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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. Who is the star from Chapter 13 to the end of the Acts of the Apostles?
(a) Peter.
(b) John.
(c) Paul.
(d) Jude.

2. What does Mack argue the author of the letters to the Hebrews is saying?
(a) Jesus is better than the entire system of Israelite religion.
(b) Jesus is better than Moses.
(c) Jesus is better than God.
(d) Jesus is better than the Roman gods.

3. What was the first act in Valentinus' cosmic drama?
(a) Man was created.
(b) The world was destroyed.
(c) Man was destroyed.
(d) The world was created.

4. What does canon mean?
(a) A religious book.
(b) A date or time.
(c) Norm or standard.
(d) A book of history.

5. What does Mack claim both Marcion and Valentinus offered?
(a) A way to avoid God.
(b) A new way to view God.
(c) An ancient way to view God.
(d) A revised way to view God.

Short Answer Questions

1. What list became the Christian Bible?

2. What is the common core of the Jewish scriptures?

3. When does Mack argue Mark's gospel was written?

4. Who does Mack argue at the end of Chapter 8 became the beloved disciple?

5. How did Mark portray Jesus?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Mack's observations about James as an author in the first three centuries.

2. What does Mack say about the "overwhelming concern" in the Didache about the practice of alms, gift giving, and supporting those who ask for hand outs?

3. What is Mack's argument about why John wrote Revelations?

4. What did the Jewish scripture available to early Christians consist of?

5. What was Marcion of Sinope's logic, in terms of his views of two Gods, and what to do about the Jewish contamination in the gospels?

6. Describe the situation in the empire since the reign of Caligula, in terms of the political mood of the Jews.

7. What were the two key arguments that the centrists tried to use against the non-centrist positions of Valentinus and Marcion?

8. Explain the conversion of Constantine, and why it was pivotal in the creation of the Bible.

9. What were the common values contained in both the temple system of sacrifice and the family system of rituals that allowed the translation of one into the other?

10. What are the four types of miracle interpretation occurring in the Gospel of John?

(see the answer keys)

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