There are two parts to this test and a bonus question. The first part has 10 questions and the second part has 5 questions and then a bonus afterwards. No format is needed, but you will have to copy and paste the questions and answers from the original document , onto a blank document. 

Test One REL 123 Instructions:

Please copy and paste the Agree/Disagree statements from part one and the essay/response topics from part two into a new document. Answer the questions and place your completed paper in the drop box. This is a time limited test and should be completed within one and a half hours of time. Thank you and do your best.

Name: _____________________________

Part 1

Please circle “A” for agree or “D” for disagree according to our study. Please briefly explain your answer. (one or two sentences)

1. A definition of theology is the study of God. A D

2. A better definition of theology is faith seeking understanding so that it increases one’s faith. A D

3. Everyone is a theologian. A D

4. “God word” or “God understanding” is another way to comprehend theology because theology is “seeking” by the use of questions. A D

5. Inquiring after God is also (and necessarily) inquiring into the meaning of the human condition. Agree___ Disagree___

6. When we’re asking questions of ultimate significance, we are asking questions about God. Agree___ Disagree___

7. One of the best ways to understand the theological enterprise is to see it as an activity that makes these questions more explicit and rigorous. Agree___ Disagree___

8. The voice from the burning bush to Moses self identifies as the God of the Hebrew people, and this is known as a theophany. Agree___ Disagree___

9. It has been said the self- giving God became like us (in Jesus Christ) that we might become more and more like God (giving ourselves to God), thereby, redemptively participating (theosis) in divine life. Agree___ Disagree___

10. If people are made in the image of God, this means that humans are most truly themselves when they are self-giving with and for others. Agree__ Disagree___

Please name the three Abrahamic Religions under study in this course and the sacred text of at least two of them.

Part 2

Choose three of the following to write a well-informed essay answer:

1. Please discuss the significance of the TaNaK for understanding the New Testament. You will want to sight some Old Testament passages, talk about apocalyptic theology, and how it influenced New Testament Christianity and its writings, theology, etc.

2. Please discuss the Jewish sacred text, the TaNaK, and the documentary hypothesis of the writing of the books of the Torah, the Law as proposed by German biblical scholarship.

3. Please discuss the Christian sacred text to include what it contains, the process of its development into the canon, the meaning and significance of the Gospels, the synoptic problem and the significance of the Pauline letters.

4. Please unpack theology by defining it, describing how it is produced, what it means in terms of “theosis” and being relational beings created in the image of God, and how it can be a source of unity, understanding other religions, and moving the human race toward world peace.

5. Please address Christian creeds by defining them, describing how and why they evolved, what they have to inform us about the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and naming the two most significant ones to Christians of today.

Bonus:

Describe your understanding of God using at least five sentences.