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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Jesus says that he will lead Mary, make her _______ so that she too may become a living spirit, resembling the others in the room.
(a) Goddess.
(b) An angel.
(c) Formless.
(d) Male.

2. The redefinition of who sees Jesus first is a tradition which first indicated that the direction of the _________ more than the importance of the doctrine.
(a) Guru.
(b) Church.
(c) Followers.
(d) Pope.

3. According to some of the Gnostic gospels, the Creator does not precede mankind at all - there is an immortal __________ that precedes him.
(a) Womb.
(b) Humanity.
(c) Mother.
(d) Demon.

4. Some say that the Christian creed was written to specifically exclude ___________ and his followers who were not following the creed.
(a) Luke.
(b) Jonas.
(c) Jesus.
(d) Marcion.

5. Where did one of the most important archaeological events take place in 1945 according to the book?
(a) Sudan.
(b) Lower Egypt.
(c) Middle East.
(d) Upper Egypt.

Short Answer Questions

1. To Iranaeus, the monotheism of the Valentianians was a kind of ________, a hoax that would allow them to participate in the orthodox church.

2. Pagels points out that the ___________ may be the key building block of orthodox Christianity.

3. The Gnostics, some said, interpreted the resurrection to be something like an apparition that appears in a ________ state.

4. The Gnostic teachers tell the story of the ___________ differently from their orthodox brethren, according to Pagels.

5. Bishop Irenaeus wrote the book "The Destruction and Overthrow of Falsely So-Called _____________."

Short Essay Questions

1. What did the Roman Empire seem to think of the new following of Jesus and the development of Christianity?

2. What was one of the most important archaeological events that took place in December of 1945?

3. When one looks at the gnostic groups, what is the one thing which remains certain, according to the author?

4. What was the vision that John had, emotionally distraught over the crucifixion in the Apocryphon of John?

5. What are some of the images of Christ that John and James witness in the Acts of John, discovered before Nag Hammadi?

6. What did Tertullian find so horrible about those who claimed the secret gnosis?

7. What are some of the explanations that the Gnostics offered for the resurrection stories of Jesus?

8. What do most people agree about in terms of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ?

9. To whom did one's real allegiance belong, according to the ideas of Valentine?

10. What does Pagels speculate united the Gnostics, as diverse as they were in the world?

(see the answer keys)

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