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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What two realms did the Corinthians combine?
(a) Greek philosophy and the Christ myth.
(b) Greek philosophy and Jewish belief.
(c) The Christ myth and Jewish belief.
(d) Jewish belief and Greek myth.

2. What does Paul assure the Thessalonians in terms of "those who had died"?
(a) That those who died in sin would not be with God after death.
(b) That those who died with God will live with God.
(c) That those who died before Christ could still be saved.
(d) That those who died with God will never die.

3. In the temple-state model of civilization, what system does the king represent?
(a) Logic.
(b) Purity.
(c) Power.
(d) Salvation.

4. What does Mack believe the figure of Jesus became with the Pronouncement Stories?
(a) Interpreter of the law.
(b) A martyr.
(c) A mystic.
(d) A teacher.

5. Who were the Judaizers?
(a) Christian missionaries who sought to bring about the end of the Jews.
(b) Jewish missionaries who disagreed with Christianity.
(c) Jewish Christian missionaries who agreed with Paul's freedom from the law gospel.
(d) Jewish Christian missionaries who disagreed with Paul's freedom from the law gospel.

6. What does Mack claim about the authors of the sections in the New Testament?
(a) They are the people each section is attributed to.
(b) They were descendants of Jesus.
(c) They were uneducated militants, rebelling against the Church.
(d) They are not the people each section is attributed to.

7. What did the Christ hymn imply about the domain of Jesus?
(a) It encompassed only the gentiles.
(b) It encompassed all people.
(c) It diminished in size.
(d) It encompassed only the Jews.

8. What does Mack claim is the purpose of the Miracle Stories of Mark?
(a) To explain the supernatural powers of the disciples.
(b) To explain historic facts of Jesus.
(c) To create the impression of a divine power.
(d) To describe the wonders of faith.

9. What feature of the Christ cult does Mack claim Paul found irresistible?
(a) The concept of a social group with mixed ethnicity and social status.
(b) The concept of a group dedicated to Jesus and the Jewish codes of cleanliness.
(c) The concept of an unmixed social group.
(d) The concept of a social group of only the lower class.

10. What does Mack claim is the link that gives the Christian Bible logic and force?
(a) The link between the Protestant Bible and the Apocrypha.
(b) The link between the Jewish scriptures of the Old Testament, and the New Testament.
(c) The link between the Jewish scriptures of the Old Testament, and the Catholic Church.
(d) The link between the Jewish temple, and the New Testament.

11. Why does Mack state that people become silent when confronted with Biblical information?
(a) People are afraid to be incorrect in their interpretations of the Bible.
(b) There is too much public knowledge about the Bible.
(c) There is little public knowledge about the Bible.
(d) People have too much time invested in the study of the Bible.

12. Where did Rome place its power in the second and first centuries?
(a) In its politicians.
(b) In its field commanders.
(c) In its priests.
(d) In its laborers.

13. What do Paul's letters to the Romans represent?
(a) A defense against other missionaries.
(b) An angry accusation of lewdness and persecution.
(c) A plea for the Romans to accept Christianity.
(d) A complete statement of his religious ideas.

14. What problem did Paul define as the human problem?
(a) The power of sin.
(b) Greed.
(c) Pride.
(d) The power of false idols.

15. What became the sign of belonging to the new fellowship that became the Christ cult?
(a) Eating together.
(b) Singing together.
(c) Fighting together.
(d) Praying together.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the myth of Jesus' death and resurrection rooted in, according to Mack?

2. What way did ethnic or cultural groups create small social units within the larger culture they found themselves in?

3. In the temple-state model of civilization, what system does the priest represent?

4. Why does Mack claim groups are forming outside the boundaries of religion to study the Bible?

5. What are the two activities Mack gives credit to in terms of the creation of Christian beliefs?

(see the answer keys)

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