Rel2240
REL 2240: Review for First Examination!
1. What principles appear to have been used in the selection of the New Testament canon? Give specific examples of three early Christian writings not found in the New Testament and suggest why they may not have become canonical.
2. What is the distinction between Temple and Synagogue; priest and rabbi?!
3. What are the five main characteristics of Apocalyptic Thought? Give three examples of Jewish apocalyptic writings.
4. Compare and contrast the idea of Reward and Punishment as presented in the Tanakh and in Jewish Apocalypticism.
5. How did the Pharisees and Sadducees differ in regard to Oral Torah and Reward and Punishment in an afterlife? How might each have justified their position?
6. Compare and contrast the cosmology, ethics and means of "salvation" in Epicureanism, Stoicism, Platonism, Gnosticism and Judaism (note differences among Jewish sects). How did each address the issues of death and immortality?
7. What sorts of figures were regarded as "divine men" who were called "sons of God" and said to have worked miracles in the Graeco-Roman world? Give one specific example for each type of "divine man" and give at least one specific example of an extraordinary birth, miracles, and death associated with divine men.
8. What are the characteristics of a mystery religion? Give an example of the sacred story associated with one mystery religion and how it might have related to a hope of immortality.
9. List four reasons why the early Christians were persecuted by the Romans.
10. How did the Christians react to persecution? How did the persecutions contribute to the growth of Christianity? How does the correspondence between Pliny and Trajan contribute to our understanding of the persecution of the early Christians?
11. How do most modern New Testament scholars solve the "Synoptic Problem"?
12. Explain and give a biblical example of Textual, Source, Redaction and Form Criticism.
13. According to Christian tradition,
1. What principles appear to have been used in the selection of the New Testament canon? Give specific examples of three early Christian writings not found in the New Testament and suggest why they may not have become canonical.
2. What is the distinction between Temple and Synagogue; priest and rabbi?!
3. What are the five main characteristics of Apocalyptic Thought? Give three examples of Jewish apocalyptic writings.
4. Compare and contrast the idea of Reward and Punishment as presented in the Tanakh and in Jewish Apocalypticism.
5. How did the Pharisees and Sadducees differ in regard to Oral Torah and Reward and Punishment in an afterlife? How might each have justified their position?
6. Compare and contrast the cosmology, ethics and means of "salvation" in Epicureanism, Stoicism, Platonism, Gnosticism and Judaism (note differences among Jewish sects). How did each address the issues of death and immortality?
7. What sorts of figures were regarded as "divine men" who were called "sons of God" and said to have worked miracles in the Graeco-Roman world? Give one specific example for each type of "divine man" and give at least one specific example of an extraordinary birth, miracles, and death associated with divine men.
8. What are the characteristics of a mystery religion? Give an example of the sacred story associated with one mystery religion and how it might have related to a hope of immortality.
9. List four reasons why the early Christians were persecuted by the Romans.
10. How did the Christians react to persecution? How did the persecutions contribute to the growth of Christianity? How does the correspondence between Pliny and Trajan contribute to our understanding of the persecution of the early Christians?
11. How do most modern New Testament scholars solve the "Synoptic Problem"?
12. Explain and give a biblical example of Textual, Source, Redaction and Form Criticism.
13. According to Christian tradition,