W H O I S J E S U S C H R I S T ?

FINAL EXAM REVIEW

CHAPTER I – THE TRINITY (P.11-25)

• Terms:• Covenant – a personal and solemn contact between God

and man.• Doctrine – an official and authoritative teaching of the

Church based on Divine Revelation.• Nicene Creed – an official statement of beliefs, recited

at every Sunday Liturgy.• Monotheism – the belief in one God; the central belief of

Christians, Jews, and Muslims. • Divine Economy – God’s eternal plan of salvation

played out through history and climaxing with the mission of Jesus Christ.

CH. I

• Incarnate/Incarnation – the event in which the 2nd Person of the Blessed Trinity took on our human nature and became man.

• Filial – the relationship between the Father and the Son is a filial relationship.

• Beatitude – our ultimate goal; Eternal life and joy in the Presence of God.

• Messiah/Christ – “Anointed One”; the long-awaited and promised leader who was going to function as priest, prophet & king.

• Pentecost – the event during which the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Apostles and the Blessed Mother.

CH. I – ESSAY POSSIBILITIES

1. What does it mean to say that Catholics are Trinitarian? How are the three Divine Persons both united and distinct?

2. What is monotheism? How is it the basis of our faith?

3. What do the Gospels reveal about the relationship between Jesus and God the Father.

CH. II – DEVELOPMENT OF DOCTRINE (P. 27-39)

• Church Fathers – teachers and writers in the early Church who were influential for the spread of Christianity.

• Ecumenical Council – a worldwide meeting of the bishops of the Church with the Pope.

• Philosophy – the study of human reality through logical means.

• Council of Nicaea – an Ecumenical Council held in 325AD to combat the Arian heresy.

• Arianism – an early Christian heresy which denied the Divinity of Christ.

• Nestorianism - a Christological heresy which stated that Christ was divided into two Persons, one human and one Divine.

• Docetism – a Christological heresy which denied the humanity of Christ, reducing it to a mere disguise.

CH. II

• Monophysitism – a heresy which stated that Christ’s Divine Nature totally absorbed His human nature.

• Gnosticism – a heresy which denied salvation through Christ and advocated salvation through the attainment of “secret knowledge”.

• Council of Ephesus – an Ecumenical Council held in 431AD which affirmed the title of Theotokos (God-bearer) as applied to the Blessed Mother.

• Heresy – a denial of a truth which is essential to the Catholic faith.

• Substance/nature – what a thing is at its core (ex. Human being = humanity).

• Person – an individual substance/nature of a rational nature (soul w/intellect and will).

CH. II – POSSIBLE ESSAYS

1. What are some key doctrines expressed in the Nicene Creed?

2. How can the Blessed Trinity be a model for human relationships?

3. Demonstrate how God can be One in Three Persons.

4. What were the two main types of heresy facing the understanding of the Nature and Person of Christ in the first

few centuries of the Church?

CH. III – REVELATION (P.42-84)

• Free Will – the God given gift which allows us to choose between good and evil; it is properly “free” when it is directed toward God, the ultimate good.

• Oral Tradition – the preaching and teaching of the Apostles; vital to the life and growth of the early Church.

• Epistles – the New Testament letters, mainly of St. Paul, but also the Catholic Letters of Peter, John, James, & Jude.

• Evangelists – a title for the Gospel writers; Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

• Canon of Scripture – the official list of the books of the Bible; recognized as sacred due to their inspired quality.

• Non-Canonical – the writings which are not part of the Biblical Canon (ex. The Gnostic Gospels); they are rejected for several reasons: lack of association w/ an Apostle, not widely used in worship, & lack of a complete exposition of the truths of the faith.

CH. III

• Magisterium – the official and authoritative teaching office of the Church.

• Tradition – the handing on of the teaching of Christ from one generation to the next.

• Apostolic Succession – the unbroken line of bishops going back to the time of the Apostles which ensures the accurate handing on of the teachings of Christ.

• Infallibility – the charism of the Church (individuality to the Pope and to all bishops in union w/him at an Ecumenical Council) which guarantees accurate teaching “without error”.

• Ecumenism – the movement to restore unity among all Christians.

• Interreligious Dialogue – the Church’s efforts to build relationships w/ non-Christian religions (ex. Judaism, Islam, etc.).

CH. III – POSSIBLE ESSAYS

1. What roles do Tradition and creation play in God’s revealing himself to us?

2. Define Papal Infallibility. What are its roots? How is infallibility exercised? What kinds of things can the Pope declare infallibly? And, why is infallibility not

shocking, but rather, a common sense teaching of the Church?

CH. IV & V – JESUS’ DIVINE & HUMAN NATURES (P.87-114)

• Original Sin – the sin by which our original parents became subject to sin and death.

• Beatific Vision – the direct vision of God in His Heavenly Glory.

• Sanctify – “to make holy”; Christ’s human experience reveals that all of human experience is an opportunity to become holy.

• Scribes – religious officials & scholars of the Law of Moses.• Pharisees – Jewish religious party who emphasized a strict

adherence to the Law of Moses. • Sadducees – Jewish religious party characterized by its

strong commitment to the Temple. • Pluralistic – a society characterized by many different

ethnic, religious and cultural groups.

CH. IV

• Hypostatic Union – the union of Jesus’ human and Divine natures into one Divine Person.

1. What is meant by the hypostatic union in reference to Jesus?

2. What are some examples from the Scriptures of Jesus’ making God’s love visible to those he encountered and to us today?

3. What can we learn about the Kingdom of God through the parables?

4. Describe 2-3 specific examples of experiences by which Jesus sought to heal the tensions between certain groups in Israel.

What tension does each experience seek to resolve? And, why does Jesus spend so much time trying to resolve these tensions?

CH. VI – ECCLESIOLOGY (P. 115-132)

• Sacrament – a visible and efficacious sign of God’s invisible grace.

• Grace – a free gift of God’s Personal Presence dwelling within the soul.

• Liturgy – the official public prayer of the Church.• Evangelical Counsels – the vows of poverty, chastity &

obedience which characterize a priest’s or religious’ dedication to living a Christ-like life.

1. What is discipleship?

2. What are the four “marks of the Church”? Explain each.

CH. VII – DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON (P. 135-185)

• Conscience – the God-given internal sense of right and wrong.

• Steward(ship) – the human responsibility to care for and respect all creation.

• Immortal(ity) – Eternal Life w/God; human beings are made for immortality.

• Procreation – the gift of new, irreplaceable, and unrepeatable human life experienced within marriage and stemming from the love of husband and wife.

• Chastity – the virtue which governs human sexuality and strives for a total respect of the human person as “made in the image and likeness of God.”

CH. VII – POSSIBLE ESSAYS

1. How did Jesus promote the dignity of other people?

2. Explain how it is true that faith is both a gift from God and also rooted in human freedom.

Ch. VIII1. From what we witness of Mary in the Bible, how can she be a

mother for us today?

2. How does the Paschal Mystery demonstrate victory over death for Jesus and, ultimately, for us?

3. What is the Kingdom of Heaven? Please define it by providing 3-5 promises made by Christ to describe the Kingdom of Heaven. How do we experience the Kingdom here and now? What awaits us in the Kingdom after death? What awaits us on the Last Day?