James Brown

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1. How many books are in the NT?
2. In what language were they written?
3. In what century were they written?
4. Name the Gospels of the NT
5. Name three Gospels from outside the New Testament
6. What does the word “Gospel” mean?
7. According to the Gospels, who baptized Jesus? Who carried his cross? Who buried him?
8. In about what year did Jesus die? What year was he born?
9. The author of the Gospel of Luke wrote two books. Name two of them.
10. What is normally thought to have been the occupations of (a) Matthew and (b) Luke?
11. Which of the following were Jews? John the Baptist, Alexander the Great, Jesus, Pontius Pilate, Simon Peter, Tacitus, the Apostle Paul.
12. What is the shortest verse in the New Testament?

ficino

Shoot, I woulda got a free dinner.

Stuart

LOL,

#12 is the only one I don't know

Of course many are trick questions, like #7b who carried the cross. In the Synoptic Gospels it's Simon of Cyrene, but John 19:17 as an emphatic counter point declares Jesus bore the cross himself.

I am not sure where Mr. Erhman stands on the NT dating, but I would make a case for 2nd century for 21 books and 3rd century for 6 (2, 3 John, 2 Peter, Jude, James, Hebrews) ... I would answer by saying traditional opinion is 1st and early 2nd century, radical scholarship view is 2nd and early early 3rd century tying passages to later events and controversies. For example,Matthew 5:35 is a true statement only from about 131 CE to 161 CE. 1 Corinthians 8:7-13 refers to the Valentinian ("the strong") practice of allowing the eating of idol sacrificed food of the late 2nd century, just to pull up two examples.

#11 is also tricky, because technically none of the characters is ever explicitly stated to be from Judea, although the two infancy stories place Jesus in Bethlehem. Nazareth, which is sometimes called his home is in the jurisdiction of Galilee of the Syria province. If Diaspora and Proselyte Jew counts as Jewish then John, Jesus, Peter could be said to be Jews, and also Paul.

#8 is also a trick question since he "appears" and is not born in two Canonical Gospels. The date of birth and death also varies, but could be put in a narrow range according to the narratives. Unless of course one looks at Revelation 12 which blows the whole dating to pieces.

Mr. Erhman confuses "new testament" with "accepted canon" ... I would answer assuming the latter but make a note of the misuse of terminology. The Gospel of Peter, the Lord, James, Truth, et al, would be considered New Testament, but not Canonical.


LOL, if I took the quiz, I'd have a caveat on every answer (I'd first give the answer he expects then my opinion)

ficino

"Jesus wept." !!