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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. John, emotionally distraught over the crucifixion, announces the Trinity as the Father, Mother and __________.

2. The author believes that the resurrection is what sets Christianity apart from other faiths as it deals with __________, not with rebirth.

3. 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.

4. In the Hypostasis of the Archons, ________ is elevated to being the spiritual mother of Adam, even though other stories contradict this.

5. The resurrection, Pagels speculates, helps to _____________ the authority of those who believed literally in the resurrection.

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What made the idea of there only being a strict and narrow path to God so attractive to the orthodox?

3. What is a possible explanation for the burial of the sacred texts in the jar that Mohammed 'Ali found?

4. In the Testimony of Truth, what does the Gnostic author offer as components of a holy life?

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

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

7. What did the Roman Empire seem to think of the new following of Jesus and the development of Christianity?

8. What kind of suffering was focused on in the Gnostic path and the belief system?

9. What did Hippolytus, great enemy of the agnostics, accuse Callistus of?

10. What was the vision that John had, emotionally distraught over the crucifixion in the Apocryphon of John?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the end, it seems unclear as to what a true Christian might look like or believe.

Part 1: Do you think there should be only one definition of what a Christian is? Why or why not?

Part 2: How do you think that religion would change if there was only one definition of a Christian?

Part 3: Why do you think it's important for some to have a definition of what a Christian is?

Essay Topic 2

Pagels also points out that at times, beliefs that weren't logical became preeminent.

Part 1: Do you think it's dangerous for illogical beliefs to be powerful? Why or why not?

Part 2: Does it matter whether a belief is logical? Why or why not?

Part 3: How do you think society would change of all accepted beliefs were logical? Why?

Essay Topic 3

In the beginning, those that found the jar with the gospels in it did not want to break the jar, lest they cause harm or they have bad luck befall them.

Part 1: Why do you think that superstition still thrives?

Part 2: Do you think you would have broken the jar more quickly than those of the story did? Why or why not?

Part 3: Do you think that breaking open the jar was a good idea? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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