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1 | |
The Nicene Creed, an early statement of orthodox Christian belief, repeatedly stresses ____________________ in its description of Jesus Christ. |
| | A) | Jesus' absolute equality with God |
| | B) | Jesus compassion for sinners |
| | C) | the reality of Jesus' miracles |
| | D) | the fulfillment of prophecies in the Hebrew Bible about the Messiah |
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2 | |
The earliest non-Christian reference to the life of Jesus in ancient literature comes from the writings of ________________. |
| | A) | Flavius Josephus |
| | B) | Joseph of Arimathea |
| | C) | Tacitus |
| | D) | Julius Caesar |
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3 | |
Numerous non-Christian writers left behind comprehensive accounts of Jesus' life that scholars can compare to the content of the canonical Gospels. |
| | A) | True |
| | B) | False |
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4 | |
According to Albert Schweitzer, the historical Jesus was _______________________. |
| | A) | a wisdom teacher who spoke in brief sentences or phrases. |
| | B) | an apocalyptic prophet who hoped his death would usher in the day of final judgment. |
| | C) | a Zealot who was crucified for inciting rebellion against Rome. |
| | D) | a magician who earned his living performing healings and nature miracles. |
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5 | |
This New Testament scholar believed that, although it is impossible to recover the real information about the historical Jesus, the universal concept for which Jesus stands still calls persons to an important moment of ethical commitment. |
| | A) | Albert Schweitzer |
| | B) | Rudolf Bultmann |
| | C) | H. J. Holtzmann |
| | D) | John Dominic Crossan |
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6 | |
Most members of the Jesus Seminar claim that Jesus was originally a Jewish wisdom teacher whose followers mistook him for an apocalyptic prophet because they misunderstood his figurative language to refer to the End of time. |
| | A) | True |
| | B) | False |
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7 | |
According to the criterion of ______________, the historical Jesus was more likely to have uttered brief, easily memorizable sayings than long, rambling discourses. |
| | A) | dissimilarity |
| | B) | orality |
| | C) | embarrassment |
| | D) | form |
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8 | |
Many scholars believe the historical Jesus was fond of speaking in _______________ or brief, snappy pronouncements that typically overturned conventional wisdom. |
| | A) | aphorisms |
| | B) | discourses |
| | C) | parables |
| | D) | discourses |
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9 | |
Jesus often used metaphors dealing with growth and change in describing God's "domain' or kingdom. |
| | A) | True |
| | B) | False |
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10 | |
According to the criterion of dissimilarity, a saying attributed to Jesus is likely to be authentic if ____________________________. |
| | A) | it contains Greek words or phrases. |
| | B) | it differs from parallel sayings in the writings of other philosophers. |
| | C) | it is found in more than one gospel |
| | D) | it is different from both first-century Jewish attitudes and those of the later Hellenistic church. |
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11 | |
According to the criterion of multiple attestation, a saying attributed to Jesus is likely to be authentic if _______________________. |
| | A) | it contains Greek words or phrases. |
| | B) | it differs from parallel sayings in the writings of other philosophers. |
| | C) | it is found in more than one Gospel. |
| | D) | it is different from both first-century Jewish attitudes and those of the later Hellenistic church. |
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12 | |
According to the criterion of embarrassment, Jesus is unlikely to have done or said those things in the gospels that later Christians found embarrassing or awkward to explain. |
| | A) | True |
| | B) | False |
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13 | |
When it was formed in the late 1980s, the stated purpose of the group called the ____________________ was to screen all the Gospels and other documents composed during the first three centuries of Christianity for reliable data about the historical Jesus. |
| | A) | Institute for Advanced Study |
| | B) | Society of Biblical Literature |
| | C) | College Theological Society |
| | D) | Jesus Seminar |
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14 | |
According to the Jesus Seminar, the core of the actual historical sayings of Jesus in the Gospels is found in the Passion narratives, where there are the greatest parallels between the four Gospels. |
| | A) | True |
| | B) | False |
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15 | |
Which of the following types of sayings of Jesus is the Jesus Seminar most likely to accept as historically authentic? |
| | A) | Jesus' briefer parables and aphorisms |
| | B) | Jesus' eschatological predictions about his return |
| | C) | Jesus' metaphysical statements about his divine origin |
| | D) | Jesus' teachings about his birth and early life |
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16 | |
Critics of the Jesus Seminar defend the notion of Jesus as an apocalyptic teacher, pointing out that much Jewish belief in Jesus' day was apocalyptically oriented. |
| | A) | True |
| | B) | False |
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17 | |
Most scholars agree that Jesus was born during the reign of _____________________ sometime around 6-4 B.C.E. |
| | A) | Herod Antipas |
| | B) | Julius Caesar |
| | C) | the apostle Paul |
| | D) | Herod the Great |
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18 | |
Some scholars believe that Jesus was originally a disciple of John the Baptist. |
| | A) | True |
| | B) | False |
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19 | |
Jesus often referred to God by the Aramaic word _____________, which means "father." |
| | A) | Kepha' |
| | B) | Talitha |
| | C) | Basileia |
| | D) | Abba |
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20 | |
Which of the following is NOT one of the ways that Jesus uses the term "kingdom of God" in the Gospels? |
| | A) | to express the kingdom's preeminence |
| | B) | to defend his personal authority to represent the kingdom and interpret the divine will |
| | C) | to speak of the future reality of heaven as a place for all believers |
| | D) | to proclaim the kingdom's radical demand for total commitment |
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education