Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Fall 2015
Final Exam Study Guide
For the Final Exam, be sure to familiarize yourself with the following terms and
concepts from lectures, class discussions and activities, and videos, as well as your
readings from the text. It is recommended that you study in groups or with a
partner, and that you compare and collate your lecture notes. Please note that
PowerPoint presentations from lectures will not be posted online.
The test will consist of 200 questions, worth 1 point each, and will include true/false
and multiple choice questions. Approximately 25% of the material will be taken
from the text book, and approximately 75% of material will be taken from lectures,
discussions, etc.
There will also be a five-paragraph essay, worth 50 points. Each paragraph should
have a minimum of 5 well developed sentences. 3 of the 6 prompts listed below will
be on the exam, but you will not know which. It is recommended that you outline
your essays beforehand, so as to organize your thoughts, but please note that you
will not be permitted to bring those outlines to the Exam.
What did Pope John Paul II say about the relationship between faith and
reason?
Understand the relationship between faith and reason, Divine Revelation and
Natural Revelation.
What can one know about God independent of religion, through reflection on
the world, and on the human person?
What are Thomas Aquinas Quinque Viae, and where do they come from?
Explain Thomas argument from Causality. Explain Anselms Ontological
Argument. Explain Joseph Ratzingers (Benedict XVIs) version of the
argument from Design.
Can Gods existence be proven in the mathematical sense? According to
John Henry Newman, how to we usually arrive about the truth of things,
including and especially Gods existence? Is there a single, irrefutable proof
for Gods existence?
Explain Augustines argument from Desire. Give some reasons (with
examples) of why the Catholic religion does not conflict with science.
What is Dei Verbum, and why is it important in the life of the Church?
Understand that the Bible is the written record of Gods self-revelation in
history.
Video:
Catholicism: Episode 1, The Ineffable Mystery of God
Readings to Review:
Genesis 1-4, 6-9
Ennuma Elish (handout)
UNIT 3: PATRIARCHS
From the Lectures:
To what literary genre does Genesis 11-50 (Patriarchs) belong, and what are
some characteristics of this form?
What some distinguishing characteristics of Gods relationship with Abram (J
Source)?
What is the significance of God calling Abram away from his fathers house
and into the land of Canaan?
What are the four elements of Gods covenant with Abraham (Blessing,
People, Land, Circumcision)?
In what ways does Abram and Sarais sojourn in Egypt foreshadow Israels
enslavement in Egypt and the Exodus that follows?
Who is Melchizedek (King of Salem)? Whom does he worship (El Elyon, God
Most High)? What does this say about how Israels faith in the one God
(monotheism) developed over time?
What is the symbolism of the ritual by which God seals his covenant with
Abram (cutting up animals)? What is the significance of God, but not Abram,
walking between the pieces?
What does Abraham mean, and how does this new name reflect its owners
new calling from God?
What is circumcision, what is its original purpose, and what religious
symbolism did it acquire over time?
Isaac sounds like what Hebrew word meaning laughter (Yishaq), and why
do Abraham and Sarah give this name to their son?
Who are the three mysterious visitors to Abraham at the Oak of Mamre (three
theories)?
How are Gods covenant promises thrown into doubt in the Akedah (Binding
of Isaac), and how is God ultimately justified and the covenant renewed?
How does the Akedah demonstrate a fundamental shift in how the Israelites
understand sacrifice (sacrificial cycle)?
Give a basic genealogy of the Patriarchs (Abraham > Isaac > Jacob/Israel >
Twelve Sons of Jacob/Israel)
Explain the symbolism of Jacob and Esaus gestation and birth (Israel vs.
Edom)
Explain the significance of Jacob taking Esaus birthright (Bekorah), and then
his covenant blessing (Berakah)
Explain how Jacob steals the covenant blessing from Esau. Why is he well
named Jacob (Yaakov = supplanter)?
Explain Jacobs dream at Bethel. What does this say about the sacredness of
the Land of Israel?
Explain the irony in Jacob being tricked into marrying Leah before Rachael.
How do the twelve sons of Jacob symbolize the Twelve Tribes of Israel?
Explain the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel, and why he is named
Israel (= wrestles with God)
Readings to Review:
Gen 12, 14, 15, 17, 18:1-15, 22, 25: 19-34, 27, 28:10-22, 29:1-30, 32:23-33
What is the significance of the Israelites multiplying in Egypt, and the new
Pharaohs attempts to stop their increase?
What is the significance of Moses being placed in a basket (Hebrew, ark),
among the reeds?
What is some of the irony in the story of Moses birth, adoption, and infancy?
What does Moses name mean in Hebrew, and how does it encapsulate his
story?
What is the difference (if any) between Mount Horeb and Mount Sinai?
What are the two theophanies on Sinai with which the Exodus story is framed
(Burning Bush and the Sinai Covenant)?
What is the meaning of the name YHWH, and what does this say about Gods
nature?
Are the plagues of Egypt miracles or signs? What are they meant to
demonstrate?
What makes Israelite monotheism unique (from, for instance, the religion of
Pharaoh Akhenaten, who also worshipped only one God)? How does Israels
faith in the one God evolve over time?
What are the basic elements of the Passover, as commanded by God in
Exodus? What does it mean for the Passover to be a day of remembrance?
Be familiar with the fact that Torah refers to both the first five books of the
Bible, and the law that God revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai
How many mitzvot, or commandments, are there in the Torah (613), and what
areas of Jewish life do they govern (moral, social, religious)? Also know that
while the social and religious law is changeable (e.g., not marrying a Gentile,
eating pork), the moral law is not (i.e., not murdering anyone).
Understand the transition of the Israelites from the slave mentality to
freedom through the law (hence the 40 years of wandering in the
wilderness)
Understand how the tying together of religion and morality makes Judaism
unique amongst ancient religions.
What is the meaning of Decalogue (Greek, ten words = 10
commandments)?
Know that the Decalogue is a summary of the entire Torah.
Know that the numbering and division of the Decalogue differs according to
religious affiliation. What is the traditional Jewish way of numbering and
dividing the 10 Commandments.
Understand how the animated film The Prince of Egypt functions as a
Midrashic reinterpretation of the Moses/Exodus story.
Video:
The Prince of Egypt
Readings to Review:
Ex 1-15, 19, 20, Deut 5:6-21
Essay
1. Discuss the concept of Revelation. Be sure to:
Discuss the progression from oral to written tradition. During what phase of
Israels history were the oral traditions first written down?
What are the four sources of the Torah, and what are some of their
distinguishing characteristics? What is the earliest to be written, and which is
the latest?
Beyond source criticism, discuss four other methods of Biblical scholarship.
What does the Historical Critical Method ultimately help us to understand?
Explain what is meant by the literal sense of Scripture. How does this differ
from Biblical literalism? How can the Historical-Critical Method help our
understanding of the literal sense?
Explain what is meant by the spiritual sense of Scripture. The spiritual sense
is further subdivided into what three senses?
Unpack the meaning of the Siege of Jericho in Joshua according to its literal
and spiritual senses (all four).
Discuss the historical origin on the Hebrew word El, its two meanings, and
how this demonstrates the gradual development of Israels understanding of
God.
Explain what a covenant is, who could establish a covenant, and how one
established a covenant in the Ancient Near East (i.e., What does it mean to
cut a covenant?).
Discuss briefly Gods covenants with Noah, Abraham/Isaac/Jacob, Moses (the
Sinai Covenant), and David.
Discuss in detail Gods covenant with Abraham. What are the four parts of
this covenant? What is the spiritual significance of circumcision?