NBST 515 Exam 2 Latest Update with complete solution
Josephus - Jewish Antiquities
The first-century non-canonical author who made two references to Jesus. Also be sure
to know the name of the work that contains these references.
Babylonian Talmud - "He then went and raised Jesus incantation"
Jewish source that includes a reference to Jesus' resurrection.
Did not - just attributed them to sorcery
Whether or not opponents of Christianity during the second century typically denied that
Jesus performed miracles.
Tacitus - Annals
Roman historian who noted that Jesus was executed during the reign of Tiberius by
Pontius Pilate.
Suetonius
Roman historian who erroneously believed that Jesus was still alive and created unrest
at the time the Jews were expelled from Rome in 49 A.D.
Pliny the Younger
Roman ruler who noted that Christians gathered before dawn on a particular day to
chant hymns "to Christ as to a god" and to partake of a meal together.
Thallus
Roman writer who made references to the darkness that occurred at the time of Jesus'
death.
Lucian of Samosata
Roman satirist who referred to Jesus' death, His Palestinian origin, and His founding of
a new faith.
Miracles did not occur and Biblical accounts needed to be stripped of miracles in
order to be more "reasonable".
How advocates of the first quest for the historical Jesus viewed miracles and the
veracity of the Biblical accounts about Jesus.
Aim of source criticism
To identify the historic Jesus, though it also serves for the purpose of exegesis - quest
to determine the literary relationship amongst texts (most often the Gospels).
R. Bultmann
Scholar who emphasized the importance of demythologizing the early church's stories
about Jesus in order to isolate the kernel of truth they contained for the Christian faith.
Stated that a Jesus divorced from history could be applied to any agenda - Jesus
needed to be connected to early Christianity, thus a higher emphasis was placed
on historical background.
How advocates of the Second Quest challenged the prevailing assumptions of the so-
called Abandoned Quest.
Jesus Seminar
Name of the controversial group that is a modern manifestation of the second quest for
the historical Jesus.
Desire to place Jesus in the context of first-century, Second Temple Judaism,
locate him as an actual historical figure.
Key objective of the Third Quest.
, Date of beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist - in the 15th year of the reign
of Tiberius.
Only precise date explicitly mentioned in the Gospels and which Gospel includes this
information.
Herod the Great
Death of which ruler provides a helpful clue about the year in which Jesus was born?
The 46 years refers to how many years following the completion of the temple
this conversation took place. Therefore, John 2:20 and the start of Jesus' ministry
occurred in AD 29ish.
Manner in which the authors believe John 2:20 should be understood and the relevance
of the passage for the dating of Jesus' ministry.
John - 3 times. Synoptics - 1 time.
All 3 visits of John were Passover visits.
Number of times the Gospel of John and the Synoptics record Jesus visiting Jerusalem
during his ministry.
Gospel of Thomas
Non-canonical Gospel which members of the Jesus Seminar have regarded as a fifth
Gospel.
De Spinoza
Influential Jewish philosopher who published the important work "Tractatus Theologico-
Politicus" and was known for his rejection of the possibility of miracles.
No miracle was witnessed by large enough group of observers to ensure that the
witnesses either had not been deceived or were not misleading others
themselves. Stated that miracles only occur amongst primitive people.
Major arguments against the validity of miracles as articulated by David Hume.
Accounts of Jesus' words and deeds were significantly altered and embellished
during a lengthy period of oral transmission before the accounts were preserved
in writing.
Key assumptions shared by advocates of form criticism about the origin of the Gospel
accounts.
Three major weakness of form criticism according to the textbook.
1. Accounts transmitted orally in the first century Palestine were much more stable than
many form critics believed.
2. Compelling evidence suggests that the Synoptic Gospels were written between 20 to
30 years after Jesus' death.
3. Supposition that the Gospels contain highly evolved accounts of Jesus' ministry
ignores significant evidence suggesting that the early church was correct in its claim
that the 4 Gospels were based on eyewitness testimony.
Original sense
Whether or not the Gospel writers were obliged to record the exact words of Jesus or
merely the original sense or gist of what Jesus had said.
"To see together, to have the same view or outlook"
Meaning of the term "Synoptic".
Synoptic Problem
Josephus - Jewish Antiquities
The first-century non-canonical author who made two references to Jesus. Also be sure
to know the name of the work that contains these references.
Babylonian Talmud - "He then went and raised Jesus incantation"
Jewish source that includes a reference to Jesus' resurrection.
Did not - just attributed them to sorcery
Whether or not opponents of Christianity during the second century typically denied that
Jesus performed miracles.
Tacitus - Annals
Roman historian who noted that Jesus was executed during the reign of Tiberius by
Pontius Pilate.
Suetonius
Roman historian who erroneously believed that Jesus was still alive and created unrest
at the time the Jews were expelled from Rome in 49 A.D.
Pliny the Younger
Roman ruler who noted that Christians gathered before dawn on a particular day to
chant hymns "to Christ as to a god" and to partake of a meal together.
Thallus
Roman writer who made references to the darkness that occurred at the time of Jesus'
death.
Lucian of Samosata
Roman satirist who referred to Jesus' death, His Palestinian origin, and His founding of
a new faith.
Miracles did not occur and Biblical accounts needed to be stripped of miracles in
order to be more "reasonable".
How advocates of the first quest for the historical Jesus viewed miracles and the
veracity of the Biblical accounts about Jesus.
Aim of source criticism
To identify the historic Jesus, though it also serves for the purpose of exegesis - quest
to determine the literary relationship amongst texts (most often the Gospels).
R. Bultmann
Scholar who emphasized the importance of demythologizing the early church's stories
about Jesus in order to isolate the kernel of truth they contained for the Christian faith.
Stated that a Jesus divorced from history could be applied to any agenda - Jesus
needed to be connected to early Christianity, thus a higher emphasis was placed
on historical background.
How advocates of the Second Quest challenged the prevailing assumptions of the so-
called Abandoned Quest.
Jesus Seminar
Name of the controversial group that is a modern manifestation of the second quest for
the historical Jesus.
Desire to place Jesus in the context of first-century, Second Temple Judaism,
locate him as an actual historical figure.
Key objective of the Third Quest.
, Date of beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist - in the 15th year of the reign
of Tiberius.
Only precise date explicitly mentioned in the Gospels and which Gospel includes this
information.
Herod the Great
Death of which ruler provides a helpful clue about the year in which Jesus was born?
The 46 years refers to how many years following the completion of the temple
this conversation took place. Therefore, John 2:20 and the start of Jesus' ministry
occurred in AD 29ish.
Manner in which the authors believe John 2:20 should be understood and the relevance
of the passage for the dating of Jesus' ministry.
John - 3 times. Synoptics - 1 time.
All 3 visits of John were Passover visits.
Number of times the Gospel of John and the Synoptics record Jesus visiting Jerusalem
during his ministry.
Gospel of Thomas
Non-canonical Gospel which members of the Jesus Seminar have regarded as a fifth
Gospel.
De Spinoza
Influential Jewish philosopher who published the important work "Tractatus Theologico-
Politicus" and was known for his rejection of the possibility of miracles.
No miracle was witnessed by large enough group of observers to ensure that the
witnesses either had not been deceived or were not misleading others
themselves. Stated that miracles only occur amongst primitive people.
Major arguments against the validity of miracles as articulated by David Hume.
Accounts of Jesus' words and deeds were significantly altered and embellished
during a lengthy period of oral transmission before the accounts were preserved
in writing.
Key assumptions shared by advocates of form criticism about the origin of the Gospel
accounts.
Three major weakness of form criticism according to the textbook.
1. Accounts transmitted orally in the first century Palestine were much more stable than
many form critics believed.
2. Compelling evidence suggests that the Synoptic Gospels were written between 20 to
30 years after Jesus' death.
3. Supposition that the Gospels contain highly evolved accounts of Jesus' ministry
ignores significant evidence suggesting that the early church was correct in its claim
that the 4 Gospels were based on eyewitness testimony.
Original sense
Whether or not the Gospel writers were obliged to record the exact words of Jesus or
merely the original sense or gist of what Jesus had said.
"To see together, to have the same view or outlook"
Meaning of the term "Synoptic".
Synoptic Problem
