Chapter 3
According to Kennedy religion is a way of living based on a decision to believe on a particular world
view.
-Practice before theory.
1)why is a Eucharistic meal central to Christian practice?
2)why is it often called a “sacrificial” meal?
The Ghent Alterpiece.
Baptism – a new creation. Going down in the water, dying with Christ and being reborn with Christ.
Why did Jesus had to be baptised if he is divine?
1. Jesus being symbolic representing the Jewish high priest. All are initiating as high priest
following what Jesus did.
Christians were being pushed out from the synagogues from Jews – by the end of the first century.
Because of Paul it was the gentiles who were excluding themselves.
There were some institutions developing in some churches, but in only some.
Two debates between two groups:
One group following the Jewish calendar: eastern should be on the day Jesus was dead (?!)
The Roman calendar: on the day of the equinox, on a Sunday.
Orthodox means thinking right – they wanted people to think what bishops thought.
The number of gospels is 4 and it is the right number. 4 corners in the world,4 stages in heaven etc.
Marcian was going x10 leaving behind the Jew’s tradition. He wanted to cut the Matthew’s gospels out
totally. He wanted to have a purified Luke and Mark because they focus mainly on gentile population.
They are both preaching the idea of a universal religion meaning not only talking to Jews.
The true God was completely removed from the world and there was a lesser God (thE God of the Jews)
who created the world. Jesus was a messenger of the true God not this lesser God. He’s not interested
on resurrection. Jesus is totally divine – so Jesus never suffered on the cross, he never came to Earth he
was just divine. It wasn’t clear why he was wrong.
Why keeping the Hebrew bible? Why emphasising the Jesus death and resurrection was important?
Gnostic Christian (gnosis –knowledge) – they are both rejecting the resurrection of Jesus. That’s all they
have in common.