Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Religion for Baccalaureate

The Middle Ages began in the 5th century with the fall of the Roman Empire and concluded in the 15th century with the Renaissance. In stark contrast to ancient philosophy, which primarily focused on the determination of the object, medieval philosophy centered its interest on God. Consequently, sacred truths revealed by God to humanity became the undisputed core from which all philosophical reflection had to emerge.

We can highlight three main periods:

• Patristic Philosophy: Early Christian Thought (1st-5th C.)

  This period refers to the early Christian thinkers and the Fathers of the Church who developed Patristic Philosophy. St. Augustine of Hippo represents the culmination of Patristic thought and Christian Platonism.

  St. Augustine of Hippo: Faith,

Political Models in Christian Culture

Political ideas within Christian culture can be articulated through three primary models:

• Caesaropapism: This model involves the state taking control of religion, concentrating both temporal and spiritual authority in the emperor. Historically, many popes, bishops, and priests were appointed by kings, making the feudal society dependent on civil authority.
• Hierocratic-Papal Model: Contrary to Caesaropapism, this model requires the absorption of political power by the Pope. Pope Gregory VII, in the late 11th century, was the first to act on this, establishing a theocratic situation. His intention was to reform church customs and place bishops under his direct authority.
• Secular Political Theories: Emerging in

Characteristics of Medieval Literature

Medieval literature is defined by theocentricism, where life and art are centered on man's relationship with God. The Church imposed a worldview where earthly suffering is rewarded with eternal life. Key features include:

• Public Reading: A reliance on oral resources and public dissemination.
• Educational Purpose: Literature served as a practical tool for moral and religious instruction.
• Cultural Mestizaje: The coexistence of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish cultures until the 15th century, when Christianity became the sole official religion.

Literary Sources

• Greco-Roman: Classical knowledge preserved in monasteries.
• Muslim: Influences such as Jarchas and oriental tales.
• Hebrew: Significant contributions from Jewish

Medieval Church Architecture Terms

Apse (Or apse apse)

Apse: A semi-circular shaped enclosure at the head of the nave in which a chapel, sacristy, room, or storage area might be located. The central apse refers to a small apse associated with an aisle of the church.

Flying Buttress

Flying buttress: An arch that transmits the load of vaults to a buttress located on the exterior of the building, allowing higher walls and larger windows.

Archivolt

Archivolt: A molding that serves as a decorative frame for the face of an arch.

Jamb (Jamba Dun)

Jamb: A vertical element or column detached from the sides of a wall that limits laterally a portal or door; it is the middle vertical part of a portal (also related to the parteluz).

Dome / Lantern (Cimborio)

Dome

Egyptian Architecture: Tombs and Temples

The mastaba tomb is a rectangular and trapezoidal structure. It comprises four parts: a well descending to the burial chamber where the deceased's coffin was placed; a single-story chapel for offerings of bread, beer, and incense; and a false door carved into the east wall, allowing the owner's soul free passage. This simulated door was decorated with a portrait of the owner and an inscription of their titles.

Pyramids were used to ascend to heaven and meet with the gods. They had three classes: staggered, layered, and ultimately regular.

During the New Kingdom (1554-1080 BC), pyramids were replaced by the hypogeum, a set of burial chambers hewn into rock. The relocation of the capital from Memphis to Thebes...

Quevedo's 'The Brevity of Life': A Neo-Stoic Reflection

Francisco de Quevedo's sonnet, "The Brevity of Life" (La brevedad de la vida), embodies a neo-Stoic philosophy that profoundly addresses moral issues. It reveals a core poetic theme for Quevedo: "birth is already dying."

Sonnet Analysis: Stanza by Stanza

First Quatrain: Life as a Fleeting Journey

The opening hendecasyllable line, "to live is to walk, short time," immediately recalls the biblical image of life as a journey. The word "day" here signifies the journey completed in a single day, further emphasized by the adjective "short." The second hendecasyllable introduces a vocative, Lico, and emphasizes complicity through the possessive "our": "Death is alive, Lico, in our lives." This highlights...

Gonzalo de Berceo: Pioneer of Castilian Poetry

Gonzalo de Berceo was the first poet to sign his name to Castilian texts, moving away from anonymity. His works were created in response to a Church plan for educational reform, aiming to convey Christian teachings through the vernacular language. His works are categorized into three types: hagiographic, Marian, and doctrinal.

Milagros de Nuestra Señora

His most important work is Milagros de Nuestra Señora (Miracles of Our Lady), where the narrator exalts the power of the Virgin Mary in the salvation of souls. The Virgin is described as a humanized figure who rewards, punishes, or provides relief to her devotees. This work is divided into two parts:

• Introduction: The narrator acts as the protagonist,

Argument for Divine Simplicity

1. Anything that has a metaphysical distinction between what it is and the attributes that characterize it first one way and then another is something that changes.
2. God does not change.
3. God does not have a metaphysical distinction between what it is and the attributes that characterize it first one way and then another.

Argument that Meaning is not Physical

1. All physical reality is underdetermined.
2. Meaning is not underdetermined.
3. Meaning is not physical.
4. If meaning is not physical, then meaning is not acquired through physical means.
5. Meaning is not acquired through physical means.

I.XI.18 Argument

1. No one says (nor should say) “let him be wounded worse, he is not yet cured” regarding the body.
2. The health of the body is like

The Kingdom's Meaning and Impact

Jesus preached about a transformed reality for Earth called the "Kingdom of God," offering a new reality for humans to experience heaven and God's presence of love and justice on Earth. This concept of social justice closely resembled Jewish law, but Jesus' message resonated more widely. Herbert McCabe even stated, "Jesus dies of being human."

During his time on Earth, Jesus' teachings about the "Kingdom of God" held profound implications for humanity. His parable (Matthew 13:36-43) explains this Kingdom as a separation between the good and the bad after death, concluding with, "He who has ears, let them hear." This emphasizes the potential for reformation; those who heed God's word can be included in the Kingdom,...

Saint Benedict and His Time: Benedict of Nursia

Patriarch of Western monks and founder of the Benedictine order. Born into a patrician family, he studied rhetoric, philosophy, and law in Rome. The evidence of his life, told by St. Gregory the Great in the second book of his Dialogues, is unreliable. It is said that at twenty, he fled to the desert of Subiaco, where a Roman monk imposed the monastic habit on him. Soon, he founded twelve monasteries. The fame of his holiness brought him the enmity of other neighboring priests, so he left Subiaco and settled at Monte Cassino, where he built a monastery on the ruins of an ancient pagan temple. Around the year 540, he wrote his famous Rule, which set humility, selflessness, and obedience as cornerstones...