RELI 2001H Test 1

Authoritative collection of sacred texts (oral & written traditions finalized as normative)

Hebrew Bible; three parts: Torah (Law), Nevi’im (Prophets), Ketuvim (Writings)

Promise to Abraham: land, descendants, blessing

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), Joseph; covenant sign = circumcision

Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22)

YHWH (tetragrammaton), Adonai used instead of pronouncing the Name

Northern Kingdom conquered; covenant disobedience theme

Jerusalem Temple destroyed; shift from sacred place to sacred text

Greek translation of Hebrew Scriptures, 2nd century BCE

Ancient Hebrew/Aramaic texts (1st c. BCE), all Tanakh except Esther

Rabbinic teachings after 70 CE; Mishnah; “fence around the Law”

God as sole Creator; contrasts Babylonian Enuma Elish

Moses receives divine name YHWH

Passover established

Ten Commandments given at Sinai

Golden calf; cycle of disobedience → discipline → repentance → redemption

Exile explained as punishment for idolatry; metaphors include adultery and prostitution

“Anointed One”; redeemer who restores Israel and inaugurates God’s kingdom

Seen as Messiah and God’s self-revelation; Logos in John 1

Hebrew Tanakh reinterpreted as Old Testament

27 books, Koine Greek; includes Gospels, Acts, Epistles, Revelation

Matthew, Mark, Luke; “synoptic” = “seen together”; Two-Source Hypothesis; Q source

Determining what the text meant in its original context

Theory of interpretation; “what it means”

What the text directly says—its plain, historical, or narrative meaning.

How the passage points to Christ or the mysteries of faith.

How the passage instructs us on how to live—ethically and spiritually.

How the passage points to eternal realities—heaven, the final goal of life, and ultimate union with God.

Return to sources; emphasis on literal sense; critique of Catholic authority

This source describes God as anthropomorphic

This source depicts God as more remote and abstract, sometimes acting through angels, and believed to have originated in the northern kingdom of Israel, emphasizing themes of prophecy, the covenant between God and Israel.

This source is characterized by its distinct vocabulary, emphasis on Yahweh's covenant, centralization of worship at the Jerusalem Temple, and a theology that interprets Israel's history as a result of obedience or disobedience to God's law.

A theoretical source text within the Documentary Hypothesis for the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament), distinguished by its focus on ritual law, genealogies, and priestly matters, particularly the construction and operation of the Tabernacle and its sacrifices

One God (ousia), three Persons (hypostasis); Trinity clarified at Nicaea, Constantinople, Chalcedon

Affirmed Son one with Father; Holy Spirit’s divinity; filioque controversy

an early Christian heresy asserting that Jesus Christ was purely a spiritual being and only appeared to have a physical body, meaning his birth, suffering, death, and resurrection were illusory

a 4th-century Christian heresy that Jesus Christ was a created being, not eternal and co-equal with God the Father

Christian heresy teaching that Jesus Christ was born as a human and only became the divine Son of God at a particular point in his life, such as at his baptism or resurrection

the belief that Christ had a human body and soul but not a human rational mind; instead, the divine Logos (God's divine essence) replaced Christ's human mind

teaches that Jesus Christ is two distinct persons, a human one and a divine one, rather than a single unified person with two distinct natures (human and divine).

a 5th-century Christian heresy that claims Jesus Christ has only one nature, typically a divine one, with the human nature being absorbed or dissolved by the divinity

Born 570 in Mecca; united Arabs under Islam; final Prophet

Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina; start of Islamic calendar

First caliph after Muhammad’s death (632)

114 suras; Meccan (shorter, early), Medinan (longer, later); final revelation correcting earlier scriptures

Shahada (faith), Salat (prayer), Zakat (charity), Sawm (fasting), Hajj (pilgrimage)

Divine oneness; affirming God’s unity

Opposite of tawhid; associating creation with Creator (idolatry, Trinity)

“Struggle”; greater = inner struggle, lesser = defense of Islam

Traditions of Prophet’s sayings and actions

Customary practice based on Muhammad’s example

Qur’anic interpretation/commentary

Human-like traits in Qur’an interpreted metaphorically

Relationship between faith & understanding, belief & practice, scripture & tradition

Correct belief

Correct practice/action