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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. Some Gnostic authors see Sophia as the ___________ benevolently having provided the gift of self-awareness to Adam and to Eve.
(a) Apple.
(b) Goddess.
(c) Serpent.
(d) Tree.

2. __________ was far more recognized and abundant than previously thought, especially in the years following Jesus' death.
(a) Judaism.
(b) Islam.
(c) Christianity.
(d) Gnosticism.

3. A Valentinian Exposition speaks of God as a ____________, and no one was before him, according to the text of this chapter.
(a) Angel.
(b) Monad.
(c) Demon.
(d) Serpent.

4. Pagels points out that it was __________ that ultimately expelled the Valentinians who strove to maintain their membership.
(a) The Church.
(b) The Gnostics.
(c) The Jews.
(d) The Romans.

5. The _________ today, according to the Catholic Church, is the only legitimate heir to the humble vestments of Peter.
(a) Cardinals.
(b) Cathedrals.
(c) Saints.
(d) Pope.

Short Answer Questions

1. The language in many texts respects the idea of the female, though not in pagan terms, rather in presenting God as a Mother/Father ______.

2. Which of the three principals in the Holy Trinity is genderless, according to Pagels' observations?

3. In the traditional orthodox canon, the spirit or the _____________ is gender neutral, but this is not the case everywhere.

4. What did Muhammad and his brothers embark on in order to avenge the death of their father?

5. The ___________, often called the Watchword of the Jewish faith, proclaims, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One."

Short Essay Questions

1. When Paul is writing in his letters, he refers to something that is 'whether it is in the body or out of the body I do not know.' What is he referring to?

2. What does Pagels speculate united the Gnostics, as diverse as they were in the world?

3. What kind of criteria would the Gnostics give as being the true definition of a Christian?

4. What is the tradition that developed, though not completely logical and contradicted by two other gospels?

5. What made Christianity an easy reach for the masses, while also consolidating power in the Church?

6. What did Tertullian find so horrible about those who claimed the secret gnosis?

7. Even during the time of the Reformation, what did the Protestant sects adhere to in terms of a doctrine?

8. What did a letter attributed to the Bishop of Rome around 90 to 100 AD create in official language for the first time?

9. What are some of the images of Christ that John and James witness in the Acts of John, discovered before Nag Hammadi?

10. Who were the Gnostics attacked by, as revealed in the Second Treatise of the Great Seth?

(see the answer keys)

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