English 233:  Introduction to Western Humanities -- Baroque & Enlightenment

Study Guide on early Christianity (before Augustine)

Our reading on this topic is Matthews and Platt, The Western Humanities (3rd Edition), pp. 144-7.  (The sections are titled "The Life of Jesus Christ and the New Testament," "Christians and Jews," and "Christianity and Greco-Roman Religions and Philosophies.")  Our purpose in taking this up this set of readings is to acquaint ourselves with certain beliefs, episodes and theological concepts that play an important role in Saint Augustine's picture of universal history. You might want to print off a copy of this Study Guide and use it to take notes on as you work through the reading.  You will achieve a better understanding if you try to put things in your own words.  Your notes will also serve as a convenient source for review as examination time approaches.

Theological concepts that are integral to Augustine's picture of universal history

• What is the general meaning of "evangelion" (the origin of the term "evangelists")?  (You might want to look up the derivation of the English term "gospel" in your dictionary:  how does it relate to the Greek term?)

• Something to think about:  What are some features of the Christian message that caused them to use this term to describe it?

• What are the "synoptic gospels"?
  • Why are they called this?
  • Which gospel is not one of the "synoptic" gospels?
    • Why not?

• What important disputes among early Christians show up in the synoptic gospels?
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    • Something to think about:  How does one of these eventually become the basis for the doctrine of the Apostolic Succession that the Catholic Church relies upon in maintaining the authority of the pope?

• What is "theology"?

• What are some of the distinctive features of Paul's theology?

• What does one of these have to do with the Christian habit of referring to the Hebrew Bible as the "Old Testament"?

• What is a "canon"?
  • When was the basic Christian canon finally decided upon?

• Something to think about:  How was it decided what belonged to the canon and what did not?  Who decided?  How did they know?  What do you think?

 

• When was the Jewish canon decided upon?  (Cf. WH, p. 139.)

 

 

Episodes in the history of early Christianity that play an important role in Augustine's picture of universal history

• What was the missionary role of Paul ?  Take a little time to study Map 6.2 on p. 145.

 

• Luke's account of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (into person eventually known as "Saint Paul the Apostle") is to be found in Acts 9:1-31.  Notice how this is understood as an instance of advent. 
  • Something to consider:  Suppose this had never occurred.  What else would not have happened (unless of course it were accomplished in some other fashion)? 
    • For example:  would Augustine's life have taken the course it did, some 3 centuries later? 
    • What would you expect Augustine to understand as the providential role of this episode in universal history?  (What larger purpose was God accomplishing in bringing about the conversion of Paul?)

• When did the calendar dividing history into "BC" and "AD" come into being?  Who instituted this?  What postulate about the nature of history as governed by divine providence does it express?

• Something to think about:  Why would anyone who is not a Christian feel inclined to protest this scheme of dating (except as an arbitrary convention of convience)?

Relations between Jews and Christians in the early Christian era

• What are some specific features of theology that bear upon the interpretation of history that Christianity took over from Judaism?

• What are some important points of division between Judaism and Christianity that date from this period?

Relations between early Christianity and Greco-Roman Religions and Philosophies

• What are some elements in common between Christianity and some pagan religions/philosophies?

• Something to think about:  how do you think early Christians might defend themselves against their pagan philosophical contemporaries who urged them to accept that "we all mean basically the same thing, but are expressing it in different vocabularies"?