Deck 8: Early Christianity: a World Religion

Question 1

Which of the following statements about the Pharisees is FALSE ?

A)The Pharisees believed in an afterlife, a late belief probably imported from Persia.
B)Like the Sadducees, the Pharisees believed in a strict interpretation of the Mosaic Law.
C)The Pharisees gave authority to an oral tradition, an "oral Torah."
D)All later forms of Judaism developed from the Pharisees.
E)The Pharisees shared an emphasis on prophetic ideals with Jesus.

Answer 1

Like the Sadducees, the Pharisees believed in a strict interpretation of the Mosaic Law.

Question 2

Jesus evoked opposition among many Jews because

A)some of his interpretations of the Mosaic Law offended Jewish leaders.
B)Jesus undermined respect for the Sabbath by violating God's strict command not to labor on a holy day.
C)Jesus proclaimed spiritual truth in his own name and on his own authority.
D)Jesus claimed that, above all men, he had a special relationship with God.
E)all of the above

Answer 2

all of the above

Question 3

Jesus preached that God's kingdom was at hand. Therefore, each person had to

A)radically change his behavior.
B)eliminate base, lustful, hostile, and selfish feelings.
C)stop pursuing wealth and power.
D)show love for their fellow man and for God.
E)all of the above

Answer 3

all of the above

Question 4

All of the following is true of the Romans who ruled Palestine EXCEPT

A)they had great interest in Jewish intrareligious disputes.
B)they assigned Jesus a punishment consistent with someone guilty of high treason.
C)they feared Jesus as a political agitator.
D)they believed Jesus could ignite Jewish messianic expectations.
E)they worried that Jesus would incite a revolt against Rome.

Question 5

According to the text, ancient mystery cults

A)had real-life heroes.
B)featured deities who were killed against their will.
C)demanded loyalty to a single deity and the recognition that no other divine figures existed.
D)required their adherents to undergo a moral transformation.
E)all of the above

Question 6

The term Gentiles derives from the

A)Latin word for nation.
B)Hebrew word for other.
C)Greek word for followers.
D)Aramaic word for heretics.
E)Latin word for meek .

Question 7

Factors that contributed to the survival and growth of the Christian Church include

A)the creation of a strong organization, an institutional church.
B)a willingness to absorb some elements of Greek philosophy.
C)the adaptation of pagan beliefs and rituals include those of the other mystery religions.
D)the appeal of the idea that all are equally God's children.
E)all of the above

Question 8

John the Baptist was likely once a/an

A)Sadducee.
B)Pharisee.
C)Zealot.
D)Essene.
E)Christian.

Question 9

In the view of Saint Paul

A)Jesus' teachings were primarily for the Jews.
B)the Christian community was an Oikoumene.
C)Mosaic Law could never be superseded.
D)Hebraic rituals should be followed, at least by those who were Jews.
E)the learning of Greek was essential for Christians.

Question 10

The Essene community of Qumran

A)referred to themselves as the "sons of light."
B)considered themselves the true Israel.
C)anticipated a messianic age.
D)had similar teachings to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.
E)all of the above

Question 11

In his understanding of Christianity, Saint Paul taught all the following EXCEPT

A)all people, both Jews and non-Jews, had inherited sin from Adam and Eve.
B)Jesus had come to earth to save all people from sin and death.
C)Jesus' suffering and death on the cross was atonement for people's sin; he is the resurrected redeemer.
D)by believing in Jesus as savior, people can gain salvation.
E)God was Trinity, consisting of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Question 12

The triumph of Christianity marked a break with classical antiquity on the concept of

A)God.
B)the individual.
C)the purpose of life.
D)personal immortality.
E)all of the above

Question 13

The Sadducees

A)had the support of most of the Jewish people.
B)emphasized  the importance of temple ceremonies.
C)believed in  the resurrection of the dead and an afterlife.
D)came from the lower classes of Jewish society.
E)rejected the idea that  God's rewards and punishments came only in this world.

Question 14

Which of the following statements would be inconsistent with the text's  summary of Jesus' teaching on ethics?

A)"Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth."
B)"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven."
C)"Blessed are the ambitious for their toil will be rewarded."
D)"Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy."
E)"Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the sons of God."

Question 15

Jesus was condemned to death during the administration of

A)Augustus.
B)Tiberius.
C)Claudius.
D)Trajan.
E)Marcus Aurelius.

Question 16

According to the text , Jesus

A)denied the need for Jews to follow the Mosaic Law.
B)called for the overthrow of the Sadducees' control of the Temple.
C)associated himself more with the prophetic tradition than a strict following of the letter of the Mosaic Law.
D)insisted on strict obedience to the Mosaic Law.
E)refused to associated with social outcasts.

Question 17

Factors that contributed to the growing appeal of Christianity include all of the following EXCEPT

A)a decline of rationalism and self-reliance.
B)a general lack of compassion for suffering in Greco-Roman society.
C)the inability of the aristocratic values of Greco-Roman civilization to offer common people hope, a sense of dignity and inner strength.
D)the failure of Greco-Roman thought to provide for the emotional needs of many people.
E)the collapse of the mystery cult tradition and the declining popularity of astrology and magic.

Question 18

The text does not assign which of the following to the Zealots?

A)The Zealots were devoted patriots.
B)The Zealots believed that God's kingdom was not of this world.
C)They refused to pay taxes to the Romans.
D)The Zealots did not acknowledge the authority of the Roman   e mperor.
E)They were responsible for active resistance to Roman rule, which culminated in the failed A.D. 66-70 revolt.

Question 19

Which of the following statements about Jesus is INCORRECT ?

A)Jesus practiced his ministry as a rejection of Jewish religious-national expectations.
B)Very little is known about his childhood.
C)Jesus did not intend to lead his followers away from their ancestral religion.
D)Jesus was charged with trying to incite a revolt against the Romans and was executed.
E)Jesus wrote nothing and very little was written about him decades after his death.

Question 20

Among Saint Paul's departures from the Jewish religion was his

A)rejection of monotheism.
B)view that circumcision and many other practices in the Mosaic Law were less important than the doctrine of a risen Savior.
C)view that Hebrew Scriptures were no longer of any value.
D)view that Christian could take an oath of loyalty to the emperor.
E)none of the above

Question 21

The earliest surviving Christian writings are

A)the synoptic gospels.
B)Acts of the Apostles.
C)Saint Paul's Epistles.
D)Revelation and the Gospel of Saint John.
E)the Acts of the Apostles.

Question 22

All of the following aspects of the Roman Empire facilitated the spread of Christianity EXCEPT

A)the transportation infrastructure permitted easy spread of the Gospel.
B)a common language, Koine, enabled easy transmission of ideas.
C)the active persecution of Christianity from its very beginning and throughout by the Roman state gave the faith an added quality of nobility.
D)the universalism of the Roman Empire paved the way for the universalism of Christianity.
E)Rome's imperial mission foreshadowed Christianity's spiritual cause.

Question 23

According to the text, the New Testament

A)was written by historians of the caliber of Thucydides and Polybius.
B)contains discrepancies, some non-historical legends, and polemics.
C)was written between twenty-five and thirty-five years after the death of Jesus.
D)was interpreted identically by all Christians.
E)was written too early to be influenced by Greek philosophy.

Question 24

The monastic rules, which became standard for Eastern Orthodox Christianity, were created by

A)Saint Benedict.
B)Saint Basil.
C)Saint Pachomius.
D)Saint Dmitrius.
E)Saint Simeon Stylites.

Question 25

Which of the following is included in Saint Benedict of Nursia's monastic book of rules?

A)renouncing luxuries
B)loving fasting
C)avoiding self-conceit
D)relieving the poor
E)all of the above

Question 26

Christian philosophers who aimed to integrate parts of the Greco-Roman heritage into their religion

A)believed that the Biblical story of Creation was compatible with Greek mythology.
B)saw Christ as the incarnation of the Logos or divine reason.
C)claimed that Zeus was a prophet.
D)rejected Platonic philosophy.
E)were regularly condemned as heretics.

Question 27

According to the text, the chief architect of the Christian worldview that succeeded a dying classicism was

A)Saint Ambrose.
B)Saint Augustine.
C)Saint Anthony.
D)Saint Benedict.
E)Boethius.

Question 28

What was the basis for the bishop of Rome's claims to superior authority in Christendom?

A)The fact that Rome was the capital of the Roman Empire
B)The existence of the catacombs in Rome
C)Jesus' statement that his followers should "give unto Caesar what is Caesar's"
D)Jesus' statement to the disciple Peter that "you are Peter, and on this rock I shall build my church"
E)Like Jesus, the pope is the incarnation of God

Question 29

What is at the heart of the disagreement between Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria?

A)Tertullian believed that Greek philosophy was incompatible with Christianity; Clement believed the opposite.
B)The two could not agree on which books should be included in the Bible.
C)Tertullian believed that the Trinity existed; Clement believed that the Trinity violated Christian monotheism.
D)Tertullian believed that the final religious authority is the Bishop of Rome; Clement believed that it was a Church Council.
E)Tertullian believed in original sin; Clement did not.

Question 30

The Christian martyr Blandina was

A)Marcus Aurelius' daughter.
B)an aristocratic woman from Spain.
C)a prominent merchant's wife from Rome.
D)a young slave from Gaul.
E)a former prostitute from Greece.

Question 31

Arius taught that

A)Christ was God incarnate.
B)members of the Trinity were equal.
C)the Father alone was fully divine.
D)the Holy Spirit came from both God the Father and God the Son.
E)Jesus was sent by the demiurge to deceive mankind.

Question 32

While Christians accepted Hebrew Scriptures as their Old Testament, they increasingly became anti-Jewish because

A)many Christians came to associate any opponent with Satan.
B)Judaism remained a vital religion thus putting into doubt the concept of Christianity as the fulfillment of Judaism.
C)many resented fellow Christians who continued to observe Jewish festivals and circumcision.
D)the New Testament stated the Jews were guilty of Jesus' death.
E)all of the above

Question 33

The first persecutions of Christians began under

A)Tiberius.
B)Nero.
C)Vespasian.
D)Commodus.
E)Diocletian.

Question 34

As ardent Christians sought to establish a closer union with God, they sometimes

A)flogged themselves.
B)ate only herbs.
C)wore spiked corsets.
D)lived for years atop a high column.
E)all of the above

Question 35

At the core of Manichaeism was

A)the doctrine that Jesus was fully divine and not human.
B)the belief in a titanic struggle between good and evil.
C)the cult of Mithras.
D)a cyclical view of history.
E)the Dionysian practice of divine frenzy.

Question 36

Conservative church fathers objected to classical philosophy because they felt

A)Greek philosophy would contaminate Christian morality.
B)Greek philosophy would promote heresy.
C)Greek philosophy had been superseded by Christianity.
D)faith was more reliable than human reason.
E)all of the above

Question 37

Whose dictum that the state was within the church and not above it became a key principle of the medieval church?

A)Saint Paul
B)Tertullian
C)Saint Jerome
D)Saint Ambrose
E)Saint Augustine

Question 38

The Christian emphasis on community and the spiritual equality of all people before God led early Christians to

A)campaign against slavery.
B)avoid any hierarchy of authority in the church.
C)free women from their traditional subordination to men.
D)advocate nonviolence in all circumstances.
E)none of the above

Question 39

As Christianity came to be accepted in the Roman Empire, all of the following occurred EXCEPT

A)Christianity became officially tolerated in A.D. 313 by the Edict of Milan.
B)favorable legislation accelerated the growth of the Christian Church.
C)worship of pagan gods was banned.
D)believing they had a monopoly on the truth, Christians burned pagan writings, suppressed non-Christian rites and festivals, destroyed pagan altars, and regarded non-believers as enemies of God deserving punishment.
E)Constantine, the first Roman emperor to be baptized, made Christianity the state religion.

Question 40

The text states that the most important controversy of early Christianity involved

A)taxation and church revenues.
B)the role of women in the church.
C)clerical leadership.
D)the relationship between the teachings of Jesus and Saint Paul.
E)the relationship between God and Christ.

Question 41

Augustine argued that which of the following should be conducted in a Christian spirit?

A)economic activity
B)​warfare
C)education
D)rearing of children
E)all of the above

Question 42

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Pharisees

Question 43

Classical humanism differed from the Judeo-Christian tradition because it

A)saw life's purpose as the attainment of excellence in this world through the full development of human potential.
B)rejected the Christian ideal of the isolated and contemplative monk.
C)rejected the view of human nature as fundamentally sinful and the body as unclean.
D)held that there is no authority higher than reason.
E)all of the above

Question 44

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Sadducees

Question 45

Christianity held all of the following beliefs EXCEPT

A)there was a prescribed way to worship the one true God.
B)belief in other gods was an abomination.
C)heretics were hated by God.
D)holy war against infidels was justified.
E)beliefs that did not threaten the state should be tolerated.

Question 46

The Visigoths' attack on Rome in 410 prompted

A)Saint Jerome's translation of the Bible.
B)Saint Augustine's The C ity of God .
C)Saint Benedict's monastic rule.
D)Saint Ambrose's condemnation of the power of the state.
E)John Chrysostom's attack on the Jews.

Question 47

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
bishop

Question 48

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Apostles

Question 49

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Zealots

Question 50

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Messiah

Question 51

Which of Augustine's assertions did the Church more or less ignore until the Protestant Reformation?

A)his statement that the state must sometimes employ repression to maintain order and defend the innocent
B)his statement that human nature is weak and subject to temptation
C)his statement that very few people were destined for salvation
D)his distinction between the City of Man and the City of God
E)his assertion that the meaning of history was not bound up with the fate of the Roman Empire

Question 52

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Yeshu'a

Question 53

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Dead Sea Scrolls

Question 54

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
church fathers

Question 55

For Saint Augustine, the true significance of rational knowledge was

A)its power to let each person fulfill his own unique potential.
B)in its use to make the world a better place.
C)in the freedom it gave each person to construct his own set of ethics.
D)its role as a tool to comprehend God's will.
E)that it proved man's sinfulness.

Question 56

What is the principle difference between the Greek (and Roman)classicism's view of God and the Christian view?

A)The Greeks only believed in many gods.
B)For the Greeks, God was a logical abstraction, the mind of the universe, not a personal God.
C)The two views converged , and in the end, there was no difference.
D)For the Greeks, God was the creative force in the universe, sometimes known as Eros.
E)The Greeks did not believe in anything divine except the universe itself.

Question 57

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Diaspora

Question 58

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Essenes

Question 59

Saint Augustine's The  City of God stated all the following EXCEPT

A)what really mattered in history was an individual's spiritual destiny, not the fate of cities and empires.
B)the misfortune of Rome should not distress a Christian unduly.
C)through hard work and faith, the City of Man can be transformed into the City of God.
D)the church should guide the state to protect people from their own sinful nature.
E)a true Christian is a citizen of a heavenly city.

Question 60

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Mosaic law

Question 61

Instructions: Please use this outline map of Europe to answer the question(s).
Locate and label the following sites that were important in the history of early Christianity: Milan, Hippo, Alexandria, Antioch, Bethlehem, Rome, and Monte Cassino.

Question 62

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question. How did Benedict change the nature of Christian monasticism, at least in the West?

Question 63

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question. Christianity's remarkable success as a faith can be attributed to its Jewish heritage, its connections to the Roman Empire, and its interactions with Greek culture. Which of these factors do you think was most important, and why? Provide specific evidence to support your assessment.

Question 64

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question. What were the major teachings of Jesus, and why did they represent a threat to contemporary religious and political realities in the Roman world?

Question 65

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question. What ideas and practices comprise the Christian worldview created by Saint Augustine?

Question 66

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
monasticism

Question 67

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question. Explain why persecutions erupted against the Christians. Did the persecutors achieve their goals? Why or why not?

Question 68

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Council of Nicaea

Question 69

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question. How was Paul of Tarsus able to transform Christianity into a universal religion? How did his social position facilitate this transformation?

Question 70

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
pope

Question 71

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
martyrdom

Question 72

Instructions: Please use this outline map of Europe to answer the question(s).
Using arrows, trace the route of the missionary activities of Paul of Tarsus.

Question 73

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question. How did Greek secular philosophy influence the new Christian teachings? Offer one example of how such integration may have been favorable to Christianity and one example of how it may have been unfavorable.

Question 74

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question. Compare Christianity with its main competitors in the Mediterranean region during the first centuries of the Common Era. Why was Christianity an attractive faith? What accounts for the growth of Christianity?

Question 75

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
synoptic gospels

Question 76

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Arianism

Question 77

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question. Compare and contrast the Greco-Roman worldview with that of the Judeo-Christian traditions.

Question 78

Instructions: Please write a thorough, well-organized essay to answer each question. Why was the idea of Jesus as the Messiah attractive to some members of the Jewish community? Why was it unacceptable to others?

Question 79

Key Terms Instructions: Please define the following key terms. Show Who? What? Where? When? Why Important?
Manichaeism