I was browsing through some old posts from years ago and came across this one, a copy of my final exam for my undergraduate course, Introduction to the New Testament.   Check it out.  How would you do?

The students have some idea of what the exam will entail in advance.  For the identifications, anything they’ve read or heard during the semester is fair game.  I don’t give them a list of terms ahead of time to study.  They have to know every term covered in the reading and that I’ve given in class.  For the essays:  two weeks ahead of time I gave them fourteen possible essay questions for the exam, and told them I would choose two of the fourteen for the final.  I decided to give them some choice, as you’ll see, so they could have some leeway about which essay to write.

I won’t be able to correct your wrong answers or even to tell you the right ones, since each identification could take up to 50 words, and the essays took most students about an hour to write.   But I thought you might like to look it over and test your NT knowledge against… some 19 year olds.  🙂

Here’s the exam:

 

 

Reli 104 New Testament

Bart D. Ehrman

                                                                                Final Exam

 

IDENTIFICATIONS

Define ten of the following terms in fifty words or less (NOT on this sheet, but state each term and define it in your bluebook).   Be concise, but provide as much information in the space allotted as possible.

 

1. Alexander the Great

 

2. Beatitudes

 

3. Canon

 

4. Criterion of Dissimilarity

 

5. Docetism

 

6. Extispicy

 

7. Hellenization

 

8. Infancy Gospel of Thomas

 

9. Literary-Historical Method

 

10. Markan Priority

 

11. Nag Hammadi Library

 

12. Theophilus

 

 

Extra Credit I.D.’s

 

1. Barnasha

 

2. Demiurge

 

3. Homoeoteleuton

 

 

ESSAYS

Write an essay on two of the following questions, one from Section A and one from Section B (you may not write an essay on two from the same section).  Provide as much information as you can in your answer, giving as many details as possible.  Work to make your essays well-conceived and well written.

 

Section A

1. Choose one of the Gospels and discuss in detail the evidence that has led scholars to doubt the historical accuracy of some of its traditions.

2. Resolved: The Historical Jesus was an Apocalyptic Prophet. Take either side of this resolution and argue your case, appealing to the evidence preserved among our early Gospels.

 

Section B

1. Compare and contrast the views of Judaism that are presented in any two of the following early Christian writings: the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Luke, the letter to the Galatians, the book of Hebrews, the letter of Barnabas.

2. Choose one of Paul’s undisputed letters (with the exception of Romans) and discuss the following issues: how was the church to which the letter is addressed founded, what problems have emerged since Paul left the community, and how does Paul deal with the problems? Brownie points for specific details.

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