Deck 11: The Continuing Quest for the Historical Jesus

Question 1

The Council of Nicaea in 325 CE did all of the following except

A)reject the idea that Jesus was entirely human.
B)create a formal statement of orthodox Christian belief.
C)initially reject the Gospel of John because it did not fit with the other three Gospels.
D)assert that there was never a time when Jesus did not exist.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Jesus often referred to God by the Aramaic word _____________,which means "father."

A)Kepha'
B)Talitha
C)Basileia
D)Abba

Answer 2

D

Question 3

All of the following are criteria for assessing the authenticity of Jesus' words and deeds,except

A)orality.
B)originality.
C)form.
D)coherence.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The Roman government's first official recognition of the new faith of Christianity was when

A)Jesus was crucified.
B)Paul was arrested in Jerusalem.
C)Nero persecuted the Christians in Rome.
D)John's Gospel was banned.

Question 5

The Evangelists place great emphasis on Jesus' human status,pointing out that he is like other men and all can aspire to be like him.

Question 6

Scholars generally agree on a methodology for assessing traditions in the effort to find Jesus' authentic voice,but they have reached very different conclusions.

Question 7

Although the Synoptic writers imply that Jesus' Galilean campaign lasted about a year,John's Gospel may be right in stating that it extended

A)only one summer.
B)for two years.
C)over at least three years.
D)five or more years.

Question 8

Most scholars believe that

A)Jesus presented himself as the Messiah,but his followers did not believe him until after his death.
B)Jesus presented himself as the Messiah and his disciples believed him before his death.
C)Jesus did not present himself as the Messiah,but some of his followers may have viewed him as the Messiah.
D)Jesus did not present himself as the Messiah,and no one believed he was the Messiah until after his death.

Question 9

Although it was a minority opinion at the time he wrote,Paul's concept of Jesus has influenced virtually every interpretation of Jesus' life since.

Question 10

The Nicene Creed,an early statement of orthodox Christian belief,repeatedly stresses

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.

Question 11

Most scholars believe that the Gospels of Mark,Thomas,Matthew,and Luke contain many authentic traditions about Jesus' words and deeds.

Question 12

A terse,snappy pronouncement that typically overturns conventional wisdom is a(n)

A)exegesis.
B)aphorism.
C)parable.
D)eschaton.

Question 13

Non-Christian writers of the first century often refer to Jesus,but not in a religious context.

Question 14

After years of sifting through the evidence,Jesus Seminar members concluded that only about ______ percent of the words that the Gospel writers attribute to Jesus probably originated with him.

A)20
B)75
C)50
D)10

Question 15

The Gospel of Mark seems to indicate that Jesus was designated God's son

A)when he was conceived.
B)when he was resurrected.
C)by saying that he was.
D)at his Baptism.

Question 16

According to the criterion of multiple attestation,if a saying appears in _________ it is likely to be genuine.

A)Mark,Matthew,and Luke
B)Mark,Q,and Luke
C)Mark,Q,and Thomas
D)Mark,Thomas,and Luke

Question 17

The Jesus Seminar concluded that during his lifetime Jesus was known as all of the following,except as a(n)

A)healer.
B)exorcist.
C)scholar.
D)teacher.

Question 18

There is general agreement among scholars that Jesus had several brothers or close relatives named

A)Judas,Cephas,Peter,and James.
B)James,Joseph,Simon,and Jude.
C)James,John,Judas,and Joseph.
D)Peter,Saul,Mark,and John.

Question 19

The only Jewish writer of the first and early second centuries to allude to Jesus was

A)Tacitus.
B)Suetonius.
C)Pliny the Younger.
D)Josephus.

Question 20

John firmly links Jesus with Israel's ___________,the teachings of which associate the wise person with God's basileia-heavenly kingship.

A)wisdom literature
B)apocryphal ways
C)synoptic allusions
D)aphoristic studies

Question 21

At various times throughout the Gospels,Jesus referred to himself as Christ,Son of God,and Son of Man.

Question 22

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.

Question 23

Albert Schweitzer's reading of Jesus was as a devoted but misguided apocalyptist.

Question 24

Most scholars refute the notion that Jesus was a follower of John the Baptist.

Question 25

The embarrassment factor says that if a tradition is embarrassing,difficult to explain,or causes general discomfort for believers,it has a greater likelihood of authenticity.

Question 26

Historians have no means of proving that the resurrection did or did not happen; they can only study the reported behaviors of people who believed that it did happen.

Question 27

Most scholars believe that Jesus did teach about God's kingdom but that he did not teach about himself.

Question 28

The Gospel writers were biographers first and theologians second.

Question 29

All of the traditions studied by scholars agree that Jesus was a healer.