Religion Mid-Term
Which of the following Church authors said that there were as many Gnosticisms as there were Gnostics?
Irenaeus
Judaism of the Second Temple Era runs roughly between which dates?
517 BCE - 70 AD
The name of the areas where Jews resided outside their homeland.
Diaspora
The following quote from Marcion illustrates which of his beliefs? (Multi-select possible): "The Good is good toward all men; the Creator, however, promises salvation only to those who are obedient to him. The Good redeems those who believe in him, but he does not judge those who are disobedient to him; the Creator, however, redeems his faithful and judges and punishes the sinners. "
Ditheism, dislike of God of Old Testament
Judaism of the Second Temple Era as a whole could best be described by which of the following terms?
Divided
Jerome is mostly associated with which numbering of the Old Testament books?
39
The current shape of most of the NT canon emerged around ______AD.
400
Where can one find this statement: "If any one sees his brother committing what is not a mortal sin, he will ask, and God will give him life for those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin which is mortal; I do not say that one is to pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal."
1 John
Which biblical passage explicitly speaks of sins which were mortal and non-mortal?
1 John 5:16-17
Augustine is mostly associated with which numbering of the Old Testament books?
46
In which early Christian documents do we clearly see a great amount of struggle in the transmission of authority from the apostles to the bishops? That is, we read statements which suggest that other Christians did not take them seriously; their youth was despised and other challenges of this sort.
3 of these
If one accepted the historical reliability of the Gospel of John, one would have to conclude that persecutions of the followers of Jesus began in what time frame?
30-40 AD
Catholic Christians established their position on the Old Testament canon using which of the following views about the number of Old Testament books?
A broader Jewish collection of OT books
The Council of Trent established its position on the Old Testament canon using which of the following views about the number of Old Testament books?
A broader Jewish collection of OT books
There were __________ doubts about the Catholic Epistles and Revelation between ca. 400-1500.
A few lingering
Which of the following descriptions matches the actual wording of Tacitus' statements about the number of Christians in the city of Rome who were executed by the Emperor Nero? (multi-select possible)
A great multitude
Those who accept the historical accuracy of the Gospel of John's report about the early beginning of the persecutions would be likely to regard the gospel as ______________________.
A reliable historical account of what took place
Martin Luther established his position on the Old Testament canon using which of the following views about the number of Old Testament books?
A restricted Jewish collection of OT books
Protestant Christians established their position on the Old Testament canon using which of the following views about the number of Old Testament books?
A restricted Jewish collection of OT books
Which of the following authors attests to Peter's connection to Rome and/or the monuments commemorating Peter and Paul?
A&B
In which text do we read about the apostles meeting to make a collective decision about the inclusion of the Gentiles into the Church?
Acts 15
Which of the following texts provided a precedent for all later church councils from the 100s onwards because the approval of the Holy Spirit was also mentioned in reasons for their decisions?
Acts 15
In this book, Peter and Paul occupy most of the narrative. Over 80% of the story is focused on their words, actions and travels.
Acts of the Apostles
Which document records the accomplishments of the apostles in the first century of the Church?
Acts of the Apostles
Fill in the blank. Jews across the Mediterranean world mostly __________ about including the first five books of the Bible (i.e., Pentateuch) into their collection of sacred scriptures.
Agreed
The phenomenon of martyrdom brought about which of the following developments among early Christians? (multi-select possible)
All but admiration for government
During ancient Christianity, the process of penance included which of the following:
All of the above
During the time of Jesus, Jewish communities could be found in which parts of the Roman world?
All of the above
Gnosticism differed from most other Christian Churches in which of the following respects:
All of the above
In response to Gnosticism's challenges, Christians of the Greater Church adopted which types of actions?
All of the above
On which bases did the early Church leaders believe that they had the authority to forgive sins?
All of the above
Which of the following adjectives describe Judaism from the Second Temple era?
All of the above
Which of the following groups belonged to Judaism of the Second Temple Era?
All of the above
Which of the following three areas were a point of contention between Jews and Christians?
All of the above
Which of the following places have been proposed for the historical origin of Gnosticism?
All of these
Which of the following authors interpreted the rock of Matthew 16:18 as Peter, Peter's faith, Christ and the papacy?
Augustine of Hippo
Please select the best term for the following definition: A list of authoritative books to be used in the liturgy and for the purpose of establishing the faith and moral practices of Christians.
Canon of Scripture
The process of including or excluding books from the canon (i.e., list) of Scripture.
Canonization
Which of the following contemporary groups has the most Old Testament books?
Catholics
Which of the following groups had a 73 book canon of Scripture?
Catholics
Which of the following were some of the major historical and religious reasons why Romans persecuted Christians? (multi-select possible)
Christians seen as liability, Treasonous, counter-cultural
Which of the following events seems to been among the greatest factors in Jesus' execution?
Cleansing of temple
Which of the following Roman emperors built a basilica in Peter's honor?
Constantine
Which of the following emperors was the first to take positive action in promoting Christianity? This emperor, for example, convoked the famous Council of Nicea (325).
Constantine
Around 330 AD, the Emperor Constantine is said to have transferred the capital of the Roman Empire to which city?
Constantinople
Which of the following were the charges brought against Socrates, which eventually brought about his execution? (Multi-Select Possible)
Corrupting the youth, Failing to acknowledge the gods that the city acknowledges
Which of the following authors frequently interpreted the rock of Matthew 16:18 as Peter?
Cyprian
Which of the following Jewish groups of the Second Temple Era lived in lodgings near the Dead Sea and have left us documents commonly referred to as the "Dead Sea Scrolls?"
Essenes
Which of the following groups left numerous religious texts in a bunch of caves near the Dead Sea?
Essenes
Based on existing beliefs about the Jewish scriptures at the time of Jesus, there were few options for the members of early Church in terms of what they could and could not do with regard to the Jewish scriptures.
False
T/F: All Christians of the Greater Church accepted the practice of penance.
False
T/F: All sins were regarded as being of the same gravity by the greater church in the early centuries of Christianity.
False
T/F: At first glance, Jesus and Paul's statements about the law and a person's attainment of eternal life are almost identical.
False
T/F: At first glance, Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew appears to be saying that Jewish law is over for the followers of Jesus.
False
T/F: At the time of Jesus, Jews inside and outside Judea were mostly in agreement about the list of sacred books.
False
T/F: By and large, Jews around the time of Jesus were largely in agreement about the precise number of books in the Bible.
False
T/F: Even before Marcion came on the scene (ca. 140), many Christian leaders had already created a list of authoritative scriptural books.
False
T/F: Even before Marcion's time, there is evidence that Christians of the Greater Church were creating lists of scriptural books.
False
T/F: For leaders like Irenaeus, history did not really matter because the truths about God, Christ and the Church are not connected to an institution, much less leaders claiming to be connected to the apostles through an unbroken succession.
False
T/F: For leaders like Irenaeus, orthodoxy (i.e., right belief) did not matter because the truths about God, Christ and the Church are equally possessed by all groups claiming to represent Christian truth.
False
T/F: Gnostic Christian groups made no claims about the legitimacy of their communities over and against other Christian groups. To them, all forms of Christianity were equally viable paths to union with God.
False
T/F: Gnostic teachers tried to fortify the faith of Christians in the Greater Church, by encouraging them to look to their history, the unbroken lineage of bishops in their communities reaching back to the days of the Apostles as signs of the validity of their beliefs.
False
T/F: Gnosticism spread into only a small handful of areas where the Greater Church had already established its roots.
False
T/F: Irenaeus of Lyons is a great example of a Gnostic Christian thinker.
False
T/F: Jesus supported the idea that idea of belonging to God's people was entirely a matter of ethnic identity.
False
T/F: Marcion of Pontus (fl. ca. 140s) accepted many books of the Jewish Old Testament.
False
T/F: Moss and others who reject early Christian claims about martyrdoms usually regard Tacitus' description of Nero's persecution of Christians as absolutely correct and reliable.
False
T/F: Orthodoxy refers to false belief / practice within Christianity.
False
T/F: Teachers of the Greater Church tried to fortify the faith of Christians in the Greater Church by encouraging them to question everything including their understanding of their history and the unbroken lineage of bishops in their communities reaching back to the days of the Apostles.
False
Please select the following adjectives that do not describe the Jewish scriptures at the time of Jesus. (Multi-select possible)
Few, existing only in hebrew, agree upon universally
Where can one find this statement: "19 Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, part 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."?
Galatians
2 John 1:7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. This passage could lead one to safely reach the following conclusions? (multi-select possible)
Gnosticism existed during the time of early Christianity, Gnostic movements most likely rejected Jesus' corporeal (i.e., bodily) nature
Where can one find this statement: "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.""?
Gospel of John
Which of the following were examples of canonical Gospels? (muti-select possible)
Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark
Which of the following were examples of non-canonical Gospels? (muti-select possible)
Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Truth
Which of the following adjectives are accurate descriptions of undergoing penance in the early Church. (Multi-select possible)
Hard, long, procedural, ecclesial
Which early Christian author spent much time trying to advocate for the three-fold office of bishop-priest-deacon (i.e., the model of Church governance which dominated in the greater Church of the earliest centuries)?
Ignatius of Antioch
Please identify the opponents of Marcion from the list below. (Multi-Select Possible)
Justin Martyr, Tertullian
Which of the following authors is known to have interpreted the rock of Matthew 16:18 as the papacy?
Jerome
Josephus, the Jamnia Academy, the Essenes and the Epistle of Jude are all _________________ to competing understandings of what was regarded as scripture in first-century Judaism.
Jewish wintnesses
This gospel was by far the favorite of the second-century Gnostics.
John
Which of the following authors spoke about the persecution of James the Brother of Jesus at the hands of Jewish religious authorities in Jerusalem?
Josephus
Which of the following non-Christian authors spoke about persecution of Christians? (multi-select possible)
Josephus, Tacitus, Epictetus
This apostle was always placed last on the list of apostles.
Judas
The name of the area where Jews resided inside their homeland.
Judea
The concept of apostolic succession implies which of the following ideas. N.b., Multi-select possible
Lines of authority guarantee..... Current Bishops trace lineage....Other Christian communities outside this line not legitimate
Which of the following choices best describe the duration of time it took for all the New Testament books to be included in the final collection of what we today regard as the 27-book canon of the New Testament?
Long time
This person eliminated the Old Testament and a significant portion of the New from his canon of Scriptures.
Marcion of Pontus
In the Gospel of ______, we find the story about Jesus giving the keys of the kingdom and promising to build the Church on the rock, despite the attempt to destroy the rock and the Church by the powers of death.
Matthew
In which text do we read about the theory of the apostles' possessing a collective power to make authoritative decisions?
Matthew 18
What was the original and literal meaning of the term "canon" in the Greek language?
Measuring stick
The seeds for the parting of ways, we have argued, can be traced back to which of the following historical periods or events?
Ministry of Jesus and Apostles
Please select the adjective(s) that best describe the author's attitude toward Marcion in the following quotation (multi-select possible): "For John too in the Apocalypse, though he writes to seven churches, yet speaks to all. Howbeit to Philemon one, to Titus one, and to Timothy two were put in writing from personal inclination and attachment, to be in honour however with the Catholic Church for the ordering of the ecclesiastical mode of life. There is current also one to the Laodicenes, another to the Alexandrians, [both] forged in Paul's name to suit the heresy of Marcion, and several others, which cannot be received into the Catholic Church; for it is not fitting that gall be mixed with honey."
Mistrusting of Marcion, hostile towards marcion
For Jesus, according to the Gospel of Matthew, which of the following two options was more important for establishing one's belonging to God's people?
Moral Behavior
Which of the following Roman emperors was widely believed by Christians to have executed Peter and Paul around the same time?
Nero
Please select the following adjectives that describe the Jewish scriptures at the time of Jesus. (Multi-select possible)
Numerous, existing in various translations
Which of the following was not a translation of the Old Testament circulating in Roman Palestine during the time of Jesus?
Old Latin Version
Which of the following Church authors could be said to have integrated Gnostic or Platonist modes of thinking and approaches to the way this author did theology (i.e., answered the Life Questions)?
Origen
Which of the following were Christian Platonists within the Greater Church? (Multi-select possible)
Origen
In the Greek language, bishop (episkopos) means which of the following?
Overseer
This expression refers to the gradual separation between Christianity and Judaism over its first five centuries.
Parting of ways
If you were to pick up one of Marcion's writings, which of the following statements would you most likely find?
Paul's letters have been significantly tampered with
The process of making amends for one's mortal and venial sins and being restored to full communion with the Church
Penance
The book titled Shepherd of Hermas would be used by which of the following groups as a witness to the second-century origins of Penance?
Penance as originating in Second Century
The book titled Shepherd of Hermas would not be used by which of the following groups as a witness to the second-century origins of Penance?
Penance as originating with Jesus and Apostles
This particular apostle was told by Jesus that he would be given the keys to the kingdom of heaven and that the gates of hell would not prevail against the church.
Peter
Which of the following Jewish figures only quoted from the first five books of the Bible (i.e., the Pentateuch)?
Philo
This student of Socrates retold one of the most famous allegories ever narrated by his teacher, which later established the point of departure for all Gnostic thinking about cosmology, religion and spirituality.
Plato
Gnosticism was most closely aligned with which of the following Greek philosophies?
Platonism
Which of the following adjectives best describes the various Judaisms of Jesus' time?
Pluralistic
Which of the following groups had a 66 book canon of Scripture?
Protestants
How were the apostles portrayed by bishops in the second and third centuries?
Prototypes of Bishops
Please read this excerpt from Irenaeus (ca. 180), the Church Father. But, again, when we refer them to that tradition which originates from the apostles, [and] which is preserved by means of the successions of presbyters in the Churches, they object to tradition, saying that they themselves are wiser not merely than the presbyters, but even than the apostles, because they have discovered the unadulterated truth. For [they maintain] that the apostles intermingled the things of the law with the words of the Saviour ; and that not the apostles alone, but even the Lord Himself, spoke as at one time from the Demiurge, at another from the intermediate place, and yet again from the Pleroma, but that they themselves, indubitably, unsulliedly, and purely, have knowledge of the hidden mystery : this is, indeed, to blaspheme their Creator after a most impudent manner! It comes to this, therefore, that these men do now consent neither to Scripture nor to tradition. How would you categorize Irenaeus' above response to Gnosticism?
Refutation
Please select the following areas where Jews of the Second Temple disagreed. (multi-select possible)
Religion, politics, culture
In early Christianity there were four interpretations concerning the _________________ mentioned by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew (i.e., Jesus, Peter's person, Peter's faith, the papacy or Peter's confession of faith in Jesus' divinity)?
Rock
During the time of Jesus (ca. 7 BC - 33 AD), Jews lived largely under whose rule?
Roman
Peter was an early disciple of Jesus whose original name was Simon, which means reed; his name was later changed and meant stone, rock or Rocky. He was often seen by Christians from the second century onwards as the co-founder of the Church of _________.
Rome
Peter's martyrdom is said to have taken place in which city?
Rome
Which city was famous for its claim that both Peter and Paul were martyred within its walls?
Rome
Which of the following groups had a 5 book canon of Scripture?
Sadducees
In opposition to the view that the practice of penance began with Jesus and the Apostles in the first century, another view holds that the practice of penance began in which century?
Second
The name of the Jewish Bible which was translated into Greek during the centuries before Jesus' birth. It became one of the most popular versions of the Old Testament used in the Church.
Septuagint
What was Peter's original name before it was changed by Jesus? Hint: that old name meant "reed."
Simon
The following definition goes with which term: An external or internal act against the laws of God and the Church?
Sin
Who was the first recorded martyr in the history of Christianity (outside Jesus of course)? N.b., this person's story is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles.
Stephen
Which of the following authors speaks about the persecution of numerous Christians in the city of Rome at the hands of the Emperor Nero in the year 64 AD?
Tacitus
Please read the following selection from Heracleon the Gnostic, one of our primary source texts, and answer the question after the end of the paragraph. John 1:3 Through the word everything came to be, and without the word nothing came to be. [Heracleon's comments]: Everything is the world and what is in the world, but the aeon and what is in the aeon was not born through the word. Nothing is what is in the world and the creation. Who provided the cause of the generation of the world to the demiurge was the word, who is not the one from or by whom but through whom the world was generated. The word did not create as if he were given energy by another, but while he was providing energy, another, the demiurge, created. In that sense the world was generated through the word." Which of the following provided the framework for Heracleon's explanation of the opening words of John's Gospel?
The Allegory of the cave
At the Council of Jerusalem, the apostles claimed that their decision about the inclusion of the Gentiles into the Church had the backing not only of themselves but also of __________________?
The Holy Spirit
Which of the four remains the most controversial interpretation of the rock in Matthew 16? Jesus, Peter's person, Peter's faith, the papacy or Peter's confession of faith in Jesus' divinity?
The papacy
Within the Greater Church, how many major positions were there concerning the number of books in the Old Testament Canon?
Three
Beneath St. Peter's Basilica lies which of the following?
Three of these
For certain scholars such as Salvatore Lilla, Christianity is mostly Platonism with very slight modifications.
True
In the first century AD, philosopher such Plato and Aristotle were much respected in intellectual circles throughout the Mediterranean world.
True
T/F: As a whole, scholarship on early Christianity has not come to a consensus as to how exactly Christian Gnosticism emerged.
True
T/F: At first glance, Paul in the Letter to the Galatians appears to be saying that Jewish law is over for the followers of Jesus.
True
T/F: For leaders like Ireneaus, history should matter to all Christians because the orthodox Churches, he claims, had maintained an institutional connection to the earliest leaders appointed by the apostles throughout the Mediterranean world.
True
T/F: Heracleon is a great example of a Gnostic Christian thinker.
True
T/F: Some early Christians in the Catholic Church rejected the practice of penance on the basis of Paul's statements about salvation by faith alone.
True
The Gnostics regarded themselves as the true Christians but regarded Christians of the Greater Church as deceived and mentally constrained by their leaders.
True
Please read the following snippet from the words attributed to Jesus by the author of the Gospel of Matthew and answer the question after this selection: Matthew 13:10-19: 10 Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" 11 And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.12 For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. To Gnostic Christians such as Valentinus, such words above might signify which of the following?: (multi-select possible)
Truth in the hands of a few, all sensory data is illusory at best
Which of the following are challenges for understanding how authority worked in early Christianity?
Two of these
Ancient Christian communities divided sin into which two categories?
Venial vs mortal
Dr. Candida Moss would make which of the following statements? (multi-select possible)
Very few actual executions, largely made up by church
One of the outcomes of the Greater Church's conflict with Gnosticism was that Christian leaders emphasized a connection to ____________________________________.
WRONG (Not platonism or babylonian religion or greek religion)
Which of the following authors accepted the possibility of penance? (multi-select possible)
WRONG (Tertullian + 2 others)
Within the history of Christianity from the early days to the present, which of the following have been the postures of people recognized as martyrs by various Christian communities? (multi-select possible)
WRONG (all of them?)
Which of the following authors rejected the possibility of penance? (multi-select possible)
WRONG (not Tertullian, all of them?)
Paul's understanding of the law, at first sight, seems to suggest which of the following? (multi-select possible)
WRONG (not salvation for christians + compass)
Which of the following is true about the allegory of the cave? The allegory ______.
Was characteristic of Socrates' life work
Which of the following groups was in favor of Jewish collaboration with Roman rule in Judea?
Zealots?
