Question 1

What ritual was necessary for new converts to Christianity to undergo?

Accepted Answer

A)  Baptism 
B)  Circumcision 
C)  Spiritual cleansing 
D)  Confession 
A)  Baptism 
B)  Circumcision 
C)  Spiritual cleansing 
D)  Confession A

Question 2

What genre do the Gospels most closely fit?

Accepted Answer

A)  Apocalyptic literature 
B)  Greco-Roman autobiography 
C)  Allegory 
D)  Greco-Roman biography 
A)  Apocalyptic literature 
B)  Greco-Roman autobiography 
C)  Allegory 
D)  Greco-Roman biography D

Question 3

Using a specific example from the New Testament Gospels, discuss the evidence that Christians changed stories about Jesus.

Accepted Answer

Since students (presumably) have not read the Gospels yet, they might choose to discuss the example from the textbook: the day of Jesus' death in the Gospels of Mark and John.

Question 4

The New Testament Gospels are best understood as ancient biographies.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

Scholars think Jesus died around:

Accepted Answer

A)  30 B.C.E. 
B)  30C.E. 
C)  50 C.E. 
D)  70 C.E. 
A)  30 B.C.E. 
B)  30C.E. 
C)  50 C.E. 
D)  70 C.E.

Question 6

One of the most popular pagan authors of the second century, Plutarch, wrote fifty biographies of prominent Greek and Roman men. His main aim in these accounts was to:

Accepted Answer

A)  Accurately record the events in their lives 
B)  Reveal their characters 
C)  Damage their reputations 
D)  Entertain 
A)  Accurately record the events in their lives 
B)  Reveal their characters 
C)  Damage their reputations 
D)  Entertain

Question 7

The New Testament Gospels all have Jesus getting crucified at the same time of day.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

Recently, many scholars have agreed that the New Testament Gospels are a form of ancient biography. Why do they think this? What do Gospels have in common with other ancient biographies? How are they different? Do you agree with this categorization of the Gospels?

Accepted Answer

Although some earlier New Testament scho

Question 9

What is the term for a category of literature in which texts share a range of conventions?

Accepted Answer

A)  A genre 
B)  Prose 
C)  An editorial 
D)  A collective 
A)  A genre 
B)  Prose 
C)  An editorial 
D)  A collective

Question 10

What feature typically accompanied the stories of religious or powerful political figures in ancient Greco-Roman biographies?

Accepted Answer

A)  The miraculous 
B)  The mischievous 
C)  The sublime 
D)  The expression of the human condition 
A)  The miraculous 
B)  The mischievous 
C)  The sublime 
D)  The expression of the human condition

Question 11

Did the authors of the Gospels claim to be eyewitnesses to the events that they narrated?

Accepted Answer

A)  Yes 
B)  No 
C)  Some did, some didn't 
D)  No one knows 
A)  Yes 
B)  No 
C)  Some did, some didn't 
D)  No one knows

Question 12

The New Testament Gospels were written anonymously.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

The Gospel of Mark was written within a decade of Jesus' life.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

Ancient biographies tended to portray the protagonist's character as constant rather than in a state of development.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Which of the following is not among the characteristics ascribed to Peter and John in the New Testament?

Accepted Answer

A)  They were fishermen. 
B)  They were uneducated. 
C)  They were from Galilee. 
D)  They could read and write in Greek. 
A)  They were fishermen. 
B)  They were uneducated. 
C)  They were from Galilee. 
D)  They could read and write in Greek.

Exam 5: From Oral Traditions to Written Gospels

What ritual was necessary for new converts to Christianity to undergo?

What genre do the Gospels most closely fit?

Using a specific example from the New Testament Gospels, discuss the evidence that Christians changed stories about Jesus.

The New Testament Gospels are best understood as ancient biographies.

Scholars think Jesus died around:

One of the most popular pagan authors of the second century, Plutarch, wrote fifty biographies of prominent Greek and Roman men. His main aim in these accounts was to:

The New Testament Gospels all have Jesus getting crucified at the same time of day.

Recently, many scholars have agreed that the New Testament Gospels are a form of ancient biography. Why do they think this? What do Gospels have in common with other ancient biographies? How are they different? Do you agree with this categorization of the Gospels?

What is the term for a category of literature in which texts share a range of conventions?

What feature typically accompanied the stories of religious or powerful political figures in ancient Greco-Roman biographies?

Did the authors of the Gospels claim to be eyewitnesses to the events that they narrated?

The New Testament Gospels were written anonymously.

The Gospel of Mark was written within a decade of Jesus' life.

Ancient biographies tended to portray the protagonist's character as constant rather than in a state of development.

Which of the following is not among the characteristics ascribed to Peter and John in the New Testament?

What Is the New Testament the Early Christians and Their Literature

Do We Have the Original New Testament

The Greco-Roman World of Early Christian Traditions

The Jewish World of Jesus and His Followers

Jesus, the Suffering Son of God: the Gospel According to Mark

The Synoptic Problem and Its Significance for Interpretation

Jesus, the Jewish Messiah: the Gospel According to Matthew

Jesus, the Savior of the World: the Gospel According to Luke

Jesus, the Man Sent From Heaven: the Gospel According to John

From Johns Jesus to the Gnostic Christ: the Johannine Epistles and Beyond

Jesus From Different Perspectives: Other Gospels in Early Christianity

The Historical Jesus: Sources, Problems, and Methods

Jesus in Context

Jesus, the Apocalyptic Prophet

From Jesus to the Gospels

Lukes Second Volume: the Acts of the Apostles

Paul the Apostle: the Man and His Mission

Paul and His Apostolic Mission: 1 Thessalonians As a Test Case

Paul and the Crises of His Churches: 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, and Philemon

The Gospel According to Paul: the Letter to the Romans

Does the Tradition Miscarry Paul in Relation to Jesus, James, Thecla, and Theudas

In the Wake of the Apostle: the Deutero-Pauline and Pastoral Epistles

From Pauls Female Colleagues to the Pastors Intimidated Women: the Oppression of Women in Early Christianity

Christians and Jews: Hebrews, Barnabas, and Later Anti-Jewish Literature

Christians and Pagans: 1 Peter, the Letters of Ignatius, the Martyrdom of Polycarp, and Later Apologetic Literature

Christians and Christians: James, the Didache, Polycarp, 1 Clement, Jude, and 2 Peter

Christians and the Cosmos: the Revelation of John, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the Apocalypse of Peter

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