Deck 20: The Gospel of John and the Later Gospels

Question 1

4. Discuss the significance of the Nag Hammadi library. In general terms, what do these texts tell us about Gnosticism in early Christianity?

Answer 1

Before the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library, scholars knew about Gnosticism and Gnostic beliefs only through orthodox heresiologists. When the codices were found in 1945, the academic study of Gnosticism changed dramatically. These fifty-two literary works were written by and for Gnostics-a fact that makes them extremely valuable for scholars but also very difficult to interpret. Most of the texts date to the mid-second century and survive in Coptic, though they were originally written in Greek. Gnosticism was not a unified religion/philosophical belief, and the Nag Hammadi library itself contains a variety of different views on important theological issues. These texts remind us that in the second century, Christianity was far from a unified, monolithic religion.

Question 2

5. How is the Gospel of Thomas similar to and different from the New Testament Gospels?

Answer 2

The Gospel of Thomas is unlike the New Testament Gospels in several ways. It contains no narratives-no stories of Jesus' birth, miracles, or death. Instead, it is composed of 114 discrete sayings of Jesus (perhaps similar in form to Q). This Gospel suggests that salvation comes from the proper interpretation of Jesus' teachings, not by his atoning death. Jesus' teachings in Thomas are antiapocalyptic, and Jesus is not the Jewish messiah. Many of the sayings in Thomas are very similar to those recorded in the New Testament Gospels, some are slightly different, while others are completely unlike anything found in the canonical Gospels.

Question 3

6. Discuss the similarities and differences between the Gospel of Peter and the Gospel of Matthew. What do you make of these?

Answer 3

The Gospel of Peter's account of Jesus' death and resurrection, while in many ways unique among Christian Gospels, has many points in common with the Gospel of Matthew. Both Peter and Matthew refer to the washing of hands at Jesus' trial; in both Gospels the Jewish leaders ask Pilate to have Jesus' tomb guarded; in both Gospels the tomb is sealed. Peter is different in its heightened emphasis on the culpability of the Jews for Jesus' death, the naming of the centurion (Petronius), the detail of the number of seals on the tomb (7), and, most spectacularly, the narration of the resurrection itself. Although Peter is similar to Matthew in many respects, it was probably written later and did not directly rely on the Gospel of Matthew. Rather, the author of the Gospel of Peter most likely collected and recorded oral traditions that circulated in his community.

Question 4

1. The Gospel of John was written by Jesus' disciple John.

Question 5

2. The Gospel of John is the final Synoptic Gospel.

Question 6

3. Most scholars believe John used Mark, Q, and the signs source.

Question 7

4. The Gospel of John includes different portrayals of Jesus-sometimes highly elevated, sometimes much more human.

Question 8

5. The New Testament Gospels do not narrate the resurrection.

Question 9

6. The Gospel of Thomas was written before the Gospel of Mark.

Question 10

7. The Gospel of Peter features a walking and talking cross.

Question 11

8. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas is a sayings gospel.

Question 12

9. The Gospel of John used several earlier sources.

Question 13

10. The Gospel of John emphasizes Jesus' suffering in its passion narrative.

Question 14

11. The Gospel of John lacks a birth narrative.

Question 15

12. Jesus tells no parables in the Gospel of John.

Question 16

13. Jesus refuses to perform any signs in the Gospel of John.

Question 17

14. The Gospel of John shares many of the Synoptics' key stories.

Question 18

15. The goal of Gnosticism is escape from the material world.

Question 19

17) The Gospel of John was written in

A) Greek.
B) Hebrew.
C) Latin.
D) Aramaic.

Question 20

19) The Gospel of __________ exists in addition to those found in the New Testament.

A) Esther
B) Thomas
C) Henry
D) none of the above

Question 21

20) The Nag Hammadi library was found in the mid-____________ and represents writings from the ____________, an early Christian group.

A) 1930s; Gnostics
B) 1950s; Marcionites
C) 1940s; Gnostics
D) 1940s; Jewish-Christian

Question 22

22) What does the term "gnosis" mean?

A) knowledge
B) salvation
C) savior
D) choice

Question 23

23) Gnostics believed that __________ brought salvation?

A) Jesus' death
B) Jesus' resurrection
C) knowledge
D) martyrdom

Question 24

25) In the Gospel of John, Pontius Pilate had to conduct the trial of Jesus by lengthy conversations between the prosecution and the defendant because

A) they spoke different languages.
B) Jesus refused to be in the same room with the prosecutor.
C) the Jewish leaders refused to go into Pilate's residence, so they sent Jesus in alone, leaving Pilate to go back and forth between them.
D) Pilate refused to let the Jewish leaders into his residence.

Question 25

26) According to Gnostics, the material world is

A) God's beautiful creation.
B) a spiritual prison.
C) created by the preexistent Word.
D) the location of the kingdom of God.

Question 26

27) According to Gnostics, Christ brought salvation through his

A) teachings.
B) death.
C) healings.
D) resurrection.

Question 27

28) The most significant archaeological find for studying Gnosticism was

A) the Dead Sea Scrolls.
B) the Nag Hammadi library.
C) Tertullian.
D) the Johannine epistles.

Question 28

29) All of the following are tenets of Gnosticism except

A) metaphysical dualism.
B) monotheism.
C) the unknowable God.
D) the divine spark.

Question 29

30) Gnostics believed that the material and spiritual world were

A) fundamentally related.
B) the same.
C) diametrically opposed.
D) unimportant.

Question 30

31) According to Gnostics, the material world

A) was created by the preexistent Word.
B) was created by the supreme God.
C) always existed.
D) was created by an evil God.

Question 31

32) __________ was written last.

A) 1 Thessalonians
B) Gospel of Mark
C) Gospel of Peter
D) Paul's letters

Question 32

33) Which of the following Gospels states that there were other Gospels written?

A) Thomas
B) Matthew
C) Luke
D) Mark

Question 33

34) All of the following Gospels have survived except

A) Q.
B) the Gospel of Thomas.
C) the Gospel of Peter.
D) the Proto-Gospel of James.

Question 34

35) The Gospel of Peter was found in

A) the Dead Sea Scrolls.
B) the Nag Hammadi Library.
C) a monastery library.
D) a cemetery.

Question 35

36) The Gospel of Peter narrates all of the following events except the

A) trial before Herod.
B) trial before Pilate.
C) last supper.
D) resurrection.

Question 36

37) The Gospel of Peter is unique among all the surviving Gospels because

A) it blames the Jews for Jesus' death.
B) it includes a trial scene.
C) it narrates the actual resurrection.
D) after Jesus is placed in his tomb, it is sealed.

Question 37

38) Which of the following gave credence to the claim that a Gospel like Q could have existed?

A) Gospel of Matthew
B) Gospel of Thomas
C) Gospel of Peter
D) Gospel of the Ebionites

Question 38

39) The Gospel of Thomas is

A) ordered chronologically.
B) ordered thematically.
C) not ordered in a recognizable form.
D) ordered in accordance with the Gospel of Mark.

Question 39

40) The Gospel of Thomas does not mention which of the following?

A) Jesus' resurrection
B) the divine spark
C) Jesus' twin brother
D) the duality of flesh and spirit

Question 40

41) According to the Gospel of Thomas, the kingdom of God is

A) coming to earth soon.
B) delayed until the gospel is spread throughout the world.
C) not a future event.
D) brought by good deeds.

Question 41

42) The Gospel of Thomas was originally written in

A) Hebrew.
B) Coptic.
C) Greek.
D) Aramaic.

Question 42

43) The Gospel of Thomas was most likely written in the

A) second century C.E.
B) first century BC.E.
C) fourth century C.E.
D) tenth century C.E.

Question 43

44) Which of the following Gospels narrates Jesus' mischievous childhood?

A) Gospel of Thomas
B) Gospel of Peter
C) Infancy Gospel of Thomas
D) Proto-Gospel of James

Question 44

45) Which of the following Gospels explains the extraordinary character of Jesus' mother, Mary?

A) Gospel of Thomas
B) Gospel of Peter
C) Infancy Gospel of Thomas
D) Proto-Gospel of James

Question 45

46) In the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Jesus does all of the following except

A) becomes a Pharisee.
B) kills a child.
C) raises a child from the dead.
D) breaks Sabbath laws.

Question 46

47) The noncanonical Gospels are most important as

A) historically reliable evidence for the historical Jesus.
B) historically reliable evidence for Mary.
C) evidence of later Christian interest in different aspects of Jesus' life.
D) evidence of Jesus' divinity.