Religious Studies 35: Unit 2 Study Notes
Faith is the human response which initiates and develops a relationship with God.
Sacred Scripture, or the Bible, is inspired Word of God. Primarily, it teaches religious truth.
The fall of Adam and Eve shows us that human choice can lead us to sin.
Sin: turning away from God, ouIrselves, and others
Covenant: the binding agreement between two parties that spells out conditions and obligations of each party.
Elements of covenant are:
1. The preamble
2. The historical prologue
3. The submission
4. The witnesses
5. The blessings and curses
Call stories are Biblical stories where God calls people and imparts them on a mission.
Parts of the call story are:
1. Confrontation with God
2. Introductory speech
3. Imparting of a mission
4. Objection by prophet-to-be
5. Reassurance by God
6. The sign
Prophets are the first to hear God’s message and become God’s spokesperson, are called to mediate between God and
the people, and need to convince people that they are sent by God. When people stray from the covenant, God sends
prophets to call them back.
Vocation is a call from God which we all receive. Some are called to the single life, others to the married life, and others
to the religious life or priesthood. Vocation can also be considered in the context of a career that we are called to by
God to fulfill our purpose.
The Ten Commandments are also known as the “Ten Words” or the “Decalogue”
Incarnation – the belief that God took on flesh to live among us. In the words of the Gospel John, “the Word made
flesh”
Hermeneutics is interpreting texts to understand what they mean for us today.
Exegesis is the analysis of texts in their original context.
The Gospel is a literary form that describes the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Gospels are not biographies, but
testimonies of faith.
Matthew’s portrait of Jesus shows him as the “ultimate teacher”.
Grace – God’s gift of self, offered to all people.
The way we show our love for God is by loving our neighbor, ourselves, and creation.
The Aramaic term that Jesus uses for Father in the Sermon on the Mount is Abba.
The Beatitudes, contained in the Sermon on the Mount, are a summary of Jesus’ teachings. In them, the poor, the
mourners, the hungry are all happy because our generous God is good.
Four exhortations of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (7:1-12):
1. Not to judge
2. Not to give sacred things to dogs
3. Ask and you shall receive
4. Follow the Golden Rule
Eschatological means pertaining to the end of time, in the sense of its fullness.
Eschatological ethics insists that we can already live what God will realize fully at the end of time.
Disciple refers to any follower of Jesus. Apostle refers to his inner group of twelve, which later also included Paul.
Pentecost, also known as the birthday of the Church, is when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and the finally
began the work of the Church – baptizing and preaching the Good News of Jesus.
The Church is made up of the baptized followers of Jesus.
Paul, formerly known as Saul, underwent a conversion and became one of the great Christian leaders in the early
Church. He became responsible for bringing the gospel to the gentiles, or non-Jews. He is the first-century’s most
published theologian.
Conversion – a radical transformation of values, a turning around, that takes place at an intellectual level as an
awareness and openness to truth and true knowing, at the moral level when I recognize myself as free and responsible,
and at the religious level where my pre-occupation with myself is taken over with the love of God and love for others.
St. Paul’s favourite term for the Church is the Body of Christ.
The image of the Church as the People of God has its roots in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Saying the Church is Holy means that the Church is graced by God. The Church is established by Jesus, guided by the
Holy Spirit in beliefs in morals, with the purpose of bringing people back to God. As members of the Church, sinners, we
do not make the Church holy.
The love that underlies the Church is the love of God who became human.
The Catholic Church sees both Tradition and Scripture as sources of revelation.
The following groups are responsible for continuing the moral tradition of the Church:
The faithful
Theologians
Priests and pastoral workers
The teaching authority of the Church
The teaching authority of the Church, or the magisterium, refers to all bishops, in union with the Pope.