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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Sophia further assists Adam and Eve when she saves their descendants during the time of ____________.

2. Tertullian noted the way that _______ were so eagerly accepted in all facets of church society with great horror.

3. Marion concluded that there were ___________ because of the brutal God in the Old Testament and the compassionate God in the New Testament.

4. Some Gnostic authors see Sophia as the ___________ benevolently having provided the gift of self-awareness to Adam and to Eve.

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the primary goal of the Valentianians in the way they lived and followed their beliefs?

2. What does the idea of the laughing of Jesus during his torture and flogging seem to imply to those who read it?

3. What are the two occasions described in the Bible in which the reappearance of Jesus might be called into question?

4. When one looks at the gnostic groups, what is the one thing which remains certain, according to the author?

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

6. What did Mohammed 'Ali do when he realized there wasn't any treasure in the jar that he had found?

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

8. What is the idea that Marcion concluded about God since he found a brutal God in the Old Testament and a compassionate God in the New Testament?

9. 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?

10. What is the image that would infuriate the orthodox, the one that is described in Nag Hammadi's Apocalypse of Peter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The idea of having one person as God seems to also relate to that day's thoughts about government and those in power.

Part 1: Do you think that the government had a vested interested in whether there was one God or more? Why or why not?

Part 2: How does having one God figure help those who are in the government?

Part 3: Why do you think that monotheism seems to be a prevalent spiritual concept in today's society?

Essay Topic 2

Looking at the Bible in a different way is not always something that people are willing to do.

Part 1: Why do you think people are resistant to seeing the Bible in a new way?

Part 2: Do you think that it's a good idea or a bad idea to look at new perspectives in the Bible? Why?

Part 3: How do you think religion might change if the gnostic gospels were considered to be true? Why?

Essay Topic 3

The brothers decided to go after the killer of their father, hacking him to bits and eating his heart.

Part 1: Why do you think the brothers thought this sort of killing was necessary?

Part 2: Do you think it's ever a good idea to kill another person? Why or why not?

Part 3: How do you think the brothers' life will change as a result of their murderous actions?

(see the answer keys)

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