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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. How does John portray Jesus, according to Mack?

2. Who began to give an account of the new religion to Greeks, Romans, and others?

3. What word is used to imply the significance of the miracle stories in the Gospel of John?

4. What is the only feature that all Christian religions have in common?

5. What does Mack claim both Marcion and Valentinus offered?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the three concerns underlying the treatise to the Hebrews?

2. 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?

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

4. Describe Matthew's depiction of Jesus.

5. How does the Gospel of John differ from that of Mark?

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

7. Explain the observations Mack claims are important about Mark's use of the pronouncement stories.

8. What evidence does Mack put forth that the attempts to move into mainstream Christianity worked?

9. What two values are integrated in the Letters of Ignatius, and what is the result?

10. What are the major points of the sermons contained in the Acts, according to Mack?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

List and discuss the four "proofs" from scripture that support the idea that the history of Israel can be read as the story of the Christian God. What are the four points? What do they mean? How do they tie together to create the idea of a scripture that supports the Christian God, rather than a Jewish God? Be sure to mention concepts such as the spirit of prophesy, the logos, and the idea that the history of Israel did not end with the Jews.

Essay Topic 2

Explain, in detail, the cosmic views that Mack claims are presented in the following texts. Be sure to include why Mack claims these texts reveal an image of Jesus as a cosmic lord, and the tools used to present Jesus in such a way.

• Gospel of John

• Letters to the Colossians and Ephesians

• Epistle to the Hebrews

• Revelation to John

Essay Topic 3

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?

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