UFDN 1000 Quiz 4

According to Celebration of Discipline, which of the following is not one of the four steps of the discipline of study? a)Comprehension b)Concentration c)Humility d)Reflection e)Repetition

D; Humility

According to Introducing Christianity, which of the following is not one of the main types of Judaism during the time of Jesus? a)Essenes b)Pagans c)Pharisees d)Sadducees e)Zealots

D; Pagans

According to Introducing Christianity, which of the following does not characterize Jesus's teachings? a)He called people to deny themselves for the sake of others b)He taught that forgiveness was available to all who repent c)He tended to let his actions speak rather than speak in parable d)His teaching condemned those who misled or oppressed others e)His teaching sought to overcome social barriers f)His teaching was about radical love g)Many believe that it was his teachings that led to his death h)The Kingdom of God refers to the community of people under God's rule I)The Kingdom of God refers to the future reign of God over all j)The Kingdom of God refers to the presence and power of God k)The Kingdom of God was a primary focus

C; He tended to let his actions speak rather than speak in parable

According to Introducing Christianity, which of the following is not a feature of Jesus's arrest, trial, and execution? a)He was betrayed by one of his apostles b)He was executed by the Roman Empire c)He was hastily convicted of a crime by the Roman authorities d)Jesus died the day before Passover e)Jesus was executed by means of crucifixion f)Jesus was not buried in his own tomb g)Pilate, the Roman governor, was reluctant to execute Jesus h)The crowds wanted Jesus put to death I)The placard on the cross above j)Jesus's head read "The King of the Jews"

C; He was hastily convicted of a crime by the Roman authorities

According to Introducing Christianity, which of the following is not true of the beginnings of Jesus's ministry? a)Among his disciples, he selected twelve apostles b)He began his ministry around the age of 30 c)He had female disciples d)He received religious training in Jerusalem e)He was a rabbi, or Jewish teacher and preacher f)He was not married g)His family was likely devout in their Jewish religion h)His ministry began with his baptism in the Jordan River I)His ministry took place around the city of Capernaum and the rural region of Galilee

D; He received religious training in Jerusalem

According to Introducing Christianity, which of the following is not true of Jesus's early life? a)He came from a peasant, working-class family b)He had brothers and sisters c)He most likely worked alongside his father, Joseph, a carpenter d)He was born during the reign of the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus e)He was born in Nazareth f)He was probably born around 4 B.C. g)He was raised in a small rural town in the region of Galilee h)His family was Jewish

E; He was born in Nazareth

According to Introducing Christianity, which of the following is not a true statement about early "Christology," or Christian beliefs about Jesus? a)They believed he was the true Messiah b)They believed in Jesus's resurrection c)They believed that Jesus was the savior of the whole world d)They believed that the work of Jesus on the cross provided forgiveness e)They believed that the work of Jesus was for Gentiles and no longer Jews f)They called him the "Son of God"

E; They believed that the work of Jesus was for Gentiles and no longer Jews

According to Celebration of Discipline, which of the following is not an example of a "non-verbal book" that we must study? a)Cultures b)Institutions c)Nature d)Ourselves e)Relationships f)Scripture

F; Scripture

According to Introducing Christianity, after Jesus was gone, the earliest followers of Jesus believed that he was merely a great prophet.

False; After Jesus's departure, his disciples came to some shocking conclusions about the identity of their rabbi. Based upon their experiences of Jesus, his work, and his words, the earliest followers of Jesus came to believe that he was not merely a prophet, rabbi, or even merely the Messiah, but that in Jesus God was fully present and working in a new and unique way. The beliefs of these early disciples are what makes up the writings of the Christian New Testament. First are the "Gospels," or the spiritual biographies of Jesus, that, though they lack any claim of authorship, are traditionally attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. (Later, other gospels were written, such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Peter, but they were not included in the New Testament because they were considered to be pseudepigraphic ("falsely inscribed writings "; not written by the author it claims to be its author) and unreliable and inaccurate. Early Christian writings like this that were not included in the Bible are called "apocryphal" ("hidden writings").) After the Gospels is the Book of Acts, which is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke, and takes place largely after Jesus has left. Then comes several letters ("epistles") written by followers of Jesus such as Paul, Peter, and John. Finally, at the end, comes the Book of Revelation (also called the "Apocalypse"), which is about God's ultimate victory. All these books, after they were written, were divided up into chapters and verses.

According to The Chosen, Danny and Reuven stayed close friends throughout college.

False; For more than two years, Danny and Reuven did not speak because Reb Saunders forbid Danny from speaking to Reuven because Reuven's father, Mr. Malter, was Zionist.

According to Celebration of Discipline, the object of study is strictly words, such as books or lectures.

False; Foster says that there are two "books" to be studied: verbal (books, lectures) and non-verbal (reality around us, such as nature or experiences)

According to class lecture, when Jesus reinterprets or "radicalizes" the Law, he declares the Pharisees as too strict, and relaxes the law, making it easier to obey.

False; He makes the Law harder to fulfill. Now you disobey the Law, for example, not merely for killing someone, but for hating them. Thus Jesus shows that fulfilling the Law is not a matter of bare ritual, but of an orientation toward loving God and loving neighbor -- something that no one does absolutely righteously, not even the most astute Jewish person. In such a way, Jesus is even more "strict" than the Pharisees. It was the Pharisees' legalism that Jesus attacked, the idea that you merely needed to obey the laws on the surface and fulfill the basic Jewish rituals in order to be considered righteous.

According to Introducing Christianity, the teachings of Jesus were close to those of the Pharisees.

False; It was not uncommon for different groups within Judaism to have conflict with each other, so it is not surprising, especially given the radical nature of his teachings, that Jesus came into conflict with the Jewish leaders of his day. Jesus became well known because of his teachings and miracles, and his appeal to the poor and the outcast likely alarmed those who opposed him. Though the teachings of Jesus most closely approximated the teachings of the Pharisees, he condemned them for interpreting the law so literally, and expecting such rigorous adherence to the law by the poor ordinary folk with whom Jesus most associated. Jesus did not have a lot of contact with the Sadducees, who were based in cities and, amongst Jewish groups, most collaborated with the Roman Empire; he did once debate with them about resurrection. Zealots would not have liked Jesus's teachings because they were not radical enough, preaching love and forgiveness rather than violent rebellion. The Essenes, who were probably most similar in teachings to John the Baptist, were more strict in their religious beliefs and practices; Jesus was criticized as "a glutton, a drunkard," because he spent time with the poor and outcast, whereas the Essenes would separate themselves from any activity or company that they would have considered illicit.

According to Introducing Christianity, Christians believe that the day after his death, Jesus rose from the dead.

False; Jesus died on a Friday afternoon; soon after, the Sabbath began. (The weekly Jewish observance of Sabbath lasts from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.) Because work is not to be done on the Sabbath, not all burial rituals with Jesus were completed before the Sabbath began. On Sunday morning, the day after the Sabbath ended, some women followers of Jesus went to his tomb to complete the burial rituals, but they found it empty. Christians believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, resurrecting him into a transformed body, never to die again. Jesus told his followers that they, too, will be resurrected when he returns at some point in the future. Jesus was then taken up into heaven in what is called the "ascension." Succinctly, Christians believe that Jesus is alive and not dead and will return. However, while many do not believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, most will agree that followers of Jesus believed that they saw the resurrected Christ.

According to Introducing Christianity, Jesus preferred the term "Anointed One" to refer to himself.

False; Jesus never objected to others referring to him as Messiah ("Christ," or "Anointed One," a figure from Jewish Scripture who was God's servant and prophesied would come to deliver Israel), though he rejected some of the notions associated with that term, such as the Zealot's belief that the Messiah would overthrow the Romans. He did tell others who recognized him as Messiah not to broadcast that fact. In fact, instead of talking about the Messiah, he used the term "Son of Man" instead to talk about that figure, which enabled him to avoid cultural expectations. Jesus said that the Son of Man would be coming in the future, but he may have understood himself to be the present Son of Man as well.

According to Matthew 12, when the Pharisees object to the activities of Jesus and his disciples on the Sabbath, Jesus responds "the Sabbath was created for man, and not man for the Sabbath."

False; Jesus responds that the "Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath," and thus can heal or eat grain if he deems it necessary.

According to Matthew 10, Jesus' first mission instruction for the twelve disciples was to minister to the Gentiles and not the Jews.

False; Jesus tells his twelve disciples to "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

According to Matthew 11, the disciples of John the Baptist come to see if Jesus is really the Messiah. Jesus tells them to return to John and to tell him, yes, Jesus did indeed say that he was the Messiah.

False; Jesus tells them to "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them...." In other words, he does not give a 'yes' or a 'no,' but tells John's disciples to judge for themselves.

According to The Chosen, Reuven doesn't do well in Rav Gershenson's Talmud class.

False; Rav Gershenson's Talmud class is the one that Danny had been in from the start. Once Reuven joins him in that class, Reuven is called upon once early in the year, and he answers well. He is then not called upon for months. However, when he is called upon to answer a particularly difficulty passage, Reuven is prepared and answers thoroughly and comprehensively. Rav Gershenson (and Danny) is clearly impressed. Although he does not use his father's critical methods in class, Rav Gershenson seems sympathetic to his untraditional methods.

According to Introducing Christianity, the Jewish people see themselves as descendants of Jesus of Nazareth.

False; The Jewish people, who are also called the "Hebrews," trace their heritage back to Abraham and Sarah, who lived about 1800 years before Jesus. In the Jewish Scriptures, God chooses Abraham to begin a line a people who would become "too numerous to count." Abraham's son was Isaac, and his grandson was Jacob, and those three are usually counted as the forefathers of Israel. As a Jew, Jesus also could have counted himself as a descendant of Abraham.

According to Celebration of Discipline, the "intrinsic" rules of study include experience, other books, and live discussion.

False; These are the "extrinsic" rules of study. The "intrinsic" rules of study are understanding, interpretation, and evaluation

According to Introducing Christianity, it was Jesus's behavior in the cleansing of the temple that finally motivated the religious leaders to "destroy him."

True; After three years of ministry, mostly in Galilee but also a bit in Judea (southern Israel), Jesus made a trip to Jerusalem during the Jewish religious festival of Passover. The actions of merchants at the temple angered Jesus, and he turned over their tables, and drove them out of the temple area. By upsetting the regular form of temple worship at such an important religious occasion angered the chief priests in Jerusalem, and they began plotting to get rid of him. This was not the first time that religious authorities, but the fact that this was such a public display was particularly egregious to them; they felt that he was positioning himself as more important than the chief priests, as if he had the authority of Moses, and that would have been considered blasphemy.

According to Introducing Christianity, just about everything that we know about Jesus comes from the Bible, especially the first four books of the New Testament called the "Gospels," which means "good news."

True; Central to Christianity is the life and teachings of Jesus. This is because Christians believe that Jesus is the "Christ," which is taken from the New Testament Greek translation of the Hebrew word "Messiah," which means "Anointed One," referring to a savior promised by God. It is hard to overstate the massive influence Jesus has had. Christians believe that his sacrifice freed humanity from evil, sin, and death, and worship him as the Incarnation of God. The calendar most people use is based on his life, and the church calendar is an extended meditation on his life and work. Despite the relatively small following he had during his lifetime, Western Civilization has been heavily shaped by Jesus and the religion of those who follow him. Despite this massive importance, little is known about Jesus prior to the beginning of his official ministry at the age 30; this ministry is the overwhelming focus of the Gospels. We are told that he was born in humble circumstances and died by Roman execution, and in between lived among common people. Though he was extraordinary, Jesus experienced all the joys and sorrows that go along with an ordinary human life.

According to The Chosen, Danny was unhappy with how psychology was taught at Hirsch College when he first got there.

True; Danny liked Freud, and Prof. Appleman at Hirsch was all about experimental psychology. Danny was not interested in experimental testing of hypotheses. As in his study of Talmud, Danny was an idealist who sought the "right" answers. It took time for Danny to recognize the value of adaptability and pragmatism.

According to Celebration of Discipline, devotional reading of Scripture is different than disciplined study of Scripture.

True; Foster says that study involves interpretation while devotional reading of Scripture emphasizes application. Foster says that at times devotional reading of Scripture rushes too quickly to application to allow for the concentrated interpretation needed for focused study.

According to Matthew 10, Jesus says that the cost of discipleship includes cutting ties of allegiance with things you hold dear.

True; In speaking of the sword that cuts ties with the past, Jesus says: " Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it."

According to Matthew 11, Jesus declares that John the Baptist is Elijah.

True; Jewish tradition said that Elijah was supposed to announce the coming of the Messiah. Jesus says "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. Let anyone with ears listen!"

According to Celebration of Discipline, that which we study determines our habits of thought.

True; Study is giving special attention of the mind to the reality before us. As opposed to meditation, which is devotional, study is analytical, and essential in forming the way that we think.

According to Celebration of Discipline, the goal of spiritual disciplines is to totally transform the person

True; This transformation happens through incrementally replacing "old destructive habits of thought with new life-giving habits."

According to class lecture, the covenant God initiates with Abraham has two parts: God's commitment to Abraham and his people (who will become Israel), and the commitment of Abraham and his people to God.

True; Though God is faithful to the first end of the covenant, Israel again and again fails to live up to its end. However, thankfully, it is a covenant and not a contract, which means that God is committed to faithfulness despite Israel's response.

According to Introducing Christianity, it took hundreds of years for Christians to come to the conclusion that Jesus was fully human but also fully divine.

True; Though early Christians believed that God was at work in Jesus, it took a long time to work out the implications of that belief. They believed that he was a fully human servant of God among them. But they also believed that Jesus in some way represented or embodied the presence of God; the Book of Hebrews, the Gospel of John, and Paul's Epistle to the Colossians all affirm the divinity of Jesus, though at times ambiguously. It took centuries for the early Christian church to work out its belief that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. This, of course, is a claim of faith. The claims that Jesus, a carpenter's son from a small rural village, lived, had followers who believed in him, has influenced the world as no other, and began a movement that is still growing two-thousand years after his birth can be agreed upon by many people. But the claim of Jesus's identity as the Christ is not an objective claim, but one made from the standpoint of faith; this faith is not the result of scientific inquiry, but rather results from some sort of encounter with Jesus. The way, then, that Christians answer questions about Jesus requires a combination of faith and reason, of the work of God in our minds and our work of trust in God.