Comprehensive Examination Questions
Biblical Studies (McGinn & Spencer)
1. What are the four most important concepts you have learned at JCU about biblical studies. You should explain each concept thoroughly, show why it is applicable or relevant to the Bible, and show why you deem it an important concept. Make a case for the priority of the four ideas and explain why they were chosen from among other possibilities.
2. To what extent do you see evidence of change or development in the theology and religion of the Hebrew Bible? Provide specific evidence that supports your position. Look at several passages from different biblical materials and from different historical contexts to buttress your position.
3. “The Hebrew Bible was not influenced by outside historical events or religious ideas.” Defend or refute this statement. Provide specific biblical and extra-biblical evidence to support your arguments.
4. A common summary of Christian doctrine is that “Christ died to save us from our sins.” Discuss. Compare and contrast at least two NT authors on this subject. Is this the best way to express NT Soteriology in our time? How so? How not? How would you improve upon this statement? In your discussion, use explicit references to pertinent NT texts wherever possible.
5. The NT gospels and the Pauline corpus expend considerable energy justifying the claim that Jesus, the Crucified One, was the long-awaited messiah of Israel. Why is the claim of “Christ crucified” a stumbling block to their First Century CE audiences? In your view, which of these authors offers the best argument for this claim? Explain. How would you make a case for this claim to a contemporary audience? Remember to use explicit references to pertinent NT texts wherever possible.
6. Paul’s key metaphor for the church is “the body of Christ” (Rom 12:5; 1 Cor 1:12) and he speaks of the Spirit of God as living “among” the members of the church (Rom 8:9–11). Jesus gathered a community of disciples, and proclaimed the coming of the basileia of God—a blatantly political (i.e., communal) idea. Yet many of our contemporaries would claim that one can be a Christian apart from church membership. How would you use Paul’s ecclesiology to persuade them otherwise? What other NT evidence could you garner in support of this position? Remember to use explicit references to pertinent NT texts wherever possible.
History of Christianity (Kelly)
1. Since scholars can demonstrate that all doctrinal formulations are historically conditioned, that is, they reflect the age that produced them, does this mean that these formulations are not valid for later ages? For example, when the Council of Chalcedon (451) said that Christ is one person with two natures, the council had a primarily classical (ancient Greek) notion of person and nature, not one modern theologians would share. Can modern theologians accept Chalcedon? If not, does this run the risk of making all doctrinal formulations relative on the principle that any formula cannot be authoritative since future generations will reject its languages?
2. Choose three events in secular history which affected the course of history of Christianity. Explain these events in terms of their own era and culture and then explain how they affected the history of Christianity. Be specific.
Systematic Theology (Donnelly, Mason & Nuth)
1. Faith and Theology—Using resource materials from your courses, answer the following questions: What is faith? What is theology? How are they related? Is Christian doctrine fixed and unchanging? Explain.
2. God— Using biblical and theological resource materials from your courses, answer one of the following:
a) The Christian understanding of God has its roots in Judaism. Name some of the characteristics of the Jewish view of God that have remained in the Christian concept of God.
b)
Why do Christians believe in a Trinitarian God?
c)
Discuss the problem of evil in light of belief in a loving and all powerful God.
3. Christology—Using biblical and theological resource materials from your courses, answer one of the following:
a)
What can we know about the historical Jesus, according to contemporary biblical scholarship? How does the historical Jesus differ from the Christ of faith?
b) What message is learned about human suffering and death from the story of Jesus? In your answer include a discussion of Jesus’ death in relation to his life and in relation to the resurrection.
c) What is the core of Christian faith about Jesus Christ? In your answer discuss the Christian mysteries of Incarnation and Redemption. What does it mean for Christians to believe in the resurrection?
d) Jesus is the savior of the world. Discuss various interpretations of this statement in contemporary Christian theology.
4. Theological Anthropology—Using biblical and theological resource materials from your courses, discuss the Christian understanding of human nature, grace and sin.
5. Sacramental and Liturgical Theology
(a) The "Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy," Sacrosanctum Concilium, suggests that symbols should be more transparent to the reality signified. In the aftermath of Vatican Council II, what symbolic reforms have been implemented in Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults?
(b) Using biblical and theological resource materials from your courses, explain how sacraments and justice intersect.
6. Contemporary Theology—Using resource materials from your course, answer one of the following:
a)
Explain the four shifts in the Roman Catholic understanding of church which occurred as a result of the Second Vatican Council. In each case distinguish clearly between the pre-Vatican II church and the ecclesiology of the Council.
b) Using resource materials from your course, discuss the understanding of “faith” in the theology of one recent Protestant theologian and the idea of “God” in another.
Non-Christian Religions (Nietupski, Saritoprak & Oppenheimer)
Hinduism
1. The Vedanta vision of Hindu revelation is one of the best known in India. Explain the ideas of Brahman with and without qualities, commenting on the polytheistic or monotheistic elements in this type of Hindu philosophy, and how Hindus reconcile God’s immanence and transcendence. Given this, explain traditions of active and passive behavior in the world.
2. With reference to the Vedas, discuss the purusa sacrifice as a creative act.
3. Discuss the mythology of Lord Shiva, his hagiography, and the importance of this in Hindu worship and pilgrimage.
Buddhism
1. Discuss the role of Buddha's life as a behavioral and philosophical paradigm.
2. Discuss the nature of Buddhist revelation and the path to enlightenment.
3. Explain the Buddhist concept of ultimate and relative truths. Explain the Buddhist view of life in the world.
Islam
1. Explain the etymology of the word Islam and the emergence of Islamic tradition through the experience of Muhammad.
2. Discuss the roles of the four Caliphs, after the death of Muhammad.
3. Explain the five pillars of Islam
4. Explain the six articles of Faith in Islamic tradition
5. Describe the divine book of Islam, the Qu’ran.
6. What is Sufism in Islamic tradition? Describe it and give some examples of Sufis in Islamic Tradition
Judaism
1. State clearly and explain the two possible theological perspectives a Jew might have regarding authorship of the Hebrew Bible (reference Milton Steinberg's "traditionalist" and "modernist" concepts), and give
four examples of how each of these perspectives is reflected in the lives of Jews today.
2. "Judaism has evolved/changed/developed in significant ways down its 3500 year history."". Explain and discuss this statement, and present and explain 6 examples of this statement in action in Jewish history (e.g. the ordination of female Rabbis- - do not use this as one of your examples).
3. Before, during and after the time of Jesus, Jews could subscribe to one or more of these five groupings: Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, Zealots, Messianists. Explain the main principles and characteristics of each group, tell which could coexist, which could not and why.
Finally, explain how each group is reflected/represented in modern Jewry.
4. Explain and discuss the statement: "The Holocaust was a progressive, evolving, deliberate series of steps in a well thought out and planned process which encompassed the 12 years of Hitler's rule"; describe in detail 6 pieces of evidence from the events of the Holocaust supporting this statement.
Ethics (Lauritzen & Schubeck)
1. Christian ethicists usually identify a number of sources of moral norms for use in moral deliberation, for example, scripture, tradition, and natural law. You should be prepared to talk about one of more of these sources and how it was used by Christian ethicists. In particular, you should be prepared to discuss a particular moral issue in light of your discussion of the sources of Christian ethics.
2. Catholic and Protestant ethicists follow different methods in their moral deliberation over social issues, like abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, and war. Using a social issue to illustrate the approaches, show how the two methods are similar and yet different.
3. Explain natural law ethics according to Thomas Aquinas. Compare this ethics with Utilitarianism. In what respect are the two ethics similar? How do they differ?
4. In contrast to normative ethics (as in Q. 1) that ask, “Whether action X is right?” “What are the consequences of action Y,” virtue ethics focuses on persons, like “Who am I?” and “What sort of person ought I to become?” Explain how virtue ethics works in practice? What virtues seem essential to becoming a good human being?
5. State and briefly explain the just war criteria (jus ad bellum). Using these criteria, demonstrate why you think a specific war was just or unjust.
6. In the debate over the morality of capital punishment, theories of retribution and deterrence are pivotal. Using these theories, develop one position justifying the death penalty and a second position against it. Finally, what is the position of the U.S. Catholic Bishops, recently endorsed by the Pope John Paul II?
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