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

2. How many books of the New Testament is Paul responsible for, according to Mack?
(a) Five.
(b) All of them.
(c) Over one half.
(d) One.

3. What problem did Paul define as the human problem?
(a) Greed.
(b) Pride.
(c) The power of false idols.
(d) The power of sin.

4. What is an epic according to Mack?
(a) A hope for a brighter future.
(b) An examination of the past to reveal public policy.
(c) A look at the past to discover previous laws.
(d) A rehearsal of the past that puts the present in its light.

5. What does Mack note the Corinthians are the first example of?
(a) A Hellenistic, urban congregation.
(b) A congregation of Jews.
(c) A congregation gone awry.
(d) A congregation of Paul's disciples.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did the Christ hymn imply about the domain of Jesus?

2. What did Paul's Jewish sensibility place high value on?

3. Why does Mack call the Christ cult the first Christians?

4. What was the Greek concept of civilization?

5. What does Mack note causes some of the differences between the stories of the New Testament?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the catch-22 Mack finds when discussing the New Testament and the origins of the Christian Church?

2. What are the three features of the text that indicate the Christ myth is based on the martyr myths?

3. What are the four types of material within the letters to the Corinthians?

4. Describe the temple-state.

5. What did Paul mean by "freedom from the law", according to Mack?

6. What were the three ideas that groups gathered around that resulted in the Jesus movements?

7. What is the second Jesus movement discussed in the book, and what is/are the primary components of the movement's teachings?

8. What is the fifth Jesus movement discussed in the book, and what is/are the primary components of the movement's teachings?

9. Describe the two major aspects in which the Christ cult differed from the Jesus movements.

10. Explain what was meant by Jesus in referring to his body as the bread, and his blood as the wine.

(see the answer keys)

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