RL 205, Introduction to the New Testament
Review for Third Unit Examination
Sheila E. McGinn, Ph.D.
Last update:17 April 2009

This examination is designed to test the student's ability to meet the following course objectives:

  1. Demonstrate basic knowledge of the field of NT study, including:
    1. Key terms relating to NT study
    2. Significant personages of the first century CE
    3. ...
    4. Dates of the significant events and key writings of the NT
    5. Key themes and characteristics of ... the Pauline corpus
  2. Comprehension:
    1. Identify the key themes of Jesus' message and explicate their significance in his cultural context
    2. Outline and explain the significance of the relationship of the Jesus-movement to the various trajectories of first-century CE Judaism
  3. Application: Delineate and exemplify the Roman Catholic view of Scripture and its interpretation
  4. Analysis: Engage in academic research relating to New Testament interpretation, including:
    1. Showing familiarity with current scholarship ...
    2. Demonstrating the use of basic historical-critical methods of analysis
    3. Making fruitful use of the standard reference tools for GNT study (in this case, the critical apparatus in your Bible)
    4. ...
The successful student will recall the material covered on the reviews for the previous examinations, and also will be able to:
1.
Identify the Important People in the Second Testament Era, including their dates and significance. (NB: be sure to distinguish between the Christian Titus and the Emperor Flavius Titus.) In particular, know the following:
Andronicus Balaam Balak Claudius
Flavius Domitian Gamaliel II Jezebel Jochanem ben Zacchai
John of Ephesus The Lamb Nerva Nicolaitans
Paul of Tarsus Thecla Timothy Titus
Flavius Titus Trajan Vespasian Zealots
2.
Define the Glossary terms relating to methods or phases of Biblical study:

audience criticism canon criticism exegesis form criticism
hermeneutics literary criticism midrash pesher
redaction history rhetorical criticism source criticism textual criticism
3.
Define the Glossary terms relating to titles for early church offices or organizational structures:
apostle aristocrat bishop Christian collegium
deacon diakonos episcopos evangelist house church
household code messiah patriarchy patron presbyter
prophet prostatis synagogue virgin widow
4.
Define other pertinent Glossary terms:
anonymous antinomianism apocalypse apocrypha
baptism basileia tou Theou creation epiphany
eschatology futuristic eschatology gnosis Gnosticism
hymn kerygma libertinism macarism
parable paraenesis pseudonymous realized eschatology
revelation seer soteria vision
5.
Put the following events in chronological order and recognize their significance:
  1. The First Jewish-Roman War
  2. The accession of Vespasian
  3. Rome's destruction of the Second Temple
  4. Colossians
  5. The principate of Titus
  6. The accession of Domitian
  7. Ephesians
  8. The birkhat ha minim
  9. 2 Thessalonians
  10. The Apocalypse of John
  11. The principate of Nerva
  12. The accession of Trajan
  13. The diaspora revolt of 114-117 against Rome
  14. The Pastoral Epistles
  15. The Acts of Thecla (text, not oral tradition)
6.
Locate key NT regions and cities on a map, especially the seven cities of the Apocalypse of John
7.
Apply the basic criteria of historicity when analyzing ancient texts. Be able to discuss the significance of your findings.
8.
Specify which are the authentic vs. the pseudonymous Pauline letters. Identify the significant features of pseudonymous letters.
9.
Recognize the differences between the Pauline and Deutero-Pauline letters, and between the Pauline letters and the Pastoral Epistles.
10.
Classify the authors from this portion of the class in terms of Raymond Brown's four groups in Jewish-Gentile Christianity.
11.
Identify and explain the function of the key features of the Book of Revelation.
12.
Identify selected texts from the writings in the later Pauline traditions, the Apocalypse of John, and the apocryphal Acts of Thecla.
13.
Given selected pericopes and pertinent questions for guidance, engage in both source-critical and form-critical analyses. Be able to discuss the significance of your findings.
14.
Be able to recognize and demonstrate the distinctions between the historical-critical approach to biblical texts (which is taught by the Roman Catholic Church) and biblical literalism or historicism.
15.
Compare and contrast the message of Jesus himself and of Paul with the central theological perspectives of the books in the Pauline traditions, especially with respect to their Anthropology, Christology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, and Pneumatology. Be able to discuss the significance of your findings.