Christianity

Old Testament

The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh. Original in Hebrew and Aramaic.

• Torah (“law” or “teaching”) or Pentateuch, the first five books.
  • Genesis
  • Exodus
  • Leviticus: another body of Mosaic law
    • Condemns child sacrifice to Moloch, a Canaanite god
  • Numbers: another body of Mosaic law
  • Documentary hypothesis: Pentateuch was compiled from four preexisting, independent works.
• The Nevi’im (“prophets”) of narrative histories: Joshua, Judges, Samuel I & II, Kings I & II, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiah, and the Twelve Prophets.
  • 2 Samuel 18 David’s third son Absalom revolts and dies in the Battle of the Wood of Ephraim.
  • Jeremiah 31 I will make a new covenant
  • Isaiah 2:4 Turn swords into plowshares.
  • Isaiah 14:12 How you have fallen from heaven, morning star (Lucifer).
• The Ketuvim (“writings”)
  • Sifrei Emet, the poetic books: Psalms, Jobs, Proverbs
  • Five Megillot or Five Scrolls: Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther.
  • Histories: Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles I & II
• The Talmud comprises the Mishnah (200 CE), and the Gemara legal commentaries (500 CE). These document the Oral Torah, which Jews believe was given to Moses on Biblical Mount Sinai and passed down orally. Includes Gematria, assigning standard numerical values to each letter.

Genesis

• 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the Earth.
  • 1:17 you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
  • 1:28 Be fruitful and multiply is repeated often.
• 2 God forms Adam from dust and Eve from Adam’s rib. Garden of Eden. The Tigris and Euphrates flow from the garden. The serpent, fig leaf, original sin, and the fall of man.
  • 2:2 Sabbath: on the seventh day he rested.
  • 2:15 God put Adam in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
  • 2:24 a man… is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
  • 3:19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food… dust you are and to dust you will return.
• Cain and Abel. God accepts a sacrifice of meat but not Cain’s sacrifice.
  • 4:9 am I my brother’s keeper?
  • 4:10 Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.
• Genealogies of Genesis: Kenites from Cain, and descendants of Seth the third son of Adam to Noah. This Anno Mundi sets the age of the earth at 6,000 years.
• 6 Noah. Noah’s Ark, the flood
  • 9:4 you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.
  • 9:6 Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed.
  • 9:11 God’s covenant with Noah symbolized by the rainbow.
• Tower of Babel
• 11 Abraham, Noah’s descendant, migrates with his wife Sarah from Mesopotamia to Canaan. Abraham fathers Ishmael through Sarah’s handmaiden Hagar.
  • 12 I will make you into a great nation.
  • 15:18 God’s covenant with Abraham: to your descendants I give this land.
  • 17:11 Covenant of circumcision.
  • God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah. Angels save Lot but Lot’s wife looks back and turns into a pillar of salt. Lot’s daughters get him drunk and give birth to ancestors of Moabites and Ammonites.
  • 18:20 I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me.
  • Abraham and Sarah go to the Philistine town of Gerar pretending to be siblings. The King of Gerar takes Sarah for his wife, but God makes him return her.
  • God gives Sarah her son Isaac and she drives Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness, but God saves them and promises to make them a great nation.
• Binding of Isaac. God tests Abraham. Isaac’s wife Rebekah bears the twins Esau, father of the Edomites, and Jacob.
• Jacob founds the Twelve Tribes of Israel as his twelve sons, after buying Esau’s birthright. Rebekah deceives Isaac into giving Jacob the superior blessing. Jacob wrestles with an angel and becomes Israel. The patriarchs are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
• Joseph is Jacob’s favorite, getting special gifts. His other sons sell Joseph into slavery in Egypt. Joseph interprets the pharaoh’s dream and helps Egypt avoid famine, and the Israelites settle in the land of Goshen in Egypt.

Exodus

• 1 A new pharaoh enslaves and murders Jews. There is minimal historical basis for this account.
• 2 Moses is adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter, kills an Egyptian, flees to Midian in the south desert, and marries Zipporah.
• 3 Burning bush. God appears to Moses on Mount Horeb.
  • 3:14 I am that I Am. From which derives Ehyeh and YHWH or the Tetragrammaton, pronounced Yahweh or Jehovah.
• 14:22 Crossing the Red Sea. the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground
• 19:5 Covenant with Moses: you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples.
• 20:2-17 Ten Commandments (Ethical Dialogue)
• Covenant Code, part of the Law of Moses
  • 20:23 You shall not make gods of silver
  • 31:16 Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever.
• 32:19 Golden calf. And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.
• 34:10 I am making a covenant with you.
• 34:11-26 Ten Commandments, Ritual Decalogue or the small Covenant code.

Deuteronomy

• 5:6-21 Ten Commandments (Ethical Dialogue)
• 12:3-4 The name of God should not be erased. Sacred names include Adonai (Lord) and El or Elohim (god).
• 25:4 Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.
• 33:4 Moses commanded us the Torah…

Judaism

Kings of Israel

• 1020 BC. King Saul allegedly founds the United Kingdom of Israel, unifying the tribes against foreign threats.
• 1000 BC. King David is the third. God grants him an eternal kingdom. He commits adultery with Bathsheba and kills her husband Uriah the Hittite.
• 962 BC. King Solomon builds Solomon’s Temple or the First Temple on the Temple Mount. He worships Ashtoreth or Astaroth goddess of Zidon, Chemosh god of Moab, and Northwest Semitic goddess Astarte.
• King Ahab is the seventh. His wife Jezebel worships Canaanite gods Baal and Asherah, and also kills Naboth for his vineyard. Prophet Elijah preaches against Baal and Beelzebub or Baal-zebub, god of the Philistine city of Ekron.
• King Jehu is the tenth. He has Jezebel devoured by dogs.
• Josiah is the 16th.
• 589 BC Babylonian captivity
• Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel foresee a future Messiah (anointed Jewish king) to restore the House of David.

300 BC. The Dead Sea Scrolls in the West Bank include the oldest surviving books and non-canonical Second Temple Judaism.

200 CE. Septuagint. Ptolemaic Kingdom Jews translate the first five books of the Hebrew Bible to Koine Greek.

1008. The Masoretic Text is the authoritative version of the Hebrew Bible. Leningrad Codex is the oldest complete version.

Customs

• Orthodox Jews strictly adhere to halakha or Jewish law and only allows men as religious leaders.
• Conservative Jews are less conservative than Orthodox Jews.
• Reform Jews focuses on ethics over ritual.
• The Torah Law of Moses or Mosaic Law has 613 commandments.
  • dietary laws (Kashrut) and kosher food.
    • parve (“neutral”) food contains no meat or dairy.
    • Challah is made from dough where a portion has been set aside as a dough offering. Usually braided.
  • Shabbat observance including Shabbat meals. Shalom Aleichem welcomes angels.
  • brit milah (covenant of circumcision) is the most important.
• Bar mitzvah (boys) at 13 and bat mitzvah (girls) at 12 is the coming-of-age ritual, after which children are responsible for their actions. Give money as a multiple of 18, which is the gemmatria of chai (life).
• Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year around September. The High Holy Days or Yamim Noraim (days of awe) are Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Apples and honey. Pomegranates, carrots (homophone of increase), sweet foods, and light foods symbolize prosperity.
• Passover around April: serve Matzah (unleavened bread) since leavened bread (chametz) is forbidden.
• Yom Kippur (day of atonement) is the holiest day. Fasting from food, water, sex, washing, leather shoes, perfumes during the day. God inscribes each person’s fate in the Book of Life on Rosh Hashanah, and seals the fate on Yom Kippur.
• The Three Weeks or Bein ha-Metzarim (between dire straights) mourn the seige of Jerusalem, culminating in the Tisha B’Av, the destruction of the Second Temple and exile from Jerusalem. It is considered a time of misfortune.
• Hanukkah celebrates the recovery of Jerusalem in the Maccabean Revolt. Each day lights another candle of the menorah. Play dreidel games.
• Shulchan Aruch (1563) by Joseph Karo is the standard compilation of halakha.
• Jewish prayer services on Saturdays, Mondays and Thursdays cover a cycle of 54 parashahs, weekly Torah portions.

Conflicts cause waves of Jewish migration to Europe, where they develop distinct Minhag (customs).

• Ashkenazi Jews are the largest community, descending from German, French, and Slavic communities, speak Yiddish, play klezmer folk music.
• heartier Eastern European dishes
  • knish bread snacks with savory filling
  • latke fried potato pancake eaten for Hanukkah
  • schmaltz rendered chicken fat and informally excessive sentimentality.
• Sephardic Jews descend from Spanish communities with more Mediterranean influence.

Bible

The New Testament consists of gospels and other books. The gospels are written by the four evangelists. The first three are the synoptic gospels, which are very similar.
Textual criticism. The two-source hypothesis is that Matthew and Luke were based on Mark (Marcan priority) and a Q source derived from oral gospel traditions.

• 30 CE. Jesus lives during Roman rule in Israel.
• Mary Magdalene witnessed Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.

Matthew

• 1:1 Genealogy of Jesus through his father Joseph.
• 1:20 Annunciation to Joseph.
• 2:1 Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem of Judea. A star rises. Herod sends three Magi with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They are warned in a dream not to return to Herod.
  • 2:13 Flight to Egypt after an angel warns the holy family in a dream.
  • 2:16 Massacre of the innocents by Herod
  • 2:13 Return to Nazareth in Israel.
• 5-7 Sermon on the Mount is the most cited chapter. Includes the Lord’s Prayer and the Antitheses.
  • 5:29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away.
  • 5:39 If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
  • 6:19 where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. No man can serve two masters… Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
  • 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
• 18 Parable of the Lost Sheep
• 20:1 Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard: the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard… when the first came, they thought they would receive more.
• 22:21 Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.
• 25:13 Parable of the Ten Virgins. Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
• 27 Crucifixion
  • 27:24 Pilate washes his hands of Jesus’s blood.
  • 27:52 Dead saints come back to life.
• 28:9 Resurrection
  • 28:16 Great Commission for the disciples to spread the gospel.

Mark is Peter’s interpreter. Probably the first gospel written, with more hard readings, unique details, and examples of editorial fatigue. More colloquial language.

• Life
  • 1:9 Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the Jordan River.
  • 1:12 Temptation of Jesus by the devil in the desert. Arranged by the Spirit. Jesus fasts for forty days and forty nights.
  • 1:17 Calling the first disciples: Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Calling of Matthew (2:13). Commissioning the Twelve (3:13).
  • 6:14 Beheading of John. King Herod Antipas grants his daughter Salome a wish, and asks for John the Baptist’s head on a platter, since John had criticized her mother Herodias’s illegitimate marriage to Herod.
  • 8:31 Jesus predicts his death.
  • 9:2 Transfiguration of Jesus on a mountain with radiant glory.
  • 11:1 Triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
• Doctrine
  • 2:27 Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath.
  • 11:15 Jesus and the Money Changers.
  • 11:27 Authority of Jesus questioned.
• Miracles
  • Healing: Capernaum’s synagogue (1:21), Peter’s mother-in-law (1:29), at sunset (1:32), a leper (1:35), paralytic at Capernaum (2:1), man with withered hand (3:1), blind mute (3:20), exorcism of Legion (5:1), raising of Jairus’ daughter (5:21), by the fringe of his cloak (6:53), deaf mute (7:31), with spit (8:22), possessed boy (9:14).
  • 4:35 Calming the storm.
  • 6:30 and 8:1 Feeding the multitude.
  • 6:45 Jesus walks on water
  • 11:12 Cursing the fig tree.
• Crucifixion.
  • 14:10 Bargain of Judas
  • 14:12 Last Supper and Eucharist.
  • 14:27 Denial of Peter.
  • 14:32 Agony in the Garden.
  • 14:43 Kiss of Judas.
  • 14:46 Arrest of Jesus.
  • 14:53 Sanhedrin trial of Jesus.
  • 15:1 Pilate’s court.
  • 15:15 Flagellation of Christ.
  • 15:16 Mocking: soldiers put him in a scarlet robe and crown of thorns, saying ‘Hail, King of the Jews’.
  • 15:21 Simon of Cyrene carries the cross of Jesus.
  • 15:24 Soldiers cast lots for his clothes.
  • 15:27 Two robbers are crucified with Jesus.
  • 15:34 Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
  • 15:40 His mother Mary and Mary Magdalene watch.
  • 16 The empty tomb.

Luke is Paul’s companion.

• 1:39 Visitation of Mary, pregnant with Jesus, to Elizabeth, pregnant with John the Baptist.
• 2:22 Presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem.
• 2:41 Finding in the Temple.
• 6:43 every tree is known by its fruit.
• 10:7 the laborer deserves his wages
• 10:30 Parable of the Good Samaritan
• 15:20 The Prodigal Son: his father saw him, and had compassion.
• 16:19 Parable of the rich man and Lazarus depicts torment in flame.
• 24:51 Ascension of Jesus.

John is largely distinct.

• 2:1 Wedding at Cana is the first miracle of Jesus.
• 8:7 let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.
• 8:10 go, and sin no more
• 11:1 Raising of Lazarus from the dead.
• 13:1 Jesus washes the disciples’ feet
• 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another.
• 19:17 “They” had Jesus carry the cross, unlike the synoptic gospels.

Other books

• The Acts of the Apostles, about the founding of the church.
  • 2:1 Pentecost.
• 13 Pauline epistles.
  • Ephesians 2:8: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith… not by works.
• Epistle to the Hebrews.
• 7 general epistles.
• The Book of Revelation.
  • 12:7 War in Heaven describes Satan as a fallen angel cast to hell.
• John the Baptist baptizes him in the Jordan River.
• Saint Peter the Apostle is the first pope, or bishop of Rome.

Historicity and textual criticism

• criterion of dissimilarity: sayings attributed to Jesus derive from earlier Jewish traditions, revisionism by the early Christian Church, and true accounts.
• Lectio difficilior potior (“the more difficult reading is stronger”). Scribes would smooth over grammar and replace hard words, unusual sayings, and contradictions.
• criteria of contextual credibility, multiple attestation, embarrassment.

New Testament manuscripts

• Novum Testamentum Graece is a critical edition in the original Koine Greek.
• 200 CE. Papyri written in Alexandrian text-type are the closest to the original text. Monasteries had caches storing imperfect and incomplete copies which could be washed, burned, or shelved. Chester Beatty Papyri, Oxyrhynchus Papyri, and Bodmer Papyri.
• 350 CE. Four great uncial codices written in capital letters on parchment or vellum: the Codex Vaticanus in the Vatican Library, the Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Alexandrinus in the British Library, and the Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
• Vulgate Bible (382) is the standard Latin translation in the Middle Ages.
• 900 CE. Minuscules are written in cursive Greek minuscule script, usually on parchment. Minuscule 1739, 33, and 892 are important.
• 900 CE. Lectionaries are collections of scripture readings.
  Tyndale Bible (1526) is the first English translation from classical texts and the first in English to be mass-produced.
  The Church of England standardizes on the Great Bible (1539) and the Book of Common Prayer (1549).
  Geneva Bible (1560) is more forceful and vigorous.
  King James Version (KJV or KJB) (1611) uses older language: appeareth, verily, his instead of its for objects. It does not have explanatory notes and uses more Latin.
  Commentaries: Matthew Henry (1710).
  New International Version (NIV) (1978) is the best-selling translation in America.
  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) (1989) uses critical editions.

Catholicism

Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucharist_in_the_Catholic_Church

Elder and Presbyter are historical church leaders.

Seven Sleepers of Ephesus: seven young Christians refuse to recant Christianity and instead sleep in a cave. Emperor Decius orders the cave sealed, and they awaken two centuries later when the cave is reopened.

1088 Pope Urban II creates the Roman Curia, the administrative institution of the Church. The College of Cardinals includes all 239 cardinals, of whom 131 below age 80 can vote in the papal concave that elects the pope. The pope appoints cardinals for life.

• An archbishop leads an ecclesiastical province.
• A bishop leads a diocese and is a successor to the apostles.
  • The Pope leads the Latin Church, a church sui iuris.
  • The Pope also leads the Holy See, the Diocese of Rome, a local particular church.
  • The Eastern Catholic Churches are the other 23 churches sui iuris (“of one’s own right”) with 18 million members.
• A parish priest leads a parish from a parish church. Celebrate Mass and administer sacraments. Ordained by a bishop.
  • A curate is an assistant parish priest.
  • A deacon assists a priest. Transitional deacons plan to become a priest, while permanent deacons can marry.
• A rector holds an office over a church building or organization.
• A vicar represents a rector, typically a bishop.
• An abbot is the head of an abbey or monastery.

The four major basilicas outrank all other churches.

• The archbasilica of St. John Lateran is the mother church, the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, and was associated with the Pope, the Patriarch of the West
• St. Peter’s Basilica was associated with the Patriarch of Constantinople.
• St. Paul Outside the Walls was associated with the Patriarch of Alexandria
• St. Mary Major was associated with the Patriarch of Jerusalem

Customs

• A sacrament is an important Christian rite.
  • Baptism
  • Penance or confession
  • Eucharist or Holy Communion
  • Confirmation affirms faith.
  • Marriage or matrimony
  • Holy Orders ordain clergy: bishop, priest (presbyter and pastor), and deacon. A minister is anyone who performs a ministry or service, including nonordained lay ministers.
  • Anointing of the Sick or unction.
• The sign of the cross is a ritual blessing.
• The Rosary prayer is recited using prayer beads. Includes the Lord’s Prayer, the mysteries (meditations on the life of Jesus), the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be.

Liturgical calendar: holidays

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Roman_Calendar
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Advent
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Christmas
  • 1823. Twas the Night Before Christmas
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Christian_culture
• Epiphany day celebrates the visit of the Magi and the baptism of Jesus.
• Pre-Lent for the three weeks before Lent. Ends in a three-day Carnival. Shrove Tuesday is the last day: burn the previous Holy Week palms.
• Lent is a 40-day period of penance and fasting. Abstain from the Lenten sacrifice like sugar, alcohol, or profanity during Lent.
  • Ash Wednesday is the first day. Wear palm ash on the forehead as a sign of repentance.
  • Holy Week is the last week.
    • Palm Sunday is the first day. Commemorates Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem before his crucifixion.
    • Holy Wednesday commemorates the Bargain of Judas.
    • Maundy Thursday commemorates the Washing of the Feet (Maundy) and Last Supper.
    • Good Friday is the crucifixion. Begins the three day Paschal Triduum.
    • Holy Saturday is the last day. Celebrates the Harrowing of Hell.
    • Easter Vigil after sunset.
• Easter Sunday around April celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. Easter Bunny and Easter egg hunt.
• Pentecost around June. Celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks. 49th day after Easter.
• Ordinary Time outside Christmas and Easter. Green liturgical color.
  • Feast of Saints Peter and Paul on June 29.
  • Feast of the Transfiguration on August 6.

Doctrine

• Trinity: God is a unity with three consubstantial hypostases (aspects) of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• Seven deadly sins or cardinal sins: pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth
• Seven virtues: theological virtues (love, faith, hope) and cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude).
• Incarnation: Jesus was fully divine and fully human in hypostatic union.
• Second Coming

The Second Vatican Council in 1965 reforms the church (“aggiornamento”). All 2,900 bishops were invited and 2,400 attended. It makes the church more collegial and inclusive and less clerical, including allowing some use of vernacular instead of Latin.

Pope Francis publishes the Episcopal Communion, which says that the Synod of Bishops participates in the ordinary magisterium, the authentic interpretation of the word of God. He publishes the Praedicate evangelium (2022) (“Preach the gospel”) apostolic constitution reforming the Roman Curia. It was developed by the Council of Cardinal Advisers. The synod on synodality: communion, participation and mission in 2023 has 365 members: 75% bishops elected from the bishops’ conferences, and lay people and women chosen by Pope Francis.

Protestantism

Church governance

• An Episcopal polity is hierarchical.
• A Presbyterian polity is governed by commitees of elders. Hierarchy of general assembly > synod > presbytery or classis > local church led by a session or consistory.
• A Congregational polity consists of independent churches.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elder_(Christianity)

Church of England or Anglican church.

• An incumbent holds a benefice, a tenured spiritual office.
  • A parson leads an independent parish church.
  • A priest in charge leads a parish on a short-term contract.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Anglican_church_music

1517. Protestant Reformation undermines the Holy Roman Emperor and the Catholic Church. Martin Luther’s 95 Theses denounces Catholic indulgences. Luther’s Small Catechism (1529).

• sola scriptura: Bible is the sole authority.
• sola fide: justification by faith alone.
• sola gratia: salvation by grace, not by merit.
• solus Christus: priesthood of all believers. Minsters are not needed for sacraments.
• soli Deo gloria: glory to god alone, not to saints.

Lutherans believe in the real presence of the body of Christ in the eucharist.

1522 Calvinism or Reformed Christianity. Believes that people are predestined to salvation or damnation.

• In the Affair of the Sausages, Swiss preacher Zwingli argues that the Bible allows eating meat during Lent. Zwingli further argues that the eucharist is a memorial of the sacrifice, not an actual sacrifice.
• 1535 Radical Reformation or Anabaptists believe in adult baptism.
• English Separatists dissented with the Church of England. Baptists believe in adult immersion baptism. Unitarians are nontrinitarian, believing that God is the creator and Jesus is not equal to God.

1738 Methodism founded by John Wesley and George Whitefield. Evangelical with open-air preaching.

• 1865. The Salvation Army organizes charity shops, homeless shelters, and humanitarian aid.

Tertullian

mennonite

136 Valentinus founds an early school of gnosticism, which emphasizes direct knowledge of the hidden divinity via esoteric insight over a flawed material life.

1980 Unification Church or Moonies by Sun Myung Moon pioneers sushi in America.