THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST IN SCRIPTURE - VOCABULARY
Desire: The human innate longing for God
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"Despite everything, man, though but a small part of your creation, wants to
praise you. You yourself encourage him to delight in your praise, for you have
made us for yourself, and
"Our heart is restless until it rests in you." St. Augustine
Incarnation: A distinct belief of Christian faith;
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God taking on human flesh;
God entering humanity
Resurrection: The core belief of Christianity; Jesus rising from the dead
Thomas: The first person recorded in the Gospels to identify Jesus as God
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first named the "doubting Thomas", says "My Lord and My God!", after he sees
Jesus after His Resurrection.
The Church: The Body of Christ
Covenant: A sacred agreement
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Old Covenant-Old Testament
New Covenant-New Testament
Judaism: The first monotheists
Christianity: since Jesus was Jewish, the roots of Christianity are found within Judaism
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Monotheism: Belief in only one supreme God; Judaism, Christianity, Islam
Atheism: Belief in no God
Polytheism: Belief in many Gods
Pantheism: Belief that God and nature are the same
Theologian: Someone who studies God
Salvation: The extension of God’s forgiveness, grace, and healing
Holy Trinity: The central mystery of the Christian faith; one God in three persons
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God the father, the son and the Holy Spirit
Revelation: God’s self communication
Scripture: The wisdom of God revealed to us in words we can understand
Canon: The official list of inspired books in the Bible
Protoevangelium: The "first gospel" that God would send a Messiah and Redeemer
Gospel: "Good News"
Exegesis: "Leading out"
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The detailed study or explanation of a biblical book or passage
to bring out the author's intentions, purpose and meaning (message)
HOW TO INTERPRET SCRIPTURE
Literal
Refers to what the words mean as they were written
Fundamentalism
Spiritual
The second main sense of Scripture
Allegorical
Recognizing the significance of Christ in scriptural events
The crossing of the Red Sea is a sign of Christ’s victory
Moral
The Scripture teaches us how to live and act
Abraham is a model of faith for all generations
The Ten Commandments
Anagogical
The Greek word "to lead"
The Meaning of Scripture reminds us that the sacred words are eternal life
Contextual
Uses the interpretation of metaphors
BIBLE INFO:
There are Forty-Six books in the Old Testament
Pentateuch: The first five books of the Bible
Septuagint: "Seventy"
There are Twenty-Seven books in the New Testament
Synoptic: "One eye", Gospels seen with the same view: Mark, Matthew, and Luke
There are 3 readings from Scripture at Sunday Mass
Lectionary: The Scripture readings for Mass are gathered in this special book
The Bible: a library of books (73)
Canon: the Church’s official list of inspired books in the Bible
Biblical Truths: the promise of God’s love and salvation
Contextualism: Christian’s interpretation of Scripture Fundamentalism: interpret scripture
literally
Polytheism: belief in many gods
Monotheism: belief in one supreme God
Hebrew Scriptures-Old Testament: the 46 books of the Bible that contain the covenant of
Moses
Pentateuch, Torah: the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures
Old Covenant: the promise between God and God’s people
Genesis: "origins"; Creation stories; humankind is created in God’s image and all creation is
good
Exodus: Moses and the 10 Commandments
The 10 Commandments: the law that Moses gave the Israelites on Mt Sinai; the love and
respect for God and others
Yahweh: I AM
Passover: the feast commemorating the miraculous way God saved the Jews from death and
slavery in ancient Egypt
Religions with Origins to Abraham as The Patriarch: Judaism, Christianity, Islam
Christianity: developed from Judaism (remember Jesus was Jewish)
Sects of Christianity: Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant
Immaculate Conception: the belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus was conceived without
Original Sin; celebrated on December 8th.
Christian Scriptures-New Testament: the 27 books of the Bible that contain the life and
teachings of Jesus
Gospel: "good news"; the 4 books of the Christian Scriptures about the life and teachings of
Jesus
Synoptic Gospels: "one eye"; similar portraits of Jesus (Mark, Matthew, Luke)
Evangelists: Gospel writers who arranged their stories of the life, death, resurrection of Jesus
to best serve the needs of their audience.
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Matthew is the bridge connecting the old and new testaments of the Bible
emphasizing Jesus and the fulfillment of the Jewish Prophesies
Mark: the earliest and shortest Gospel written; focuses on the humanity and
suffering of Jesus
Luke: written by a Gentile author for a gentile audience focuses on Jesus as
the universal savior of the world
John: the last Gospel written; focuses on the divinity of Jesus as the Word of
God
Jesus: ‘God saves" Jesus is fully human and fully divine
Christ: messiah; divine nature of Jesus, anointed one, post resurrectional term
Infancy Narratives: accounts of the birth of Jesus; (Matthew and Luke)
Incarnation: God becoming human in Jesus; God's eternal Son assumed a human nature and
became human in Jesus Christ to save us from our sins; "taking on human flesh"
Revelation: God making himself known to us
Apostles: specifically chosen by Jesus by name to represent the 12 tribes of Israel
Peter: the Apostle Jesus chose to take on the leadership role after His ascension
Miracles: the saving works of Jesus, reveal God’s love and power, presence and goodness,
often lead to increase the faith of others
Kingdom of God: the rule or reign of God over the hearts of people and a new order of love
and service
Parables: the stories Jesus used to reveal the love and message of God to challenge listeners
to reflect on their own lives and love of God
Abba: was shocking to the contemporaries of Jesus when he used this term to address God;
‘my dear daddy’ in Aramaic
New Commandment: love one another
Paschal Mystery: the suffering, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus
Passion: the suffering and death of Jesus because of his deep profound, unconditional and
eternal love for us
Crucifixion: the sentence of death imposed by Pontius Pilate the Roman Governor
Resurrection: the core belief of Christianity
Ascension: Jesus' passage from humanity into divine glory in God's heavenly domain forty
days after his Resurrection.
Pentecost: 50 days after Jesus' Resurrection when the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles
and gave them the power to preach with conviction the message that Jesus is Risen and is
Lord!!
The Trinity: the central mystery of Christianity that there are three persons in One God; Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit
Communion of Saints: unity in Christ of all those He has redeemed in the Church in heaven
and earth
Evangelization: the sharing of the good news of Jesus Christ and the love of God with others
Sacrament: a visible sign of an invisible grace that brings about the spiritual reality it
represents. Jesus is the great sign of God's love; the Church for God's presence in the world
and the Seven Sacraments.
The Seven Sacraments: Effective Signs given to us by Jesus Christ through which we share in
God’s life.
Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation
Baptism: we are welcomed into the Church
Eucharist: commemorates the Last Supper, at which Jesus gave his Body and Blood in the
form of bread and wine, the consecrated body and blood of Christ is shared in the community
Eucharist: Real Presence: Jesus Christ in the bread and wine; Eucharist: "thanksgiving"
Confirmation: "the Sacrament of the Holy Spirit"
Sacraments of Healing: Reconciliation, Anointing the sick
Reconciliation and Penance: Christ extends his forgiveness to sinners through the absolution
conferred by a Priest; we reconcile our sins with God, ourselves, and others
Anointing the Sick: administered by a Priest in which the Lord extends his loving, healing
touch through the Church to those who are elderly, facing, surgery, seriously ill, or dying
Sacraments of Service: Marriage, Holy Orders
Matrimony: Christ binds a man and a woman into a permanent covenant of love
Holy Orders: ordained into the priesthood
The Mass: Liturgy of the Word; Offertory procession; Liturgy of the Eucharist
Transubstantiation: the consecration of the bread and wine at Mass, where the entire
substance is turned into the Body and Blood of Christ. The Eucharistic "Real Presence" of
Christ
Real Presence: Jesus Christ is fully present in the consecrated bread and wine
Revelation: the way God communicates knowledge of himself to humankind, a selfcommunication realized by his actions and words over time, most fully by sending his divine
Son, Jesus Christ!
Doctrine: official teaching of the Church
Dogma: a central truth of Revelation that Catholics are obligated to accept and cannot be
changed.
Canonization: a process that recognizes the particular example of a Christian who has led a
good and holy life and died a death faithful to Jesus and that declares the person to be a saint.
Soul: the eternal, innermost, spiritual part of a person; the invisible and spiritual reality that
makes us human and eternal
Natural Law: God’s plan for human living that is written in the nature of creation
Conscience: the ability to know the difference between right and wrong, good and evil
Virtues: good habits which help lead a moral life
Vices: bad habits that turn us from good and make it easy to commit evil
Original Sin: the fallen state of human nature into which all generations are born. Jesus came
to save us from Original Sin.
Mortal Sin: serious sin where through full consent of our will when we turn completely away
from God with full knowledge; full consent of the grave matter
Venial Sin: a sin that weakens and wounds, but does not destroy our relationship with God
Free will: God's gift to humanity to choose from among alternatives; to perform deliberate
actions on one's own responsibility.
Grace: God's favor to us, Grace is a participation in the life of God
Catholic Social Teaching: respecting life; the needs of the poor, care for creation, human
dignity and human rights
Conversion: returning to God after committing sin, is an ongoing process of deepening and
maturing one’s faith commitment