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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What concept was important to the Jewish temple-state, the Greek polis, and the Roman system of government?
(a) Politics.
(b) Law.
(c) Divinity.
(d) Virtue.

2. When would eternal life be obtained, according the Mack's depiction of Paul's letters to the Thessalonians?
(a) Never.
(b) At the end of time.
(c) In death.
(d) In accepting Christ.

3. What feature of the Jerusalem group allows readers to build a profile?
(a) The leaders' home states are known.
(b) The leaders' names are known.
(c) The leaders' political ambitions are known.
(d) The leaders' religions are known.

4. What does Paul assure the Thessalonians in terms of "those who had died"?
(a) That those who died in sin would not be with God after death.
(b) That those who died before Christ could still be saved.
(c) That those who died with God will never die.
(d) That those who died with God will live with God.

5. What notion does Mack believe generated enough excitement to influence the formation of different Jesus groups?
(a) The power of Jesus.
(b) The kingdom of God.
(c) The power of the state.
(d) The concept of Jesus as son of God.

6. Whose stories are mimicked in the Miracle Stories?
(a) Greek mythology.
(b) The Egyptian scriptures.
(c) Roman myth.
(d) The Jewish scriptures.

7. What does Paul ask Philemon to do with Onesimus?
(a) Receive him without punishment.
(b) Kill him.
(c) Punish him as God would punish him.
(d) Send him into exile.

8. What are sophists?
(a) Paid members of the Church.
(b) Believers in the Jewish faith.
(c) Teachers of religious theory in schools.
(d) Wandering teachers who offered insights and knowledge.

9. What way did ethnic or cultural groups create small social units within the larger culture they found themselves in?
(a) They created fellowships and associations.
(b) They worked with one another.
(c) They met in government.
(d) They met in educational institutions.

10. What does Mack suggest the taking up of residence in Jerusalem signifies for the group?
(a) A political agenda.
(b) A loyalty to the Pharisee.
(c) A disrespect for Jewish tradition.
(d) A religious agenda.

11. Why does Mack think putting aside conventional ideas of the origins of Christianity is difficult for some?
(a) Christians have an investment in the idea that the Church is infallible.
(b) Christians have an investment in the idea that the New Testament is a collection of myths.
(c) Christians have an investment in the idea that the Old Testament is true.
(d) Christians have an investment in the idea that the New Testament is true.

12. What does Mack claim is the reason for the many portrayals of Jesus?
(a) There is no difference in the portrayals of Jesus.
(b) Different groups developed his image to support their movement.
(c) Different people changed the true description for political gain.
(d) Different groups saw him differently, based on his age.

13. Why does Mack claim the Bible was important by the end of the fourth century?
(a) It gave the Church credentials for a role in the history of Israel.
(b) It gave the Church credentials in the eyes of early Christians.
(c) It gave the Church credentials for a role in Jewish history.
(d) It gave the Church credentials for a role in Constantine's empire.

14. What does Mack claim is the link that gives the Christian Bible logic and force?
(a) The link between the Jewish scriptures of the Old Testament, and the Catholic Church.
(b) The link between the Jewish scriptures of the Old Testament, and the New Testament.
(c) The link between the Protestant Bible and the Apocrypha.
(d) The link between the Jewish temple, and the New Testament.

15. What does Mack claim the Christ hymn was the result of?
(a) A burning desire for a personal Deity.
(b) A lie by the disciples.
(c) A conflict of authority.
(d) A vision of Paul.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Mack claim about the Book of Isaiah?

2. When does Mack claim the books of the New Testament were written?

3. What do the pillars in the Jerusalem group do that other Jesus movements do not?

4. What became the sign of belonging to the new fellowship that became the Christ cult?

5. What two words came to represent the debate between power and the divine law of nature?

(see the answer keys)

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