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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Bishop Irenaeus wrote the book "The Destruction and Overthrow of Falsely So-Called _____________."
(a) Faith.
(b) God.
(c) Knowledge.
(d) Jesus.

2. Pagels recounts how in the story of _________ that Jesus tells his disciples to reach out and touch him to show he is flesh and bones.
(a) Matthew.
(b) John.
(c) Peter.
(d) Luke.

3. Where did one of the most important archaeological events take place in 1945 according to the book?
(a) Upper Egypt.
(b) Lower Egypt.
(c) Middle East.
(d) Sudan.

4. The resurrection, Pagels speculates, helps to _____________ the authority of those who believed literally in the resurrection.
(a) Magnify.
(b) Consolidate.
(c) Proclaim.
(d) Identify.

5. After the death of Judas, the only real candidate for succession was ____________ who had also walked with Christ.
(a) Matthew.
(b) Mathias.
(c) Jeremiah.
(d) John.

Short Answer Questions

1. One God, One _________ became the doctrine of the church, according to the text in this chapter.

2. Gnostic teachers debated whether or not the Dyad was an actual unified __________, with a male/female structure.

3. Where did members of the Egyptian government eventually spot the papyri that Muhammed had given away?

4. The Gnostics, some said, interpreted the resurrection to be something like an apparition that appears in a ________ state.

5. However, in two other gospels, it is _____________ who sees Jesus after he has risen from the dead.

Short Essay Questions

1. How do the Gnostic texts portray the God that is present in the story of Adam and Eve in the tale of creation?

2. What was one of the most important archaeological events that took place in December of 1945?

3. Why does Pagels suggest that perhaps there was a social aspect to the way the Church wanted to function?

4. What has created a lot of controversy when it comes to discussions between scholars of biblical texts?

5. What does Pagels want to express in terms of relationship to the Gnostic gospels?

6. What are some of the explanations that the Gnostics offered for the resurrection stories of Jesus?

7. What happened when a Roman soldier expressed his contempt for the Jews?

8. What does Jesus challenge his apostles to do in order to see that he has indeed resurrected?

9. What does Pagels give as an explanation as to why the story of the story of the resurrection seems to be so important to the faithful?

10. What did the Valentinians come to believe about the idea of God? What was He supposed to be?

(see the answer keys)

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