:
a) Eternal: A being that has no beginning and no end
i) God
b) Immortal: has a beginning and no end
i) man, angels, devils
c) Mortal: has a beginning and an end
i) animals, plants
3) Who were the stoics and what is their relationship to the church today?
a) stoic – were always guided by reason alone; held that the highest good that man can accomplish is to live a life
of virtue in accordance with right reason
b) Stoics recognized Monotheistic God & studied book of Nature, & that led to Natural Law
c) they participated in the sacraments
d) the rituals and traditions within the Church developed over hundreds of years and is still accumulating today
e) all of the various rituals, the prayers and the Eucharist remained the same
4) Why are Natural Law Ethics important?
5) Virtues
a) Theological Virtues(Faith, Hope and Love are logical)
i) Faith – the virtue by which we firmly believe all the truths God has revealed, on the word of God revealing
them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived
ii) Hope – the virtue by which we firmly trust that God, who is all-powerful and faithful to His promises, will in
His mercy give us eternal happiness and the means to obtain it
iii) Charity/Love – the virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as
ourselves for the love of God
b) Cardinal Virtues(Justin Timberlake loves PF Chang’s) (stands for justice, temperance, prudence & fortitude
belong with cardinal)
i) Prudence - disposes us in all circumstances to form right judgments about what we must do or not do
ii) Justice – disposes us to give everyone what belongs to him
iii) Fortitude – disposes us to do what is good in spite of any difficulty
iv) Temperance – disposes us to control our desires and to use rightly the things which please our senses
6) Sanctifying Grace:
a) Grace - the supernatural gifts of God bestowed on us through the merits of Jesus Christ for our salvation
b) Sanctifying Grace–the grace that confers on our souls a new life, that is a sharing in the life of God Himself
i) The Chief Effects of Sanctifying Grace:(Pleasant adoption makes us temples of Heaven)
(1) It makes us holy and pleasing to god
(2) It makes us adopted children of God
(3) It makes us temples of the Holy Spirit
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(4) It gives us the right to Heaven
7) What were the Greek and Roman civilizations good at?
a) expanding their empires and forcing their cultures/Paganism over dominated territories
8) What happened to the Jews in AD 70?
a) their temple was destroyed and they were cast out of Jerusalem
9) Marks of the Church(Mark; Checklist “Is it one, holy, catholic & apostolic?”)
a) One – all of the Church’s members profess the same faith, have the same sacrifice and sacraments, and are
united under one and the same visible head of the Pope
b) Holy – Church was founded by Jesus Christ, who is all-holy, and because it teaches according to the will of Christ,
holy doctrines, and provides the means of leading a holy life, thereby giving holy members to every age
c) Catholic – Church is catholic/universal because it’s destined to last for all time, it never fails to fulfill the divine
commandment to teach all nations all the truths revealed by God
d) Apostolic – it was founded by Christ on the apostles and, according to His divine will, has always been governed
by their lawful successors
10) Attributes of the Church
a) The Attributes of the Church(A I I Attributes)
i) Authority – the Pope and the bishops have power from Christ Himself to teach, to sanctify, and to govern
the faithful in spiritual matters
ii) Infallible – the Church, by special assistance of the Holy Spirit, cannot err when it teaches or believes a
doctrine of faith or morals; teaches infallibility
iii) Indefectibility – the Church, as Christ founded it, will last until the end of time
b) Jesus Christ and the Founding of the Church
i) The Church as both visible and invisible
(1) Spiritual/Invisible – because of Holy Spirit, the Sacraments, God’s Grace, and in particular, the Mass
(2) Visible – because of Scripture & Tradition, the People of God, the Hierarchy, the witness of saints
ii) The Church’s composition is unique, from the very beginning
iii) Jesus did not abandon his Church; he sent the Holy Spirit to guide the Church
c) Church is both human & divine, like the Eucharist becauseshe is so intimately linked with Christ and the divine
plan & in many ways, she is a mystery. She represents the already triumphant Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth;
body of christ
d) The Eucharist is both human & divine because Christ takes bread and wine, the work of human hands, and
transforms them into His divine body and bloody. The imperfections of human persons in transformed into
something divine by the grace of God
e) Baptism in Church is both human & divine because Christ transforms the baptized into members of His Mystical
Body
f) The Mystical Body says:
- because she is so intimately linked with Christ and the divine plan
- in many ways, she is a mystery
g) The Church provides the means of salvation for all mankind
11) Apostolic Tradition
a) today’s bishops are direct descendent of the Apostles
b) Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, the Apostles conferred their power on other men who maintained the
same teaching authority
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c) Through Apostolic Succession, the Church has the living teaching power of the bishops to defend and guide the
Faith is a changing world
12) St. Stephen
a) first martyr
b) deacon, preaching at the Portucal (in the city) Jerusalem
c) was told to stop preaching
d) didn’t stop preaching, so he was stoned to death
13) The Council of Jerusalem
a) called in the diocese of Jerusalem in the year 49
b) discussed if converts to Christianity had to become Jewish to become Christian (did they have to be circumcised)
c) discussed the successor of Judas Iscariot and chose St. Matthias
14) Precepts of the Roman Church
a) to assist at Mass on all Sundays and holy days of obligation
b) to fast and abstain on the days appointed
c) to confess our sins at least once a year
d) to receive Holy Communion during the Easter Time
e) to contribute to the support of the Church
f) to observe the laws of the Church concerning marriage
15) yea don’t need to know holy days of obligation
16) The Early Christians
a) Where did they worship?
in their homes & catacombs
b) What was life like for them?
very difficult; some Christian abandoned their faith when the challenges became overwhelming, while some
others openly apostatized
c) Where was the word Christian first used?
Antioch
d) How did early Christian martyrs bring more people to the faith?
the more martyrs there were, the more people joined the Church
17) Sola Scriptura
a) most protestant sects teach this belief which attempts to limit the Deposit of Faith the Sacred Scripture alone
b) Heresy
c) the Bible we know today has not always existed
d) the canon of scripture was composted by the Church and was declared definitively at the Synod of Rome in 382
e) The Old Testament was formalized by the Jews in Alexandria
i) the Church accepted this canon to be the first part of the Bible
ii) the second part, the new testament, was accepted years later
f) different communities used a slightly different version, but retained the major authors/books
g) the overall canons were compiled slowly and most likely did not exist until the 3rd century
h) 5th century -> one canon
18) What Councils defined the Canons to be in the Bible?
- a large synod in AD 382 in Rome
- The Council of Trent in 1546
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19) Knowing Scripture
Christianity grew solely on the teachings of the Apostles and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit
20) The Apostles
a) What happened to them?
- Roman authorities saw them as a menace to the state
- all the Apostles, except St. John, died as martyrs for the faith
b) St. Peter
- 1st Pope
- crucified upside down
St. Paul
-persecutor of the early Christians
- with his conversion changed his name; Saul to Paul
St. Andrew
- Galilean fisherman
-crucified on an x-shaped cross
St. James the Greater
-1st apostle to die for __
-beheaded by Herod
St. John
-only Apostle not martyred
-the last on to be divinely revealed to by God
St. Bartholomew
-martyred in Armenia
-flayed alive
St. Matthew
-first author of the Gospels
-tax collector
St. Thomas
-set up a church in India
-listed in all 4 Gospels
St. James the Less
-head of the Church in Jerusalem
- shares feast day with St. Philip
St. Philip
-shares feat day with St. James the Less
-present at multiplication of loaves & fish
St. Judas
-shared feast day with St. Simon
-martyred in Persia
St. Simon
-shared feast day with St. Judas
-martyred in Persia
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St. Matthias
-“forgotten Apostle”
-elected to replace Judas
Judas
-betrayed Jesus Christ
-stole money from the 12 Apostles’ common fund
21) Apostolic Tradition & the Office of the Bishop
- After his Resurrection, Jesus commanded the Apostles to spread the Gospel to every corner of the world
- the Church has successfully transmitted the Apostolic tradition down through the line of bishops, and she will
continue to until Christ returns
22) Conversion of St. Paul (Saul)
- at first persecuted the Christians
- Saul set out on journey to Damascus to continue suppressing the Church
- Jesus spoke to him, & Saul was blinded
- Saul recovered his sight & was baptized
- changed named to St. Paul to show conversion
23) Role of the first deacons in the Church
- St. Stephen and 6 others were chose by the people, blessed, and commissioned by the Apostles
- were called deacons, or ministers of the Church’s pastoral mission
- worked amongst people and worked “great wonders and signs” (Acts 6:8)
24) Role of the Apologists
- was a group of early Church Fathers collectively known as Apologists
- wrote mainly during the second & third centuries
- composed some of the greatest Christian literature
- Christianity had begun to gain more converts from among the educated and elite classes
25) The Didache
- “The Teaching of the 12 Apostles”
- unknown author
- it was a document put together as a guide to maintain community within the Church
- contents divided into 3 parts: ethical instruction, ritual instructions, & a disciplinary section
26) Angels & Devils
a) Angels
- the chief creatures of God
- are created pure spirits, with free will and understanding
- immortal beings
- they serve as messengers
- protect us from harm
- inspire us to do good
- pray for us
b) Fallen Angels
- God did not create devils, but glorious angels
- the rebel angels turned themselves into devils by their sin
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- they choose to be cast into hell
- tempt us into sin
27) ^ answered above
28) Mysteries of the Rosary
a) Joyful (AVNPF; Joyful for a very nice pretty fellow)
i) the Annuciation
ii) the Visitation
iii) the Nativity
iv) The Presentation
v) The Finding in the Temple
b) Sorrowful (Sorrowful Agony Scrooge Crowns Carriage of Cruxificion)
i) The Agony of the Garden
ii) The Sourging at the Pillar
iii) The Crowning of Thorns
iv) The Carrying of the Cross
v) The Crucifixion
c) Glorious (Glorious RAD assumption crown)
i) The Resurrection
ii) The Ascension
iii) The Descent of the Holy Spirit Upon the Apostles
iv) The Assumption
v) The Crowning of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth
29) don’t need to know
30) Why was it important that we have an understanding of Greek Philosophy? How has it affected Christian
thought?
- Aspects of Greek (Neo-Platonic) thought compatible with Christianity
- Logos in Greek thought connected to the Logos (Jesus) in John’s Gospel = heresies
31) How did the Roman Empire facilitate the rapid growth of Christianity?
32) Why are the Christians called to lives of Sacrifice?
33) Describe how the Church is universal.
- Christ in present; we receive the fullness of salvation
- “catholic” translates to “universal”
- all of Christ’s children shall be gathered together as one under God
- all mankind all called to be with God
34) Constantine
a) His Battle
-He restores the property confiscated from the Church by Empire
- His purpose to restoring Christianity was to unite the Empire
b) Other
- in 313 AD he wrote the Edict of Milan that said that all religions were free
35) Monasticism
a) What purpose did they serve?
1. they were a source of great spiritual strength
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2. they served as seminaries for priests and bishops
3. they functioned as centers of evangelization of the barbarian tribes through various forms of education
36) The Religious Life
a) a religious order’s rule of life usually gives instructions about the essentials elements of religious life:
community, prayer & service
b) 3 types of religious communities
i) Contemplative
- entire life centered around contemplation, meditation, & conversation with God
ii) Mendicants
- were beggars unlike the Contemplative orders who farmed everything they need; they begged for
everything they could possibly need
- mission was to preach the Gospel and teaching of the Holy Mother Church (HMC)
iii) Service Congregation
1. Special Ministry
2. Run school
3. Nursing Homes
4. Hospitals
37) Edict of Milan
- said that all religions were free & Christians were free to practice
- AD 313
38) Early Christian Thought on Abortion & Contraception
-rejected the use of both
- violates the 5th Commandment “thou shalt not kill”
39) Heresies: Material & Formal
a) Gnosticism – says that salvation can be achieved by knowledge
b) x
c) Manichaeism – heresy that states that Devil placed light particles into humans
d) x
e) Docetism – said that Jesus was only man
f) Arianism – said that Christ was an exceptional creature & raised to son of God
g) Apollionarianism–denied existing human mind; false defense
h) Nestorianism – said Jesus is 2 persons & denies Mary’s divine motherhood
i) Monophysitism – said Jesus was 1 person, only nature which is divine, not human
j) Monothelitism – says Christ had existence of 1 will, but 2 natures
k) Donatism – said that sinners were excommunicated; no forgiveness
l) Pelagianism– said that unaided human can reach sanctity without any aid
m) Apostasy – one who freely chooses to sin; rejects the truth
40) Councils
a) Diocesan Council – often called a synod; a meeting of bishops in which matters of diocesan Church discipline
and procedure are discussed
b) Provincial Council – an assembly of the metropolitan archbishop with his suffrage bishops
c) Plenary Council – summons all the bishops of a nation
41) The Council of Nicaea & Its effects
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a) first ecumenical council
b) in 325
c) cleared up heresy of Arianism
d) wrote Nicene Creed
42) Attila the Hun & the Huns
a) nomadic people
b) ethnic origin unknown
c) cruel
d) Attila unites Huns tribes
e) Leo the Great goes to talk with Attila
f) ^ convinces Attila not to attack Rome
g) once Attila died, the entire Hun empire died
43) St. Pope Leo the Great
a) explicity tried to centralize Church governance based on the Bishop of Rome’s preeminence
b) meep
44) already did above
45) Conversion of Franks/Clovis
a) Church gained strength by gaining alliance with powerful allies
b) The Franks: already conquered the tribes in Gaul
c) Clovis the King of the Franks is baptized Catholic
d) He goes to conquer the Goths who are Arian Christians…upon conquering them he gets rid of the Arian practices
& they all become Catholic
46) Irish Monks & Western Civilization
a) Irish monks were the protectors & promoters of western civilization
b) irish monasticism was inspired by the Eastern monastic tradition
c) anything that could be done to deny the body comfort was employed as a means to bring the soul closer to God
d) severe penance
e) In the early 6th century, the Irish monasteries were the most important centers of learning in all of Europe
47) Conversion of England Territory
a) St. Gregory the Great desired to send missionaries to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons
b) Gregory chose the monk Augustine
c) St. Augustine tried to win King’s favor by marrying Christian wife
d) King Ethelbert married a Christian wife too, but remained a pagan
e) Eventually (Saxon) King Ethelbert was baptized by Augustine
48) St. Boniface & the Conversion of Germany
a) St. Boniface became a bishop in Germany
b) gentle in approach & won many of them over by challenging their “gods”
49) The Apostles of the Slavs: Sts. Cyril & Methodius
a) 2 priests / bros
b) brought the gospel to the Slavs, knowing the difficult language of Slavic
c) Cyril developed a written language for the people
d) they used, with permission, the Slavonic language for the celebration of Mass
50) Justinian Code
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a) 529
b) the Codex Justinianus represents the highest achievement in classical legal scholarship
c) it laid the foundation for Canon Law – the law of the Church – as well as for civil law in all countries of Europe
51) Iconoclastic Controversy
a) served as the breaking point between the Eastern emporers and the popes
b) may be broken down into several periods
c) first iconoclasm 717-741
d) 725 – 843
52) Icons & the Purpose of Art
a) icons became numerous in the East beginning in the 5th century
b) used as aids for Christian prayer
c) we can use icons to help us pray as long as we treat them as “windows into heaven” that lead us into the
mystery that they depict
d) used as Christian act of piety
53) The Carolingian Line
a) origin: Frankish Kingdom
b) Merovingian Dynasty
c) Carolingian Dynasty
54) The Establishment of the Papal States
a) Papal states were a combination of Rome, Ravenna, & Perugia
b) Importance
For the first time in the history of the Church, the pope, who always had been a spiritual leader, became a
sovereign political/temporal leader as well
c) Benefits:
- ensured papacy would have independence from Byzantine emperors
-stable political environment for Church to operate in
d) Negative Consequences:
-temptations associated with political power
-Church leaders are human, capable of sin
55) Charlemagne (a.k.a Charles the Great)
a) son of pepin
b) inherited throne after bro Carolman died
c) reigned 769 – 814
d) powerful warrior
e) harshly treated rebellious Saxons; conversion by sword
f) makes himself King of the Lombards
g) first ruler to unite all Germanic Kingdoms
h) Relationship with the Papacy
- attempted to reform the clergy
-established new diocese
-alliance between papacy & Franks renewed
56) The Great Schism
a) emergence of difference between east & west
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b) seeds of division:
-founding of Constantinople
-differences in language, culture, theological perspectives
-different views of Church government & hierarchy
57) The Filioque Controversy
a) “Filioque” translates to “and the Son”
b) the words “and the Son” were added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed
c) intention was to clarify the fact that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father & the Son
58) mehhhhh
59) The Just War Theory
a) war is always an evil to be regretted & avoided as far as possible, but that occasions can arise in which it is not
only inevitable but justifiable
b) theory is based on conviction that nonviolence is the norm
c) War can be judged twice:
1. to its justice or injustice
2. how justly or unjustly it is fought
d) that state has a natural right to use the means necessary for its preservation & proper function
Definitions Etc.
1. Apostle –“the one who sent”
2. Martyr – one who died for their faith; bears witness to Christ as the Way, the Truth, & the Life
3. Pentecost –the birth of the Church, celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Mary & the Apostles 50 days
after the Resurrection
4. Monotheism – belief that there is one God
5. Didache – document that can be referred to as 1st Christian Catechism
6. Papal Nuncio – people who act as personal representatives of the Church
7. Ecumencial Council – type of council that brings all bishops together to discuss Christianity of the world
8. Papacy – the papal influence on politics in history
9. Apologist – one who writes a work in order to defend & explain the Christian religion
10. Schism – disassociation or separation
11. Ora et Labora – motto; translates to “pray and work”
12. Huns – all powerful & ethnic people who invaded Rome
13. LectioDivina – reading & mediating on scripture
14. Constantine – moved capital from Rome to Constantinople
15. St. Jerome –translated the Bible into Latin
16. St. Helen – was mother to emperor, reclaimed true cross
17. St. Leo the Great – tried to centralize Church governance
18. St. Justin Martyr – studied philosophy and was an excellent apologist; wrote First & Second Apologies
19. St. Agnes –young woman who dedicated herself to Christ, men mad & she was beheaded
20. St. Lawrence – arrested while celebrating Mass, roasted alive
21. St. Polycarp – asked to curse name of Christ in public but refused, unharmed by flames
22. St. Jude – patron st. of lost causes
23. St. John Chrysostom – means “golden mouth”
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24. St. Ignatius of Antioch – martyred by eaten by lions
25. St. Clotilda – beautiful Burgundian princess, a Christian, worked to convert husband Clovis
26. St. Cyril – developed language to use with Slavs
27. St. Methodius-bro of Cyril, apostle of the slavs
28. St. Boniface – apostle of Germany
29. St. Augustine of Canterbury – apostle of England
30. St. Augustine of Hippo – conversion of heart, became dioceses of Hippo
31. Pope St. Gregory the Great – person considered last of doctrine of Church; created Gregorian Chant
32. St. Basil the Great – very intelligent, lived as hermit; worked tirelessly for clerical rights, and he saw it that his
priests were rigorously & properly trained
33. Caesaropapism – system in which the temporal ruler extends his own power to ecclesiastical and theological
matter
34. Logos – way to express God; means many things; St. John uses this term to describe something
35. Theotokos – “god-bearing”
36. St. Vladimir –was raised as a Pagan Viking Chieftan, and chose Christianity for utilitarian purposes. Personal
conversion had no priest aid; preached gospel & destroyed his old pagan altars and built up schools and
monasteries
37. St. Wenceslaus –became duke at age 14, killed by own brother
38. St. Stephen of Hungary (Otto III) –brought the faith to the Church & State of Hungary