Theo 101

According to the Bible Project (and other materials from this week), _______ is the primary literary method in 1 John:

"Amplification" (using hyperbole and simple contrasts)

According to this week's materials and readings, Revelation ends with a description of humanity's future using imagery from Genesis chs. 1-2 (Garden of Eden).

True

The word "apocalypse," from the Greek apocalypsis, means:

"unveiling; uncovering; revealing"

This week's lecture suggested what series of ominous events as context for the authorship of Revelation? [select all that apply]

- eruption of Mt Vesuvius - local persecution of Christians under Roman emperors - destruction of Jewish temple

Though Genesis chs. 12-50 track the lives of many characters, the story is basically following the main genealogical line of how many different families, through several generations:

1

Who is "the Apostle Paul," according to our course materials for this week?

A Jewish religious leader who first had a vendetta against Christianity but later converts to Christianity and becomes a passionate advocate for converting others to Christianity (and wrote many influential letters to early Christian communities, which later became books in the Bible)

In this week's main video lecture, Dr. Doak defined the word "canon" as:

A list of authoritative books (the etymology of the word "canon" comes from a term for a measuring stick)

In the lecture on LAW for this week, Dr. Doak made the following suggestion about which laws from the Old Testament Christians are to specifically follow today:

Christians can and should ask: which laws do Jesus and other biblical voices specifically endorse or repeat in the New Testament--and we should ask which laws are consistent with Jesus' life and teachings in a broader sense

In this week's I Need to Know More podcast, the focus text read and discussed at length by the professors is:

Correct answer: Genesis ch. 16 (Abram and Sarai's attempt to have a child)

In Dr. Clair's lecture, which of the following texts did he not choose to focus on for specific reflection?

Ephesians

In the "To The Reader" reading from the Life with God Study Bible (our class Bible) assigned for this week, the author there gives several reasons for why this Bible (NRSV translation) uses the male pronouns his, he, him, etc. when speaking of God. Which of the following is not one of the reasons given:

God is clearly and only a male (by gender) in the Bible and in Christian theology; God is not wholly other than humanity, and thus does not transcend our human categories of male and female gender.

In the main lecture video for the week, Dr. Doak suggested which of the following is accurate regarding how we should understand the Bible's creation stories and our physical, material world:

God is deeply invested in the material world; the particular way God creates and sustains the world, in the biblical vision, makes God close to the world. (John 3:16: "For God so loved the world...").

In her main video lecture for the week, Dr. Edwards makes the following claim about how God speaks to "the nations" surrounding Israel in the book of Genesis (particularly chs. 12-50):

God speaks to nearly every named nation surrounding Israel

This individual sees his father in a state of nudity during the father's drunken episode, and goes on to tell his brothers about it, thus inviting a curse from his father:

Ham

Which of the following bodily details does the book of Judges give us about the character of Ehud (discussed in this week's materials at length, and in the reading itself):

He is left handed

Which of the following statements is accurate about the "backstory" of the character of Paul/Saul in Acts:

He was not only a Jew, but a prominent Jewish religious leader who led persecutions of those who tried to follow Jesus

Which of the following was not a point made by Dr. Doak regarding translations in this week's main lecture video:

Historically, the majority of Christians have tended to resist translating the Bible, and feel that no translation can accurately portray God's words in the Bible

This short letter, sent by its author from prison, thanks its receiving community for their support and faithfulness; the "center" of this book is a poem about Jesus, and goes on through several stories and exhortations about living out the story of Jesus in the world:

Philippians

This character is the hero of the biblical flood story, who builds the ark and rescues the animals and his immediate family:

Noah

In our course material, we made a particular suggestion--a personal, spiritual suggestion--about why there are four Gospels (e.g., instead of just one). What was that suggestion?

One single account is simply not enough; Jesus is so crucial, so central, and so important for Christians that four images give us the diversity we need. Christians chose four perspectives that were similar to each other in key ways, and yet also offer difference that help us see the fullness of Jesus for faith.

Which of the following is accurate regarding our required course text(s) for this fall semester in THEO 101:

Our main course text is the Bible--particularly the "Life with God Study Bible" (NRSV translation). There are no other textbooks to purchase, and the university is purchasing this Bible for all incoming freshmen. If all goes well, it will be distributed to all on-campus students directly, and mailed to others. In the meantime, we'll provide links for online reading of this same translation on our Canvas page if needed.

Which of the following describes the basic formal structure of Hebrew poetry:

Parallelism: Hebrew poetry matches thoughts or ideas in pairs of lines; sometimes there is a contrast, or repetition of some type, between the two lines

This individual is Israel's first king; he is a strong and tall leader, but falls out of favor with God through a series of disobedient actions (eventually committing suicide):

Saul

In our course materials addressing the book of Psalms, we emphasized this particular animal/relationship as a very prominent metaphor in the Psalms:

Sheep/shepherd

Disregarding for the moment the debated issue of the so-called "Apocrypha" and its status as part of the Bible, typically Christians have divided the Bible into two major parts. The first part comprises, by volume, around 75% of the content, and this second part contains about 25%, give or take. With our turn toward the Gospels we are now entering that second part of the Bible, which is most commonly called:

The New Testament

Which of the following is accurate regarding the amount of poetry in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament (according to basic facts, and also the explicit interpretive lens we've given you through the course materials):

The Old Testament contains a lot of poetry (at least 5 whole books, and then scattered elsewhere); it seems to be a major genre, and conveys vital information about God

The book of Lamentations is about:

The grief experienced after the destruction of Jerusalem

In the "I Need to Know More" podcast for this week, Drs. Doak, Edwards, and Payne read and discuss this text at length:

The judge Ehud (Judges ch. 3)

Which of the following definitions of the "General Epistles" is correct?

A set of writings that Paul did not write and are not addressed to specific locations, but rather are named after the authors and meant to address wider bodies of Christians

In the Need to Know More podcast from this week, the professors (particularly Dr. Doak) make a suggestion about what Abraham and Sarah may have been thinking regarding their scheme to have a child through Sarah's servant. What was that suggestion?

Ancient documents on clay tablets form a city called Nuzi in the biblical world show evidence of a legal custom whereby a man and woman might try to have a baby through another woman and then designate that person as a rightful heir.

In the main podcast for this week, the professors made a repeated claim (with various lines of evidence) about conflict in the early Christian church. What was that claim, in general?

Early Christians engaged in a lot of conflict; we can see this already in the New Testament letters, in books like Corinthians, Romans, and more

According to our course materials, which of the following statements is accurate regarding the relationship between the Gospel of John and the so-called "Synoptic Gospels" (Matthew, Mark, and Luke):

In John, Jesus is very open about his identity with/as God, compared with the Synoptics where Jesus is much more cautious about these claims (particularly in Mark). Moreover, John contains around 90% unique material (compared with the Synoptics, which are largely similar to one another but mostly have different content from John).

In the main video lecture for the week, Dr. Doak suggested that one rule all Christians must abide by when interpreting the Bible is "the Rule of Faith." Briefly, the "Rule of Faith" states that readers must:

Interpret the Bible within the boundaries of a core set of basic Christian beliefs and doctrines, such as those expressed in ancient creeds (like the Apostles' Creed)

For this week's "I Need to Know More" podcast, Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne read and discuss the following dramatic text:

Isaiah sees God in the Temple (Isaiah ch. 6)

Which of the following best describes the plot of the book of Joshua:

Israel follows a new leader after the death of Moses across the river Jordan; they take the land by warfare; the people settle in the land by tribe

Which of the following accurately describes Jacob's marriage and childbearing situation (as discussed in the Need to Know More podcast and also at length in the reading from Genesis itself):

Jacob marries two sisters, Leah and Rachel, and bears children with both of them and also with an expanded group of two other women (servant girls to Leah and Rachel

Which of the following things does not occur in the narration of the book of Mark:

Jesus is born in a stable (i.e., "the Christmas story")

According to our course materials, which of the following is not accurate about the religious atmosphere of Judaism leading up to and during Jesus' lifetime:

Jews during this time period, though divided in earlier periods, formed a single, identifiable sect (called the "Essenes"), which was a single ruling party in Jerusalem

As stated in the book itself, the author of Revelation is named _______.

John

Which of the gospels begins with an echo of the creation story and complex philosophical and spiritual language proclaiming that Jesus is the "Word" (Greek logos):

John

Which of the following texts did we read out loud (in the podcast for this week) and discuss at length:

John ch. 20 (the story of "doubting Thomas")

The name of the new leader after Moses, who leads Israel in war to take the "promised land," is:

Joshua

According to our Bible Project videos for this week, which of the following is not accurate regarding the historical and literary context of letters in the Greco-Roman context of the New Testament world:

Letters were typically meant to be taken in as parts, not as a whole composition from beginning to end

Which of the following texts did we read out loud and discuss in detail (thus demonstrating a key literary device Mark uses) in this week's podcast:

Mark ch. 8 (Jesus rebukes the disciples, heals a blind man, then tells the disciples about what he must suffer)

This character, who encounters God at a burning bush, leads his fellow people out of Egypt:

Moses

In this week's main video lecture, Dr. Doak recounted an ancient creation story that was popular during the biblical period and which can be contrasted with the creation story in Genesis ch. 1. That other ancient creation story featured:

Multiple deities in conflict, creating through violence and using humans as slaves

In the "Need to Know More" podcast this week, the instructors suggested that the Jewish "gematria" (letter/number system) reveals that the "number of the Beast" (666) refers to:

Nero

In this week's "I Need to Know More" podcast, Dr. Doak specifically defined a prophet this way:

Prophets teach people how to feel bad and recognize their sin; and they encourage those who are downtrodden and doing the right thing

In her lecture on LAND for this week (and also mentioned in the readings), Dr. Edwards focused attention on a Canaanite prostitute and innkeeper who helped the Israelites take the land, named:

Rahab

This long letter (indeed, the longest of its type in the New Testament) was written to a divided community of believers at a location which the author hoped could become a "base" for further missionary journeys westward; key themes (esp. in the first several chapters) include "justification" by faith through Jesus, with Abraham as an example of justification by faith through radical trust in God's promise:

Romans

In our material for this week, we read of this disciple of Jesus who enacts "signs and wonders" among the people and gives a long speech condemning his audience for their refusal to accept the Holy Spirit; in response, he is stoned to death:

Stephen

In the second half of this week's "Need to Know More" podcast, Dr. Payne asked Drs. Doak and Clair to answer this difficult question:

Tell us about the most Christian act you've ever done (something that only Jesus' presence in your life could explain)

Which of the following accurately summarizes the narrative of the coming of the Holy Spirit in this week's readings:

The Spirit comes to a group gathered indoors, with a rushing wind and with flames of fire above the heads of the people

Which of the following statements is not accurate regarding the contents of the Song of Songs:

The book features the voice of a single male speaker, identified as King David, showering an unnamed woman (who is silent in the book) with compliments

Which of the following statements is accurate regarding the nature of miracles in the book of Acts:

The disciples themselves, through the power of the Holy Spirit, heal the sick and demon possessed and take part in many miracles

Which of the following statements is true about the state of the nation after the death of Solomon:

The nation splits into two parts--"Israel" in the north, under Jeroboam (a non-Davidic heir), and "Judah" in the south, under a Davidic heir.

Which of the following is not accurate regarding the experience of the followers of Jesus in Acts chs. 1-12 (our reading for this week):

Though threatened with beatings and death, God rushes in and saves them from bodily pain and suffering

In our course materials regarding the book of Mark (and the gospels more generally), we suggested that the Greek term euangelion had a very particular meaning in the Greco-Roman world, specifically:

euangelion was a political and religious term, used by emperors to describe the "good news" of their military and political victories; corresponds to the Hebrew term bisser or besorah, "announcement," in the Old Testament

In this week's video from the Bible Project on reading narrative and characters in the Bible, which of the following suggestions was made:

When we get a detail about what a character looked like in the Bible, that detail is often crucial for analyzing that character and the story they are in.

In the main lecture video for this week, Dr. Doak suggested which of the following regarding the relationship between humans and work in the vision of Genesis chs. 1-2:

Work is God's own design, and a dignified activity for humans

This ancient empire destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and took people captive, into exile, at the end of this week's set of narratives about Israel:

the Babylonians

The term "Christ" is:

the Greek term for "Messiah," i.e., one smeared/anointed with oil

As we know from the biblical story, Moses grows up in Egypt. Which of the following things does Moses do before leaving Egypt, which precipitates his initial flight from Egypt:

kills an Egyptian who is beating a Hebrew slave

Choose the answer that fills in the blank correctly according to the materials for this week: After leaving Egypt, the people gather at a _______, where God gives them the "Ten Commandments" and the rest of the Law.

mountain

According to Dr. Clair's lecture, the framework of Christian practice and ethics assumes that our love of ____ will lead us to love of _____.

neighbor...God