THEO 1091 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Pharisees, Spiritual Gift, Inequality Of Bargaining Power
11 Jun 2018
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Acts of the Apostles
● Ascension
● First converts- disciples, Mary, Jesus’s brothers
● Polemic with Judaism
o The early Christians have a series of “arguments” about the right way of being
a follower of Jesus. Peter and John, and some of the other 12 Apostles
believed that anyone that wants to be considered a Christian must first
consider himself a Jew. They base this off the idea that Jesus himself was a
Jew (circumcised, followed the Jewish law, etc.) and since Christians want to
be like Jesus they should also follow Jewish law. Peter wants Christianity to
be a small sect of Judaism.
o In contrast, people like Paul believe that Christianity should be open to
anyone. He preaches to the Gentiles and was accepting of people that were not
circumcised and did not want to exclude non-Jews from Christianity. Paul
wants Christianity to be a standalone religion, separate from Judaism.
Galatians
● Who is Paul of Tarsus
o Born as a member of the Jewish Pharisee class
▪ Persecuted Christians
o Was converted to Christianity after a revelation from Jesus
o Went on to spread Christianity throughout the Roman world
● Should Christianity be a Jewish sect?
o Peter believes that it should be
▪ Jesus was a Jew, so Christians should live as he did - according to
Jewish law
o Paul disagrees
▪ Christianity should be open to all and the faithful need not live
according to Jewish law
▪ Law is there for those who do not know about God, but Jesus just
revealed himself so everyone should know
● Jewish law
o Law = sabbath, circumcision, and kosher food
o Logic behind adhering to Jewish law= Jesus was Jewish and they are
followers of Jesus, therefore they should do as he did
● Christ’s message
o
● Abraham vs. Jesus
o Abraham- first to believe in god, made righteous in God’s eyes
o God inspired Abraham to believe
o God gave Abraham his son Isaac, Isaac is considered a miracle because
Abraham’s wife, Sarah, is infertile
o Abraham’s loyalty is proved when he is willing to sacrifice Isaac because
God asked him to
o POINT= Abraham knew nothing of the Jewish law, he just had faith—this
is why God made covenant with Abraham
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