On the Incarnation 4

Study Guide Questions for Sections 20-32

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Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)

Freedom vs. Bondage, Mortality vs. Immortality, Death

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. What reason did Athanasius give as to why he “frequently” said “the same things about the same matters?”

2. What “occurred together in a paradoxical manner” according to Athanasius?

3. According to Athanasius, why was it necessary that Jesus should not die by illness?

4. According to Athanasius, why was it not fitting for the Lord to hide “from the counsel of the Jews” who sought to kill him?

5. According to Athanasius, why was it important that Jesus’ death not happen “privately and ‘in a corner?’”

6. Why, according to Athanasius, was it necessary for Jesus to not try to “escape the ignominy of the cross” as opposed to some other more noble kind of death?

7. What were the four reasons Athanasius gave to Christians who are not lovers of “contention” but lovers of “learning” as to why Jesus' death had to be by the cross?

8. What reason did Athanasius give as to why Jesus was raised on the third day and not sooner or later?

9. What effect did the Word’s triumph over death have on death itself and the attitude of Christians towards death?

10. According to Athanasius what do dead men not do?

11. What did Athanasius say would be more fitting to refer to as being “dead” rather than Christ (the Word)?

Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)

1. Athanasius said the Word set his people free from “the ancient transgression.” What is he most likely referring to by this?

2. Athanasius said, because of the work of the Word, we “no longer die by death as before according to the threat of the law.” What did he mean by “the threat of the law?”

3. What did Athanasius mean by saying hunger was a “property of the body, but he did not perish of starvation, because of the Lord wearing it?”

4. What was Athanasius’ purpose in sharing the analogy of the wrestler?

5. Athanasius said that “believers tread on it [death] as nothing” since Christ was raised from the dead. What does it mean to tread on death as nothing?

6. What does it mean to have “a zeal for death?”

7. What is meant by saying, “It is a property of God not to be seen?”

Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)

1. Athanasius addresses questions raised by believers and unbelievers in a different manner, “not as a lover of contention, but as a lover of learning.” How important is the attitude in which we ask someone a question? Does the desire to know and understand actually affect our ability to do so? Are some things only able to be learnt after one has accepted the truth of some other prior claim (for instance can we only know some truths after having accepted that Jesus is actually Lord)? Offer an example of such a situation concerning doctrines of the Christian faith and also one concerning matters which are not directly related to Christianity.

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-34. How should the knowledge that Jesus Christ has defeated death by his resurrection affect our daily lives? Give multiple examples of how this truth should impact our thoughts about life and our behavior in this life.

2. Read Philippians 1:21. What does this passage tell us about the attitude we should have concerning life and death?