Final Exam Study Guide

Objective Section(s)

Be able to recognize the definitions or important aspects of each of the following terms and concepts.
apocrypha
apostle
bishop
canon
christ
christology
the covenant
deacon
disciple
Domitian
epistle
eschatology
Gamaliel
gematria
house church
James
koine
martyr
messiah
Nero
paranesis
Paul
Peter
Pliny
pseudonymity/pseudonymous
pseudepigrapha
soteriology
Thecla
Trajan
Septuagint

Books of the New Testament
Be sure you know the social context and main elements of the theological & paranetical messages of each of the books of the NT we have read since the midterm.
(This will also be crucial for your essay section, see below.)

The most important books of the NT since the midterm (and hence, the books that the final will focus on) are:
1 Thessalonians
Galatians
1 Corinthians
Romans
the Pastoral Epistles
the deutero-Pauline Epistles
Hebrews
1 Peter
Revelation

Don't neglect the others, but focus on these ones, especially for your essays, below.

Other Ancient Literature
Know the social context and major concerns of

• Acts of Paul and Thecla
• Letters of Pliny and Trajan
• Melito of Sardis's Paschal Sermon
• Epistle of Barnabas
• Daniel

Dates
You do not need to provide the specific dates any books of the NT were written.  You should know the general time period in which they were written.  Also, know which of Paul's letters was first, and which was last.
When were the Gospels written -- before or after Paul's letters?  Which Gospel was written first?  Which was written last?

Issues of Canon and Textual Transmission
Go back to your notes from the first day of class and review the following issues:

• manuscript problems that make it difficult to study the text of the NT as a historical document
• the canonical process -- how the NT was canonized, when it was canonized, was it always a set canon, etc.

Short Answer Section

Note:  Even if some of these items don't appear in the short answer section, you might be able to use this information in your essay question(s).
 

Be able to list:

• Pastoral Epistles
• Deutero-Pauline Epistles
• Undisputed letters of Paul

Essay Section

1. Apocalypticism:  What are the major elements of apocalyptic thought?  What does the literary genre of apocalypse usually include and entail?  What are some of the most apocalyptic books of the NT we've read this semester?  What makes them apocalyptic?   What is the apocalyptic vision or message of these books?  What is the social context of these books?  What problems, questions, or traumatic events are the books trying to explain, answer, or address?  How do they explain, answer, or address them?  What people or situations are discussed?  How are the books similar?  How are they different?  Are some books of the NT more apocalyptic than others?  Explain.  Do the audiences for these books all agree with the authors' apocalyptic messages, or are there books in which the author is clearly arguing with his readers about eschatology?
2. Women and gender issues:  What kinds of roles did women have in the earliest Christian churches, especially in Paul's churches?  Did they have leadership positions?  Were they treated as equals to men by Paul or in the churches?  Were there restrictions placed on women that were not placed on men?  What were women's and men's roles in marriage?  What about in the later Christian communities after Paul's death that produced writings that were supposedly about Paul or written by Paul?  How did these later Christian authors interpret Paul's instructions on women and marriage?  What do the women in these texts do?  What are they prevented from doing?  Can you trace different trajectories in the Pauline traditions about women and marriage?
3. Earliest Christianity's evolution from Judaism:  The Christian religion began as a Jewish movement but eventually developed into its own religion.  How did that happen?  What aspects, beliefs, or rituals of Judaism did the early Christians keep?  What ones did they change?  What ones did they reject?  Did all of the authors we read have the same attitude towards Christianity's Jewish heritage?  Or did they have different views on what parts of the Jewish tradition to keep or reject?  Did the earliest Christians always get along with non-Christian Jews?  How or how not?  Why or why not?  How is this reflected in the New Testament literature?
4. Martyrdom and persection:  Which NT texts deal with the suffering and persecution of Christians?  Who is persecuting them?  Why?  How do the communities of these texts deal with their persecution?  What do the authors of these texts tell their readers to do about their persecution and suffering?  What kind of religious meaning do these authors give to suffering?  What do we know about the persecution of Christians in the first two centuries anyway?  Do we know of specific persecutions?  What did they look like?  Who was involved?

Final Instructions