Question 1

Which of the following episodes is most likely historical according to the criterion of dissimilarity?

Accepted Answer

A)   The resurrection of Lazarus
B)   The feeding of the five thousand
C)   The betrayal of Jesus
D)   The temptation of JesusE) None of the above
F) A) and C)

Question 2

Accounts with very highly developed theology are more likely to be:

Accepted Answer

A)   More historically accurate
B)   Less historically accurate
C)   Written earlier
D)   Written laterE) C) and D)
F) A) and B)

Question 3

Which historian categorically states that Jesus was the messiah in book 18 of The Antiquities of the Jews?

Accepted Answer

A)   Tacitus
B)   Josephus
C)   Ialdabaoth
D)   Pliny the YoungerE) B) and D)
F) A) and C)

Question 4

Which of the following pagan authors does not mention Jesus?

Accepted Answer

A)   Pliny the Younger
B)   Plutarch
C)   Suetonius
D)   TacitusE) A) and C)
F) None of the above

Question 5

Consistent testimony of many independent witnesses _____________ a case for a saying's or event's historical reliability.

Accepted Answer

A)   strengthens
B)   weakens
C)   does not affect
D)   indicates bias inE) A) and B)
F) A) and C) A

Question 6

Which of the following is not a rule of thumb for one attempting to reconstruct the historical Jesus?

Accepted Answer

A)   The earlier the better.
B)   Beware the bias.
C)   Use only sources that were eyewitnesses to the events at hand.
D)   Highly developed theology makes a story less likely to be historical.E) A) and D)
F) B) and C)

Question 7

What is one way to spot bias in a text?

Accepted Answer

A)   When the author repeatedly states his or her credentials
B)   When the author has a known affiliation with one of the views expressed in the text
C)   When just about everything in the text makes a uniquely different point
D)   When just about every story in the account drives at the same pointE) A) and D)
F) All of the above

Question 8

The criterion of contextual credibility is the one criterion with a strictly negative function.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  True

Question 9

Why will scholars always disagree about the end product of their labors; that is, why will their accounts of what happened in the past always be different than other scholars'?

Accepted Answer

A)   Because no two scholars have access to exactly the same source material
B)   Because the past can never be empirically proved; it can only be reconstructed
C)   Because it is the nature of scholars to argue
D)   Because their biases will always clashE) B) and C)
F) All of the above

Question 10

According to the Gospel of Peter, who is responsible for condemning Jesus?

Accepted Answer

A)   Satan
B)   Pontius Pilate
C)   Herod
D)   JudasE) A) and B)
F) All of the above

Question 11

Evaluate Jesus' cleansing of the Temple (Mark 11:15-33) using the criteria for the authenticity of a Gospel tradition.
(The instructor might provide the narratives [Mk 11:15-33 and parallels] to the students for analysis.)

Accepted Answer

Students should discuss and apply the various historical criteria of independent attestation, dissimilarity, and contextual credibility. They might also observe that the cleansing of the Temple provides a plausible reason for Jesus' execution at the hands of the Romans.

Question 12

Jesus' baptism by John passes the criterion of dissimilarity because:

Accepted Answer

A)   It is unlikely that Christians would have made up this tradition, since being baptized by John might have implied Jesus' subordination to John
B)   Jesus' baptism was unlike the baptisms of later Christians: it was dissimilar to them because he was without sin
C)   It is unlikely that Christians would have made up this tradition, because "inventing" a tradition would have been considered sinful
D)   Jesus' baptism was unlike other religious rituals of the day because it emphasized the SpiritE) A) and B)
F) B) and C)

Question 13

Which would count as a basic methodological principle that historians can apply to their sources?

Accepted Answer

A)   The earlier the better.
B)   The later the better.
C)   The more detail the better.
D)   The less detail the better.E) None of the above
F) All of the above

Question 14

Most historians think Josephus's testimony about Jesus as Messiah was:

Accepted Answer

A)   Written late in his life after his conversion to Christianity
B)   Inserted by a later Christian scribe
C)   Originally written in Aramaic and only later translated into Greek
D)   Expanded in the second edition of The AntiquitiesE) B) and C)
F) A) and D)

Question 15

Not one first-century pagan author mentions Jesus.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

The Roman historian Tacitus says that Christianity is:

Accepted Answer

A)   The truth
B)   A false religion
C)   A superstition
D)   IllegalE) None of the above
F) B) and D)

Question 17

Which of the following criteria can only be used to rule a tradition inauthentic?

Accepted Answer

A)   The criterion of independent attestation
B)   The criterion of dissimilarity
C)   The criterion of similarity
D)   The criterion of contextual credibilityE) A) and B)
F) B) and C)

Question 18

For many passages, Matthew and Luke only count as one independent source.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

More theologically orthodox sources are more likely to be historically accurate.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

If a piece of Greek text makes more logical sense when translated into Aramaic (Jesus' original language)  then that particular passage:

Accepted Answer

A)   is a historically reliable witness of the words of Jesus
B)   is a historically unreliable witness of the words of Jesus
C)   may likely trace back to an Aramaic original, but cannot-based on this alone-serve as evidence of a historically (un) reliable witness of the words of Jesus
D)   has been altered for theological purposesE) All of the above
F) A) and B)

Exam 13: The Historical Jesus: Sources, Problems, and Methods

Which of the following episodes is most likely historical according to the criterion of dissimilarity?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Accounts with very highly developed theology are more likely to be:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which historian categorically states that Jesus was the messiah in book 18 of The Antiquities of the Jews?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following pagan authors does not mention Jesus?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Consistent testimony of many independent witnesses _____________ a case for a saying's or event's historical reliability.

Correct AnswerverifiedA

Which of the following is not a rule of thumb for one attempting to reconstruct the historical Jesus?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What is one way to spot bias in a text?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The criterion of contextual credibility is the one criterion with a strictly negative function.

Correct AnswerverifiedTrue

Why will scholars always disagree about the end product of their labors; that is, why will their accounts of what happened in the past always be different than other scholars'?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

According to the Gospel of Peter, who is responsible for condemning Jesus?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Evaluate Jesus' cleansing of the Temple (Mark 11:15-33) using the criteria for the authenticity of a Gospel tradition. (The instructor might provide the narratives [Mk 11:15-33 and parallels] to the students for analysis.)

Correct AnswerverifiedStudents should discuss and apply the various historical criteria of independent attestation, dissimilarity, and contextual credibility. They might also observe that the cleansing of the Temple provides a plausible reason for Jesus' execution at the hands of the Romans.

Jesus' baptism by John passes the criterion of dissimilarity because:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which would count as a basic methodological principle that historians can apply to their sources?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Most historians think Josephus's testimony about Jesus as Messiah was:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Not one first-century pagan author mentions Jesus.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The Roman historian Tacitus says that Christianity is:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following criteria can only be used to rule a tradition inauthentic?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

For many passages, Matthew and Luke only count as one independent source.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

More theologically orthodox sources are more likely to be historically accurate.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

If a piece of Greek text makes more logical sense when translated into Aramaic (Jesus' original language) then that particular passage:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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Students should discuss and apply the various historical criteria of independent attestation, dissimilarity, and contextual credibility. They might also observe that the cleansing of the Temple provides a plausible reason for Jesus' execution at the hands of the Romans.

Correct Answer
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