Quiz 2 Autumn 2020, answers PDF

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Gnosticism and Transhumanism...

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1. “What we call Christianity—and what we identify as Christian tradition—actually represents only a small selection of specific sources chosen from among dozens of others.” Discuss the significance of this. 2. Know what the following terms mean:

Nag Hammadi manuscripts – hidden gnostic texts Gnosticism – separation of divinity and the body Who was Irenaeus and what was his relationship to gnosticsm? “His greatest work is the massive fivevolume set of books Adversus Haereses, or Against Heresies, a refutation of the doctrines of Gnosticism.” Define “proto-orthodox” and why Tertullian is a “proto-orthodox” writer Early Christian movement which was the precursor of Christian orthodoxy ; “he was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature. He was an early Christian apologist and a polemicist against heresy, including contemporary Christian Gnosticism. ”

3. How does the discussion of Paul and Corinthians on pg 276 help you better understand Paul’s purpose in writing his letter to the Corinthians? [The heavenly body is still a body although in a different form and the human body dies] He is trying to separate the physical and holy bodies but emphasize that although one can be “resurrected”, what you do to your physical body affects your heavenly one. 4. Define the following:

Soteriology – the study of doctrines of salvation Docetism – “the doctrine, important in Gnosticism, that Christ's body was not human but either a phantasm or of real but celestial substance, and that therefore his sufferings were only apparent.” “Christology” – “the branch of Christian theology relating to the person, nature, and role of

Christ.” Who was he?

5. Discuss how the gnostics generally viewed the human body (277) “general disdain for the flesh”

6. Johnson describes a split about how the gnostics viewed the body. Discuss. The body and its desires are anti ethical therefore the more you “suppress physical appetites” the more in touch with the divine you are V.S. the body is “of no consequence” so it doesn’t matter how you treat it 7. How does this fact inform, improve your understanding of Paul’s statements about marriage vs chastity in Corinthians (pg 277) You should be chaste and unmarried but NOT married and chaste 8. Discuss at least two other ways that Paul in Corinthians contrasts sharply to the gnostic authors, like Timothy, for instance, according to Johnson (pg 278) Bishop must have 1 wife Women can only be saved by pro creation and setting an example to other women because of eve’s failure in the garden 9. Who was Thecla and what is important about her story? left her fiancé to be a chaste preacher but they try to get revenge so she dresses like a boy to escape. Jesus, “For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven.” Notes for CCD Reading Quiz, session 7 Christians do not like transhumanists Transhumanists believe in biological strategies that are focused on the mind and body Many early documents of Christianity were made illegal by Constantine (emperor) when Christianity became an official religion. Gnostic – the metaphysical is the true reality with the result that the physical, observable, corporeal aspect of life is denigrated. Something divine would not inhabit the physical world in a tangible sense (Jesus resurrection is a ghost not literal) Jesus did not suffer or sacrifice on the cross because a suffering dying deity was antithetical the ^ divine aspect left the body and the body was left to ask why he was forsaken Paul Pro pro-creation Women are subordinates to their husbands, husbands love their wives First Timothy Bishop must have 1 wife Women can only be saved by pro creation and setting an example to other women because of eve’s failure in the garden

Thecla story ^left her fiancé to be a chast preacher but they try to get revenge so she dresses like a boy to escape. Jesus, “For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven.”

Valentinus (pg 5) ^ most prominent gnostic teacher of the second century CE Separation of the sexes was a symptom of the devolution of the cosmos ^ So at first stage of redemption, the female would be given male form Montanist gnostic movement (same time as ^) Under the eponymous Montanus who taught w two women disciples The Spirit’s revelations did not discriminate based on gender Second century: The orthodox view won the battle over the body Transhumanism questions: “the central role of the body in defining humanity, the central role of the body in theology and Christology, the procreative process as a means of defining social and cultural roles for women, and the role of the body in establishing an authoritative structure in society.” Centrality of the human body Paul affirms the centrality of the body in life of the church but imagines it differently in the second coming Pastoral Epistles: Timothy and Titus: define church leadership through males who procreate and control the use of their own bodies as well as their families’ bodies. Pro-orthodox = the body is needed “human life cannot be separated from the corporeal existence, including life after death.” (Second century) Docetism heretical bc they didn’t believe Jesus suffered which would have destroyed the reasoning of the church for the present Christian discrimination The Body and women Women were important to the church during Paul’s time Women’s role diminished Systematic oppression by the orthodoxy The second-century battle for the body meets the transhumanist debate Orthodoxy – what you do to your body reflects your holiness Transhumanism – if gender is a hinderance, one should be able to choose their preferences...