Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Religion

Christianity Becomes the Official State Religion (380 AD)

In the year 380, Emperor Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessaloniki, making Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Church became protected by law and the Emperor. From that moment, the Church became highly influential in social life and politics.

The New Status of the Church and Societal Impact

Protected by the emperors with economic and legal aid, Christianity became deeply integrated into the structures of society:

• The calendar was Christianized: Sunday became the official day off, and important Christian holidays were celebrated.
• Laws contrary to Christian morality were amended: The banning of gladiator fights and infanticide; the death sentence by crucifixion was

The truth of myths is as follows:

• Myths aim to provide a horizon of meaning for building a valid existence. They may offer scientific or historically verifiable truths. For example, the vocation of Mohammed is not only meaningful but also a verifiable historical narrative.
• In the history of religions, myths express sacred truths. Their value depends on how this truth affects those who proclaim or hear it. From this perspective, myths are not formally different from legends or stories. The differences lie in their structure and influence.

Differences Between Myths, Legends, and Stories

Most Important Rituals

• Spells: Their purpose is to avert dangers.
• Rites of Passage: These ensure the future success of important life moments.
• Sacrifice: Individuals

Christianity and Medieval European Society

The Church's Influence in the Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, Christianity was the main religion in Europe. The Church affected all aspects of life. The rites of baptism, marriage, and death were carried out by the clergy.

Christians were expected to attend church and pray daily.

The Church held significant social, political, and economic power:

• Monasteries and bishops owned vast amounts of land.
• The Church employed servants and laborers to manage its properties.
• Farmers paid the tithe, which was a tenth of their harvest, to the Church.
• The Church organized large armies to fight for the religion during the Crusades.

Romanesque Art: Faith and Symbolism

Romanesque art aimed at spreading the religion and connecting... Continue reading "Medieval Art and Faith: Romanesque to Gothic Styles" »

Religious and Philosophical Theology

Theology (Faith and Reason)

St. Thomas Aquinas established a distinction between religious truths of the Bible's revelation, which are the subject of faith, and philosophical truths that are the subject of reason. Claims like Jesus' death and resurrection cannot be known or proven by reason; they can only be believed and are the object of faith.

Aquinas, following Aristotle, holds that truths like God's existence and other aspects regarding the essence and attributes of God are capable of proof or rational demonstration. Hence, the possibility of a purely rational theology that serves as an introduction to the revealed or religious. The difference between them lies not in the object, which is the same for both... Continue reading "Theology: Faith, Reason, and Existential Perspectives" »

La Celestina de Fernando de Rojas

La Celestina fue escrita a finales del siglo XV por Fernando de Rojas. Es una historia de amor que transcurre en una ciudad cuyo nombre se desconoce.

Argumento de la Obra

• Enamoramiento de Calisto: Tras un rechazo inicial de Melibea, Calisto se enamora perdidamente.
• Intervención de la alcahueta: Aconsejado por su sirviente Sempronio y con la oposición de su otro sirviente, Pármeno, Calisto recurre a la vieja alcahueta Celestina para que medie en la relación.
• Hechizo de Melibea: Celestina consigue entrar en la casa de Melibea y logra dejarle un ovillo empapado con una poción mágica. Cuando menciona a Calisto, Melibea lo rechaza.
• Desenlace trágico: Melibea llama a Celestina para planear el encuentro con Calisto.

Divine Attributes and the Trinity

God is provident, prescient, and creative, and is omnipresent. We have previously stated that eternity and necessity are derivations of immutability, as they proceed from God, who is immutable. In contrast, being created is essentially a mixture of being and nonbeing.

God is one nature, divine, comprising three persons equal in nature and duration (commutable and co-eternal). They differ only in the order of precedence: the Son proceeds from the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. This is called the Divine Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Therefore, happiness is the love of God.

3. The Creation of the World

For St. Augustine, the world is not subsistent but must have a beginning.... Continue reading "St. Augustine's Theology: Divine Nature and Creation" »

Medieval Prose Fiction in Portugal

Prose fiction encompasses two narrative cycles: the Matter of Britain and the Matter of Troy, as well as several hagiographic texts (lives of saints).

Matter of Britain

The Matter of Britain (Breton cycle) consists of texts based on the story of Brittany that circulated throughout Europe from the 12th to the 18th centuries. The stories revolve around King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Three main parts are preserved:

• Joseph of Arimathea: Tells the story of the Jew who collected the blood of Christ in the chalice used at the Last Supper (the Holy Grail), and God's mandate to take it to Britain.
• Merlin: Presents the prophecies of this magician, announcing the arrival of new times and a knight who will

Mission of Jesus

The Gospel demonstrates that Jesus was not indifferent to the needs of the vulnerable. He fought against hypocrisy, the abuse of power, and the profit motive of the wealthy. He denounced indifference toward the suffering of the oppressed, noting that those responsible will be held accountable when He returns to judge the world. Jesus proclaimed an essential equality in dignity among all human beings, both men and women. In His message, we find the conception of the person as a social being, correlating with criteria based on solidarity, justice, and charity. Gospel values relate to the origin and nature of authority, which must be exercised as a service to the common good.

Mission of the Church

The Church, continuing the mission... Continue reading "The Social Doctrine of the Church: Principles and Values" »

Biography of St. Teresa of Ávila

Her life spans from her childhood to the founding of the first convent of St. Joseph of Ávila in 1562. It is known that during her childhood, she had a fondness for chivalric romances and the lives of saints. In 1531, her father interned her as a pupil in the Augustinian convent of Santa María de Gracia, but the following year she had to return home due to a serious illness. Determined to take the Carmelite habit against her father's will, in 1535, she left home to go to the Convent of the Incarnation. She received the habit the following year and made her profession in 1537.

Around that time, she entered a period of distress and illness, which lasted until 1542. During these years, she confessed that she learned... Continue reading "Religious Transformation and Conflict in 16th Century Europe" »