Chapters 1-7 and 10-11 Encountering The New Testament Study questions – Flashcards
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What does "Testament" mean in the titles "Old Testament" and "New Testament"?
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Solemn declaration
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What is the relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament?
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The Old Testament is God's message telling what is going to happen and awaiting the arrival of Jesus Christ, While the New Testament is When God's message was fulfilled, And announces the arrival of Jesus, in the present time of the authors.
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What is cultural literacy? What part does the New testament play in acquiring it?
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Understanding the knowledge, beliefs, moral traits, and social organization of a society. Jesus is a dominant figure of western culture history, and the New Testament is our primary source of information about Him.
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What is a Canon? What are the ancient divisions of the old testament canon?
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An authors collection of documents. Torah, prophets, writings
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Give three reasons for the special study of the New Testament Canon.
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-Meditates God's presence -Ultimate personal significance -foundation to cultural literacy
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What are the bases of our high level of certainty regarding the text of the new testament?
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-Wealth of evidence -Brief time lapse -Versions and fathers -tons of translations
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What are the main theological beliefs of the pharisees?
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Laws based on OT and their own oral traditions; they believed in God (in almost a deistic fashion) angels and spirits, providence, prayer, the necessity for faith and good works, the last judgement, a coming Messiah and the immortality of the soul
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What factors unified judaism in Jesus' day?
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Over all, it was their relationship to God and their sense of uniqueness in world history. 1) the idea that God had placed them in Palestine forever 2) the messianic fervor of the time 3) the synagogue 3) the Torah and tradition; which included the Sabbath keeping and circumcision 4) the temple 5) the priesthood and 6) the festivals
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What is the apocrypha?
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A number of writings by early Christians that give accounts of Jesus and his teachings, the nature of God, or the teachings of his apostles and of their lives.
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Why did the Jewish war of A.D. 66-70 take place?
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There was a series of bad rulers and a lot of religious unrest, which the Romans did not understand because their polytheistic syncretism did not involve such unshakable convictions.
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Why was the destruction of jerusalem in A.D. 70 significant for christianity?
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There was no longer a center for Christianity, instead God must be worshiped in spirit and truth
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What are the major geographical regions of palestine?
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-Coastal Plain -Foothills -Central mountain range -Wilderness & Jordan valley -Eastern mountain range
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Who are the Hasmoneans and why were they important?
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The family of Mattathias who exercised leadership for 103 years until Pompey conquered Jerusalem in 63 B.C.
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What were the strengths and the weaknesses of Herod the great?
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Strengths: generous, sensitive to the religious feelings of the Jews, master-builder of cities Weaknesses: jealousy, mentally unstable, brutal, inhumane
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How was the land of palestine divided, and what was the rule of Herod the Great's son like?
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Between Herod's Three sons: Archelaus and Herod Antipas were horrible and wicked rulers. Philip was a great ruler who was universally praised.
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What are distinctive features of apocalyptic writings?
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Apocalyptic means "to reveal." The apocalyptic writings are a special revelation from God that unveil the hidden secrets of the universe, especially the events surrounding the end of the world.
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What elements of the life of Jesus were included in the preached gospel message of the early church?
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Jesus' preexistence to his birth, life, death, resurrection, and outpouring of the Holy Spirit
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What is the "Gospel form"?
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the literary genre of the gospel; biographical
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Cite five reasons why the Gospels were written.
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1- The speed and extent of the spread of the gospel message 2- As time went on the apostles aged and passed from the scene 3- The early believers were looking to the future 4- It was possible that inauthentic or perhaps distorted account were beginning to make their appearance, so the truth would need to be reordered while it could still be verified 5- The main reason for writing the gospels down was the need for factual material to use in the instruction of new converts
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Why may the Gospels be trusted?
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1- It took place while those who had known Jesus were still alive and the information could be traced back to them, because either they said it or they wrote it down 2- According to the best evidence available from the early years of the church three of the four gospels are directly linked to the apostles; the fourth, Luke, by his own testimony was dependent on eyewitnesses and those who had known Jesus from the beginning 3- It must never be forgotten that God had a hand in all this. The Gospels are inspired words of God.
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What was Matthew's basic purpose in writing his Gospel?
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Matthew's basic purpose in writing his Gospel was to preserve what he knew about Jesus' life and words
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In what ways did Jesus fulfill God's intention?
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The birth, life, teaching, death, and resurrection are all seen as the fulfillment of prophecy made years before Jesus' life on earth. God was actively involved with the unfolding of this plan he had laid out
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How does Matthew emphasize that Jesus is savior of both jews and gentiles?
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He was the fulfillment not only of Israel's prophecies, but of Israel itself. "Jesus Christ, the son of David, the sone of Abraham" Jesus makes it clear that he came to save the Gentiles as well. The Gentiles have a central place in the Kingdom as well. The Gentiles are the first to acknowledge Jesus in Matthew's gospel. The Gentile Centurion is extolled on his faith, the Canaanite woman and the healing of her daughter...etc
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In what ways was Jesus the supreme authority?
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Jesus practices supreme authority countless times throughout the book of Matthew over people, over demons, over leprosy, over the laws of gravity and the list goes on
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How does Matthew depict Jesus as the Teacher?
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Jesus calls himself the teacher in the book of Matthew. His public ministry was directed towards instructing the people
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Who was Mark?
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Only one suggestion was every made by the early believers and that was John Mark, one who worked so closely with Peter as to be called his "son". He was a cousin of Barnabas and travels with Paul and Barnabas
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When was the Gospel of Mark most likely written?
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Historia Ecclesiastica (church History) has two conflicting dates. Before 60 A.D. and as early as 0 A.D.
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Describe how Jesus' divine sonship is developed in Mark.
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All the preliminaries of Jesus' birth are skipped to his baptism by John the Baptist where God himself tells us who Jesus is, "You are my Son, whom I love". The supernatural forces of evil, the demons, know instantly who Jesus is. Jesus tells the Pharisees that he is Lord even over the Sabbath. Jesus calms the wind and the sea etc etc etc
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How do the "people" confirm that Jesus is the Son of God?
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The divine reality of Jesus is expressed by everyone he came in contact with, with the exception of some religious leaders
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In what ways was Jesus a servant?
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he was a teacher/ preacher, a worker of miracles, healer,
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Why did Jesus command people to be silent about his identity?
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To not be associated with the demons, in some cases to relieve the pressure of the crowd. He told the disciples to remain silent about his messiahship because they wouldn't understand it until after his resurrection
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How does Luke describe the writing of his Gospel?
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an orderly manner
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Who was Luke?
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a well educated Gentile, a doctor, close friend of Paul
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When was the Gospel of Luke written?
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How does Luke emphasize the universal nature of Jesus' work?
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What special place did women play in Jesus' ministry?
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Jesus treated women differently than the rabbis did
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How is the Holy Spirit emphasized in Luke's Gospel?
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How is the Gospel of John different from the synoptics?
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The Gospel of John stands apart from them, if for no other reason than that at least 90 percent of it lacks direct verbal parallel in the three Synoptics. John also implies a somewhat different chronology.
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Why are Irenaeus' reflections on his childhood so important for understanding John?
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What is especially significant about Irenaeus testimony is that he derived much of what he says from Polycarp, who was a follower of John the apostle himself and other of the apsotles.
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How does John emphasize Jesus' divine essence?
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Jesus is or embodies life, light, truth, glory and grace because he is the word of God
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How did Jesus fulfill Israel's hopes?
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preached God's saving action and acted God's saving actions Example : miracles - cure blind, cure paralyzed, cure leprosy, water into wine
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How is Jesus' humanity emphasized in John?
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Throughout the gospel of John there is an emphasis on Jesus' human nature, Jesus come from Nazareth travels with his mother and brothers, asks for a drink of water in Samaria, crosses the Sea of Galilee in a boat, spits on the ground to make mud for a blind man's eyes, weeps over Lazarus's death.
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What is the importance of faith in John's Gospel?
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Faith is a dynamic activity: "believe" occurs in various verbal form about 100 times in this Gospel while the noun "faith" is absent.
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What issue did Kümmel's review of albertz's New Testament introduction raise?
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Why does the Bible need interpretation?
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It was written in a different time, culture, and language. Its message is foreign to us, so we must carefully interpret it in order to avoid imposing our own views on it. Maturing believers should develop a more advanced understanding of the gospel though interpretation.
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Cite some contributions of historical criticism.
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How does a historical theological approach differ from a historical critical one?
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What is the meaning of the word "hermeneutics"?
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The theory and practice of interpretation. (comes from the heart)
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Give five characteristics of a sound hermeneutic for interpreting scripture.
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- Relate the story of Jesus Christ as ancient Scripture foreshadowed it - Relate the story as various witnesses depicted the story - Relate the story as the story spread - Relate the story as it was applied in various settings - Relate the story as it will one day climax in world judgment and redemption
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What is the Synoptic problem, and how did it arise?
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It is all of the problems about how the first three Gospels relate to one another. It includes the concepts of the Marcan Hypothesis and the analysis of Q. It arose from the source criticism of J. J. Griesbach, who compared the three Gospels to each other.
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What is form criticism? What can be said for and against it?
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It is concerned with the stages through which the earlier material passed in its oral phase before it reached its final written stage. Its limited value lies in the fresh perspective it gives to the gospel. Things said against it are that it is speculative, radical, and left little of the gospel going back to Jesus. The fundamental problem is that we know little about the ancient communities who would have originated the gospel. The gospel is about Jesus, not the early church.
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Why did redaction criticism arise, and what does it teach?
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It arose because critics had to account for how the Gospels came to be. Someone had to write them. The "communities" of form criticism did not write books. It is a focus on the redactors (the compilers and writers) of the Gospels.
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Discuss some of the current trends in Gospel study.
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How should evangelicals relate to critical biblical studies?
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