Final Exam Flashcards
(98 cards)
1
Q
How have scholars translated Jesus’ name?
A
Yeshua/Joshua
2
Q
What was the most popular spelling of the name Joshua in the first century?
A
Yeshua
3
Q
How many siblings did Jesus have?
A
6
4
Q
What were the names of Jesus’ four brothers?
A
James = Yaakov (Jacob)
Joses = Yose (Nickname for Joseph)
Judas = Yudas
Simon = Shimon
5
Q
True or False: scholars believe that Jesus was originally a disciple of John the Baptist
A
True
6
Q
Visionary
A
Someone who had visions
7
Q
Parables
A
Short stories that get across a point
8
Q
Why did Jesus’ use of parables made Him so popular?
A
He used everyday topics to get across His points
9
Q
What were the two charges that Jesus was arrested on?
A
- That He claimed to be the Jewish Messiah
- That He said He would destroy the Jewish Temple
10
Q
Why was the charge that Jesus would destroy the Jewish Temple led to His execution?
A
If you attacked or profaned a holy place, the Romans would execute someone for that
11
Q
Which sources have accounts on Jesus’ birth?
A
- Gospel of Matthew
- Gospel of Luke
- Infancy Gospel of James
12
Q
What are the similarities between the Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luke on Jesus’ birth?
A
- Same characters
- Both have Jesus born in Jerusalem
- Both have visitors to Jesus who are supernaturally informed of his birth
- Both know that Jesus grew up in Nazareth
13
Q
What are some of the historical problems of the census mentioned in the Gospel of Luke?
A
- Quirinius did not serve as Governor until 6-7 CE
- Worldwide census in 4 BCE or 6 CE
- When the Romans conducted a regional census, they did not require individuals to travel to another town to register for it
- Roman census takers would come to the town that you live in
14
Q
Who is claimed to have written the Infancy Gospel of James?
A
James, the brother of Jesus
15
Q
True or False: the Infancy Gospel of James only has accounts of the birth of Jesus
A
False: the Infancy Gospel of James has accounts on both the birth of Jesus and the birth of Jesus’ mother, Mary
16
Q
When do scholars believe the Infancy Gospel of James was written?
A
Mid second century CE
17
Q
What is the greatest value that the Infancy Gospel of James provides to scholars?
A
Shows us how early Christians continued to expand stories about Jesus, making them even more “supernatural” as time went on
18
Q
How is Mary portrayed in the Infancy Gospel of James?
A
Portrayal of Mary having a supernatural birth is a part of a major theme in the book that keeps her extremely holy
19
Q
True or False: according to the test explained in Numbers 5:11-31, both the man and woman must drink the bitter water
A
False: Numbers states only the woman must drink, but the Infancy Gospel of James has both Mary and Joseph take the test
20
Q
How is Jesus born, according to the Infancy Gospel of James?
A
A cloud hovers over the cave and then a bright light in the room; when the light leaves Jesus appears outside of Mary’s womb
21
Q
Another major characteristic of Infancy Gospel of James is that it’s created to match ________ in the Jewish Bible
A
1 Samuel
22
Q
What is the basic format of the scenes at the Tomb?
A
Women arrive to the Tomb to find it empty, and then Jesus later appears to the group or to one of the women
23
Q
Which woman was present in all the canonical Gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection?
A
Mary Magdalene
24
Q
True or False: from reading 1 Cor. 15:3-8, some scholars believe that maybe the first accounts of Jesus’ resurrection were reports that people had “seen” Jesus (visionary)
A
True
25
One major purpose of this book is to demonstrate that early Christians were innocent
Book of Acts
26
Which Book in the New Testament is the longest?
Book of Acts
27
True or False: both the Book of Acts and the Gospel of Luke have the same author
True
28
What were the major themes of Acts?
1. The early followers of Jesus were innocent
2. Expansion of Christianity to the whole world
3. The role of the Holy Spirit in the expansion of Christianity to the world
4. Acts wants to emphasize PAUL and his version of Christianity
5. The author of Acts wants to portray Christianity as unified AND everyone agreeing with Paul
29
True or False: the style, vocabulary and content of all the speeches are the same as the text of the book of Acts itself
True
30
True or False: the preeminence of Mary of Magdala in the Gospel of Mary offers the strongest argument for the legitimacy of women's leadership in any early Christian writing
True
31
What criticism did the Gospel of Mary faced by other Christians towards the end of the 2nd century?
- Belief of eternal salvation of the soul, not the resurrection of the body
- Rejection of a savior who atones for sin or comes at the end of time in favor of affirming that Jesus' teaching brings salvation
- Its support for the legitimacy of women's leadership
32
What were the two major reasons why pseudonymity was prominent in the ancient world?
- Most obvious is that a book was more likely to be read and copied if it was written by someone someone famous
- Some evidence that this practice was viewed as honoring a great person
33
How many Books in the New Testament has been claimed to be authored by Paul?
13
34
How many of the Books claimed to be written by Paul were genuinely Pauline?
7
35
What were the names of the genuinely Pauline Books in the New Testament?
- 1 Thessalonians
- Galatians
- 1 Corinthians
- 2 Corinthians
- Philemon
- Phillipians
- Romans
36
What are the names of the three New Testament Books that are SO drastically different in vocabulary, style, and content that virtually all scholars have concluded that were not written by Paul?
- 1 Timothy
- 2 Timothy
- Titus
37
What are the names of the three New Testament Books that are almost certainly pseudonymous but they are closer to Paul’s writings?
- 2 Thessalonians
- Ephesians
- Colossians
38
Amanuensis
A secretary or scribe
39
Which New Testament genuinely Pauline Book does not use a amanuensis?
Galatians
40
When do most scholars date 1 Thessalonians to be written?
About 50 CE
41
What was Paul's reason for writing to the Thessalonians?
Paul wrote this letter to express his joy at the news of them keeping the faith and to deal with a question/concern that they have
42
What were the main aspects of Paul's message in 1 Thessalonians according to Ehrman?
- They should turn from worshiping the Greek and Roman deities to worshiping the Jewish God
- Jesus’ death and resurrection made it possible for them to have a relationship with the living God
- Jesus would be returning from Heaven
43
What are the two possible interpretations of Paul's use of the term "vessel" in 1 Thess. 4:3?
1. Vessel is a man's sexual organ; one must control desires and keep himself holy
2. Vessel refers to a man's wife; one should treat their wife with respect/honor and not a sex object
44
How did Paul assure the Thessalonians that the members who recently died did not miss out on seeing Jesus?
Jesus brings the souls of the dead back with him from heaven
45
How did Paul imagine Jesus' Second Coming to occur?
- Believers, both dead and living rise in the air to meet the Messiah
- They then join him in the procession as he comes down to destroy God’s enemies
46
Which of the letters of Paul is the only one to be written to an individual?
Philemon
47
Onesimus
Runaway slave who came to the area where Paul was in prison and became a Christian
48
Who is Onesimus' owner?
Philemon
49
What was the purpose of Paul writing to Philemon?
Purpose of the letter is to smooth things over with Philemon and encourage him not to treat his slave too harshly for having run away
50
Why did Paul not directly called out slavery as evil?
Slavery was common in Paul's culture and we wouldn't expect Paul to say that in his letter
51
What were the characteristics of enslavement in the Greek and Roman world?
- Racial factors played no role
- Education was greatly encouraged
- Many slaves carried out sensitive and highly responsible social functions
- Slaves could own property and other slaves
- Their religious/cultural traditions were the same as those of the freeform
- No laws prohibited public assembly of slaves
- Most can anticipate being emancipated by the age of 30
52
What were the ways that one might become a slave in the Greek and Roman world?
1. Being captured as a prisoner of war
2. Born to a mother who was a slave
3. Orphans and children abandoned by their parents
4. To pay off a debt that one owed
5. Parents selling off their children to slavery
6. Selling one’s self into slavery to improve one’s position in life
53
What are some of the ways that Paul uses his letter to Philemon to his advantage to advocate for Onesimus?
- Uses appeals of love to him
- Reminds him of his devotion to the Christian faith and how Paul was responsible for Philemon's salvation
54
Why did some people in Greek and Roman societies accused Christianity of breaking up families?
When people who worshiped Greek and Roman deities converted to following Jesus, this often caused crisis in families
55
What were the names of the three New Testament Books written to remove the negative reputation of Christianity destroying families by ordering each member of the household to fulfill his or her duty as a way of serving God?
- Colossians
- Ephesians
- Titus
56
Why was Paul's letter to the Romans different to the other letters he wrote to Christian communities?
Paul didn't personally bring the Romans to Christianity and doesn't have a close relationship with them
57
What are the four reasons Paul writes to the Romans?
- To introduce himself
- To inform the Christians at Rome that he’s hoping they will give him support so that he can go from there to Spain
- To provide them with his view on the relationship between Jews and Gentiles in the community of God
- To present his view of the relationship of followers of Jesus to the Torah
58
What is one of Paul's main arguments in his letter to the Romans?
People cannot be righteous through their own effort and the only thing that people can do is accept God’s righteousness through the death of Jesus, who was sacrificed for their sins
59
How does Paul respond to the question of "Does Sin No Longer Matter"?
His argument is that believers have died to sin and they should no longer allow their lives to be dominated but it
60
________________ is Paul's explanation of how believers have "died to sin"
Ritual of baptism
61
Phoebe
A deacon in early Christianity who delivered Paul's letters to the Romans
62
Prisca and Aquila
Two women who were leaders in early Christianity that hosted worship services in their homes
63
Andronicus and Junia
Relatives of Paul who were prominent among the apostles
64
True or False: There are actually some manuscripts of the Book of Romans where later scribes changed Junia’s name to a male form in order to try to hide the fact a woman held the position of apostle
True
65
What are some of the problems with the argument that James, the brother of Jesus, wrote the Book of James?
- Jesus and his brothers were poor Galilean Jews who spoke Aramaic and very unlikely to be educated
- Book of James is written very high quality Greek
66
What are the arguments supporting that James, the brother of Jesus, wrote the Book of James?
- We know a lot about Jesus’ brother from different sources
- Sounds very much like the kinds of things that James would say
67
Who did James write the Book of James to?
"Twelve tribes in dispersion"
68
True or False: the Book of James uses the regular “greetings” (charein) rather than Paul’s (charis)
True
69
What are the two major concerns that the Book of James addresses?
- Encourage them to continue in their faith in the face of persecution
- Insists that helping the poor is part of being righteous
70
What is the situation behind the Book of Hebrews being written?
Hebrews was probably written in the 80s CE and is written to Jewish Christians who are being persecuted for their faith
71
What is the message of the Book of Hebrews?
Author of Hebrews is trying to persuade the readers to continue following Jesus because Jesus is the ultimate expression of Judaism
72
Which Greek philosopher does the author of Hebrews relies on to get their message across?
Plato
73
What is the basic format of Plato's philosophy?
- Reasoned that all of us have an image of the perfect chair; so why not study the real, perfect chair in the realm of the mind
- From the perfect chair, we can learn true meaning of the chair
74
Why did Jewish and later Christian philosophers loved Plato's philosophy?
Identified the Perfect realm of the mind with Heaven and God
75
Melchizedek
King of Salem and a priest of El who Abraham met with to give an offering of the goods Abraham had won in a fight
76
How does Hebrews expand the role of Melchizedek?
And Hebrews said that Melchizedek was like Jesus...In other words, Hebrews argued that:
- Jesus was eternal
- Therefore, like Melchizedek, Jesus could be an eternal priest without being from the tribe of Levi
77
What are the reasons why Judas Didymus Thomas did not write the Book of Jude?
1. Once again, it’s very unlikely that members of Jesus’ family would have been educated and able to write in Greek
2. Book seems to be written to second or even third generation Christians, at a point when the first generation was already past
3. It’s also clear that the author believes they are living in the “last time” predicted by the apostles
78
When do scholars usually date Jude?
Early second century CE—even as late as 140
79
Who might Jude be attacking as "false teachers" in Jude 1:4?
This may be something like the abuse of Paul’s teaching by the people James attacked in the book of James
80
How is Genesis 6 incorporated into Jude?
Thus Jude gives three examples of those who sinned and were punished:
1. Those who experienced the Exodus but then, while in the wilderness, did not believe and opposed Moses
2. The angels who had sex with human women - in 1 Enoch
3. Sodom and Gomorrah-The men who wanted to gang rape the angels
81
What did Jude claim that the "false teachers" were doing that those who were punished did?
1. Reject Authority - like those who opposed Moses
2. Defile the Flesh - Sexual immorality (like the angels who had sex with women)
3. Slandering Angels - like the men who wanted to gang rape angels
82
What argument is Jude trying to illustrate when talking about the burial of Moses?
So the argument is that even the Archangel Michael did not show disrespect to another angel, not even the devil
83
Why is it clear that 2 Peter is pseudonymous?
Peter was a poor fisherman who spoke Aramaic and was almost certainly illiterate
84
When do scholars date 2 Peter?
- Written in a period after the time of the apostles (3:2) when the “fathers have fallen asleep” i.e. died (3:4)
- Possibly as late as 150 CE
85
Scholars tend to think that _________ is the last book in the New Testament to be written
2 Peter
86
Where does the author of 2 Peter begins to copy from Jude by editing and expanding it?
In chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter 3, the author of 2 Peter copies, 19 of the 25 verses of the Book of Jude
87
Which parts of the Book of Jude that 2 Peter does not copy?
Testament of Moses or 1 Enoch
88
What is basic outline of a testament?
- In the testament format, an author would imagine that some great figure like Moses or Abraham or Levi was about to die
- Knowing this, the individual would call his family or followers together give a final “testament” or speech to them allowing them to benefit from his wisdom and teaching
- The hero often makes predictions about the future
89
How were 2 Peter's accusations against "false teachers" is different from Jude's?
2 Peter addresses that the teachers were also challenging the idea that the apocalypse was going to take place
90
How does 2 Peter justify to his audience why Jesus hadn't return yet?
Author argues that God does not count time the way humans do “One day is like a thousand years” with God
91
When do scholars date Revelation?
Around 90-110 CE
92
"Asia Minor" would now be considered this country today?
Turkey
93
Who does the author of Revelation write to?
The seven cities of "Asia Minor"
94
What is the primary reason people have trouble understanding the actual meaning of the Book of Revelation?
They try to interpret it as being about our time and don’t ask what the book was saying to those Christians in the seven cities who lived back in the first century
95
What was considered the primary symbol of Rome?
Roma
96
Why do Jews and Christians cryptically referred to Rome as "Babylon"?
Help keep Jews and Christians from getting in trouble since Romans wouldn’t realize they’re talking about them
97
How is Roma portrayed in Revelation 17?
Roma is portrayed as "The Great Whore" and is attacked by Rome to depict the evils of Rome
98
True or False: Instead of using separate characters for numbers like we do (1, 2, 3 and a, b, c) Greek and Hebrew used letters of the alphabet for numbers
True
