Study Guide Exam 1
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STUDY GUIDE: EXAM 1
CHRS 125: Introduction to Christianity
Introduction: the canon, English translations, and critical study of the Bible
(CBHT, Introduction and chapter 1, plus class lectures)
1. In the Introduction, how does CBHT answer the question “What is Christianity?”
2. CBHT explains that the Bible is both a collection of human documents and that it is inspired. What does each of those affirmations mean?
3. What does your textbook mean when it says the Bible is a “closed canon”?
4. How do Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles differ from Protestant Bibles?
5. What 2 main languages was the Bible written in?
6. Explain the meaning of “transcendence” and “immanence” when these concepts are applied to God.
7. Explain 3 of the metaphors used in the Old Testament to describe God.
8. Explain 3 main approaches to the study of any religion.
9. Define these concepts or explain a notable characteristic of these versions of the Bible:
• canon
• King James Version, 1611
• Septuagint
• New International Version, 1973
• Apocrypha
• New Revised Standard Version, 1989
• Vulgate
10. Explain several reasons why English Bibles differ from each other.
11. Why is the study of the Bible still relevant today? Explain ontic, moral, and spiritual anxiety.
12. Explain Karl Barth’s 3 movements in the process of interpretation.
Read Walter Brueggemann, “Biblical Authority,” [see syllabus for accessing the article]
• What is the slogan adopted by the Prussian Union church and affirmed by Brueggemann? • Brueggemann identifies 6 “facets of biblical interpretation” that he considers important. Of those 6, which one do you identify with most strongly (or, which do you think is most important)? Be able to explain why.
Ancient Near Eastern Culture
(see CBHT chap 1, pp. 23-27): 1. In what primary way did Mesopotamia influence the rest of the ancient Near Eastern world? What is important about Ugarit for our understanding of the Old Testament?
2. What does it mean to say that ancient Israelites were henotheists?
For those who want to go deeper (i.e., suggested, but not required
, reading):
NOAB [
The New Oxford Annotated Bible, 5th ed.
]: 2235-2241: “Canons of the Bible”; 2241-
2246: “Textual Criticism”; 2250-2254: “Translation of the Bible into English”
Brennan Breed, “
How was the Bible Written and Transmitted?
” https://www.bibleodyssey.org/tools/bible-basics/how-was-the-bible-written-and-transmitted
Brennan Breed, “
What Are the Earliest Versions and Translations of the Bible?
” https://www.bibleodyssey.org/tools/bible-basics/what-are-the-earliest-versions-and-translations-of-
the-bible
Jonathan Potter, “
Bible Translation
,”
https://www.bibleodyssey.org/tools/ask-a-scholar/bible-
translation
The Primeval History (Genesis 1-11)
(CBHT chap 2):
1. What is the Documentary Hypothesis? What does it try to explain?
2. Explain/define these concepts or persons:
Pentateuch Yahweh Elohim
Primeval History Cain and Abel Noah
3. What are 2 interpretive models Christians have used for understanding the Primeval History?
4. Read Genesis 1-2
: Explain at least 3 differences between the 2 creation stories of Genesis 1-2. What is the meaning of the names “Adam” and “Eve”?
5. Read Genesis 3
: What do the man and woman do that displeases God? Comparing 1:26-28 with this chapter, what is the paradox (or polarity) of human nature? How are the punishments on man and woman ironic, “alienat[ing] them from their very selves,” as CBHT puts it? (see the significance of their names in Hebrew)
6. Read Genesis 4 and 6:5--8:22
: What is the function
of the Cain & Abel and Noah stories in
Gen. 1-11? What happens to the attitude of God as a result of the flood (see 8:21)?
7. Read CBHT pp. 244-246
Note: this is part of a larger explanation of the Nicene Creed, which we will study later in the course. For now, in conjunction with the Primeval History, this section extends the explanation of sin and the image of God.
• for many people, both Christians and non-Christians, sin is understood as a cataloguing of every wrong. CBHT says, by contrast, that sin is actually not
about doing or not doing certain acts. If that is the case, then what is sin, essentially?
• interpreters have suggested that the image of God refers to humans’ moral ability to know right from wrong, or humans’ intellectual abilities. CBHT, though, opts for another understanding of the image of God. What is it?
The Patriarchal (or, Ancestral) History
(Genesis 12-50) (see CBHT chap 2)
1. What is the probable date for the events described in Genesis 12-50?
2. Explain these concepts or persons:
Abraham Jacob
Isaac Hagar and Ishmael
3. Read Genesis 12:1-3
: What are the promises made to Abraham? Explain this text as a statement of Israel’s self-identity.
4. Read Genesis 16
: What is the threat to God’s promise here? What custom does Sarah suggest to Abraham?
5. Read Genesis 17
: what is the religious meaning assigned to circumcision?
Exodus, covenant, Torah
(CBHT chap 2)
1. What is the exodus story? What is the date for these events?
For those who want to go deeper (i.e., suggested, but not required
, reading):
NOAB 3-6: “Introduction to the Pentateuch”
Sarah Shechtman, “
Who Wrote the Bible?
” https://www.bibleodyssey.org/tools/bible-basics/who-wrote-the-bible-test
Daniel McClellan, “
Names of God
”: https://www.bibleodyssey.org/people/related-articles/names-of-god
2. Explain these terms or persons from the legal materials of Israel (Exodus--Deuteronomy):
Moses Decalogue
Mt. Sinai monotheism : henotheism
Torah covenant
3. Read Exodus 19
: What is the location of these events? What is God’s offer to Israel? What is their response? Explain this text as a statement of Israel’s self-identity.
4. Read Exodus 20:1-18
: What is the purpose of the Torah? Does the prohibition against killing forbid all forms of killing? Why or why not? What was unusual (from a modern standpoint) about the adultery
commandment?
5. Explain one example of the humanitarianism of the Torah.
The Deuteronomistic History (or, the Former Prophets): Joshua--Kings
1. What books make up the Deuteronomistic History? Explain the dates, purpose, and contents of the Deuteronomistic History. Explain how the historians made use of the Deuteronomic theology (or, the Deuteronomic Formula, or “Retribution Theology”)--see Deut. 11:26-28; 30:11-20. See also the brief overview in CBHT p. 42.
For those who want to go deeper:
Brian Britt, “
The Exodus Tradition in the Bible
”: https://www.bibleodyssey.org/passages/related-
articles/exodus-tradition-in-the-bible
William Brown, “
The Ten Commandments
”: https://www.bibleodyssey.org/passages/main-
articles/the-decalogue
Joel Hoffman, “
The Decalogue as a Moral Code
”: https://www.bibleodyssey.org/passages/related-articles/decalogue-as-a-moral-code
Cheryl Anderson, “
Law and the Bible
,” https://www.bibleodyssey.org/tools/video-gallery/l/law-
and-the-bible-anderson
For those who want to go deeper:
NOAB 315-319: “The Historical Books”
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