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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the star from Chapter 13 to the end of the Acts of the Apostles?

2. Where did the writer of the gospel of Luke write the gospel, according to Mack?

3. What does Mack say about the letter of Jude?

4. What does Mack call the Christian myth, in terms of its completion?

5. Why are the Epistles of Peter and Jude called the Catholic epistles?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the major points of the sermons contained in the Acts, according to Mack?

2. What was Valentinus' story of the tragedy of the birth of the world?

3. What were the four ways of reading the scripture that supported the Christian inclusion of Jewish scripture in their religion?

4. What two strong desires drove Christianity?

5. What are the standard writing conventions used in the Acts of the Apostles?

6. What two values are integrated in the Letters of Ignatius, and what is the result?

7. How does the Gospel of John differ from that of Mark?

8. Explain the observations Mack claims are important about Mark's use of the pronouncement stories.

9. What is Mack's argument about why John wrote Revelations?

10. What were the common values contained in both the temple system of sacrifice and the family system of rituals that allowed the translation of one into the other?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

List and discuss the three layers of the Gospel of Q. be sure to describe each in detail, and explain both what they describe, as well as their historical impact. Why was each written? What does each discuss? What are the seven blocks of Q1? Why are they called the Gospel of Q? How do the Q Gospels compare to the statements of the Cynics? What was added with Q3?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast two of the following Gospels. Be sure to include the time of the writing, the location, the portrayal of Jesus, the use of other documents to form a basis, and the individual additions of each author to the main story line. How are the two similar, and how are they different?

• The Gospel of Mark

• The Gospel of Matthew

• The Gospel of Luke

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the letter by Paul to the Galatians. Why is it important? What happened to entice the letter from Paul? What question was Paul trying to answer? What was his argument, in terms of how the Christians could receive the same blessings as the Jews? Explain that argument in detail. What issues does Mack see, in terms of the validity of the argument? Was this argument continued by Paul in later letters? Why or why not? What does this say about Paul's own opinion of his argument?

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