Deck 21: The Making of the New Testament-Did the Canon Misfire

Question 1

Many Gnostic or other heterodox documents were included in the New Testament only to be excluded later.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The claim that there were numerous forms of equally legitimate Christian groups with their own sacred texts with equal claims to being truth before Constantine and the Council of Nicea squelched or excommunicated these other interesting Christian groups and texts is entirely without historical foundation.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

According to your textbook, none of the New Testament writers were aware that what they were writing was Scripture.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

There were collections of New Testament documents (for example, Gospels, Pauline epistles) well before the end of the second century.

Question 5

The author of your textbook believes that canon lists should NOT be the main focus of canonical criticism.

Question 6

Which of the following refers to a limited collection of authoritative books?

A) scriptorium
B) hagiographa
C) pseudepigrapha
D) canon

Question 7

Which Roman Emperor was the first to convert to Christianity and to promote the Christian faith within the Empire?

A) Nero
B) Domitian
C) Constantine
.
D) None of the above

Question 8

According to your textbook, what preceded canon consciousness?

A) faith consciousness
B) Scripture consciousness
C) community consciousness
D) God consciousness

Question 9

When were all the documents of the New Testament officially recognized as authoritative, divinely inspired writings?

A) first century
B) second century
C) third century
D) fourth century
E) fifth century

Question 10

Which of the following was NOT a criterion for a document to be accepted as an authoritative, sacred text?

A) written by an apostle or original eyewitness of the life of Jesus and earliest Christianity or draws on those eyewitnesses' original testimonies or memoirs
B) written by a co-worker of such an apostle or one who had direct contact with the original eyewitnesses
C) agrees with the original teaching of the apostles and eyewitnesses as well
D) All of the above ARE criteria for establishing authority, inspiration, etc.

Question 11

What does the author of your textbook mean by "Scripture consciousness"?

A) having appropriate Scripture verses ready at hand for witnessing
B) letting Scripture be your daily guide
C) awareness that this or that book should be seen as inspired by God
D) None of the above

Question 12

About how long did the canonization process for the New Testament take?

A) 2 weeks
B) 10 years
C) 150 years
D) 300 years

Question 13

How many books are in the New Testament?

A) 22
B) 25
C) 27
D) 29

Question 14

How many books of prophecy are in the New Testament?

A) 1
B) 4
C) 11
D) 21

Question 15

Your author suggests that one reason why the Catholic Epistles and Revelation were slow in being accepted into the canon is because they were believed to be too . . .

A) harsh.
B) lax.
C) Gentile.
D) Jewish.
E) Roman.

Question 16

The precursor to modern books that contained sheets made from papyrus or parchment is called a . . .

A) Biblos.
B) Biblion.
C) Scroll.
D) Codex.
E) iota-pad.

Question 17

What closed the New Testament canon?

A) a decision of the church at the Council of Nicea
B) a decision of the church at the Council of Ephesus
C) a decision of the church at the Council of Trent
D) the dying off of the apostolic and eyewitness figures

Question 18

The Muratorian fragment . . .

A) listed Ebionite books.
B) listed Gnostic documents.
C) listed magical texts.
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 19

Orthodoxy emerged . . .

A) about a decade after the New Testament canon was finalized.
B) about the same time that the New Testament canon was finalized.
C) almost as early as the beginning of the apostles' ministry and centuries before the New Testament canon was finalized.
D) by Papal decree at the Council of Nicea.

Question 20

Which of the following represent/s the viewpoint of your textbook?

A) There is no basis for affirming the existence of lost Christianities.
B) There is no basis for suggesting that the church began with a wide array of contradictory beliefs and practices and only later, in the fourth century, imposed orthodoxy and orthopraxy.
C) There are no pseudepigraphical documents in the New Testament canon.
D) All of the above

Question 21

The first New Testament documents to make it into a circulating collection were . . .

A) the Gospels
B) Paul's letters
C) the "Catholic" epistles
D) the "pastoral" epistles

Question 22

What is wrong with the theory that there was no such thing as orthodoxy in the earliest church in the first century A.D.?

Question 23

Why was it important for the church to recognize a closed or limited group of documents as their foundational documents?

Question 24

Why do you think it took so long for the church to figure out which 27 books should be viewed as apostolic and belonging in a New Testament?