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

2. What way did ethnic or cultural groups create small social units within the larger culture they found themselves in?

3. What does Carsten Thiede claim about the Magdalen fragments?

4. Why does Mack think putting aside conventional ideas of the origins of Christianity is difficult for some?

5. What did the Greek model of civilization give rise to?

Short Essay Questions

1. What myths did the concept of the death and resurrection of Christ draw upon?

2. Explain why social tension began to mount within the new mixed society of Greco-Roman times, and how these groups tried to keep their culture.

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

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

5. What are the four features of the Christ myth Mack claims are a result of the involvement of God?

6. Describe the concept of the polis.

7. Explain how Mack views the authors of the literature in the New Testament.

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

9. Why are Paul's letters to the Thessalonians important?

10. What were some of the problems exporting the Athens model of society?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain and analyze the two forces that Mack claims drive Christianity. What are those two forces? How do those forces move Christianity along? What tensions are involved in these forces? when did these forces begin to have an effect on Christianity? Where else did Biblical influence become apparent? Why are these factors important when examining the construction of the Christian bible?

Essay Topic 2

Explain the cultures of the Greco-Roman times in the Eastern Mediterranean, as explained by Mack in Chapter 1. Be sure to include concepts of the Jewish temple-state, the Greek city-state, and the Roman republic. What were the similarities of these groups? What were the differences? How did these cultural clashes help to form a breeding ground for new social ideas and experiments? What types of social experiments were done? How did these contribute to the creation of a new society?

Essay Topic 3

Choose one of the five Jesus groups listed below and discuss their characteristics, and the primary teachings their movement brings forth. Be sure to include what they believed, and why, as well as their primary influence on the concept of Jesus and society in general.

-Community of Q

-Jesus School

-True Disciples of the Gospel of Thomas

-Congregation of Israel

-Jerusalem Pillars

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