The Humanistic Tradition 7th Edition by Gloria K. Fiero – Test Bank

The Humanistic Tradition 7th Edition by Gloria K. Fiero – Test Bank

Chapter 08

A Flowering of Faith

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Christianity is tied to all of the following backgrounds EXCEPT
   A.the Near-Eastern.
   B. the Greco-Roman.
   C. the Islamic.
   D. the Hebraic.

Learning Objective: Describe the background and growth of Christianity.
Topic: Greco-Roman background
Topic: History
Topic: Jewish background
Topic: Near eastern background
Topic: Philosophy and Religion

2. Zoroastrianism and Mithraism were influences on early Christianity and developed in
   A.Rome.
   B. Persia.
   C. Greece.
   D. Egypt.

Learning Objective: Describe the background and growth of Christianity.
Topic: History
Topic: Near eastern background
Topic: Philosophy and Religion

3. In 63 B.C.E., which of the following was the Roman-administered homeland of the Hebrews in the eastern Mediterranean region?
   A.Israel
   B. Judea
   C. Palestine
   D. Gaza

Learning Objective: Describe the background and growth of Christianity.
Topic: History
Topic: Jewish background

4. The differences between the Pharisees and the Sadducees basically revolved around
   A.who might the messiah be.
   B. survival of the soul after death.
   C. tribal leadership.
   D. land ownership.

Topic: History
Topic: Jewish background
Topic: Philosophy and Religion

The ________ practiced strict self-denial and self-discipline in a form of asceticism.

1. Philistines
   B. Pharisees
   C. Essenes
   D. Sadducees

Topic: History
Topic: Jewish background
Topic: Philosophy and Religion

6. This man is named the “Apostle to the Gentiles” because of his extensive work to promote and grow a then-largely Hebraic Christianity.
   A.Mark
   B. Peter
   C. Paul
   D. John

Learning Objective: Recall the contributions of Paul to the rise of Christianity.
Topic: Christianity’s reach
Topic: History
Topic: Paul’s teachings
Topic: Philosophy and Religion

7. Not until the Edict of Milan in the year 313 was public persecution of ________ forbidden by decree.
   A.Romans
   B. Muslims
   C. Christians
   D. Moors

Learning Objective: Describe the background and growth of Christianity.
Learning Objective: Explain Emperor Constantine’s contribution to Western acceptance of Christianity.
Topic: Greco-Roman background
Topic: History

8. Who of the following is thought to be a chronological contemporary to Jesus Christ?
   A.Mahatma Gandhi
   B. Siddhartha Gautama
   C. Confucius
   D. Indira Gandhi

Learning Objective: Compare early Christian to early Buddhist teachings.
Topic: History
Topic: Philosophy and Religion

9. Which of the following describes how the Buddha worked toward enlightenment?
   A.

meditating under a tree

traveling widely by foot

building temples

archiving existing knowledge

Topic: Buddha’s life
Topic: History

10. The purpose of the Eightfold Path
    A.is to deliver mystic truths.
    B. is to demonstrate right conduct.
    C. is explaining how to become a priest.
    D. None of these answers is correct.

Topic: Buddha’s message
Topic: Philosophy and Religion

11. The Buddha’s truly revolutionary social ideas centered on
    A.dietary restrictions.
    B. the afterlife.
    C. leadership.
    D. caste.

Topic: Buddha’s message
Topic: Philosophy and Religion

12. The Emperor Asoka made Buddhism the official religion of
    A.Persia.
    B. India.
    C. China.
    D. Malaysia.

Topic: Buddhism’s reach
Topic: Buddhist identity
Topic: History
Topic: Philosophy and Religion

13. Which of the following best explains a bodhisattva?
    A.

a god-like being that shows or divines something

one who has achieved enlightenment, but refrains from entering nirvana

a missionary of the emperor Asoka

a demonic creature

Learning Objective: Compare the Christian apostles and the bodhisattvas.
Topic: Buddha’s message
Topic: Buddhist identity
Topic: Philosophy and Religion

14. Buddhism entered China during the first century C.E. and rose to prominence during the last decades of the
    A.Song era.
    B. Han era.
    C. Ming era
    D. None of these answers is correct.

Topic: Buddhism’s reach
Topic: Buddhist identity
Topic: History
Topic: Philosophy and Religion

15. Buddhism was never able to overtake ________ as the religion of majority in India.
    A.Islam
    B. Jainism
    C. Hinduism
    D. Christianity

Topic: Buddhism’s reach
Topic: History
Topic: Philosophy and Religion

Essay Questions

16. Discuss the background out of which Christianity emerged.

Both as a religious faith and as a historical phenomenon, Christianity emerged from three distinctly different cultural traditions: Greco-Roman, Near Eastern (West Asian), and Hebraic.

Roman religion was a blend of native and borrowed traditions. Ancient pagan religious rituals marked seasonal change and celebrated seedtime and harvest. Rome’s favorite deities were looked upon as protectors of the household, the marketplace, and the state: Vesta, for instance, guarded the hearth fire, and Mars, god of war, ministered to soldiers. The Romans welcomed the gods of non-Roman peoples and honored them along with the greater and lesser Roman gods. However, Roman religion promised neither retribution in the afterlife nor the reward of eternal life.

Neoplatonism, a school of philosophy developed in Alexandria, took as its inspiration some of the principal ideas in the writings of Plato and his followers. It anticipated a mystical union between the individual soul and “the One” or Ultimate Being—comparable with Plato’s Form of Goodness. Neoplatonism’s view of the soul as eternal and divine, and its perception of the universe as layered in ascending degrees of perfection, would have a shaping influence on Early Christian thought.

In Greece, Egypt, and throughout Southwest Asia, there had long flourished numerous religious cults whose appeal was far more personal than that of the prevailing Greco-Roman religious philosophies. The promise of personal immortality was the central feature of the “mystery cults,” so called because their initiation rituals were secret ancient agricultural societies celebrated seasonal change by means of symbolic performances of the birth, death, and rebirth of gods and goddesses associated with the regeneration of crops. The mystery cults perpetuated these practices, which included symbolic acts of spiritual death and rebirth, including ritual baptism and a communal meal at which they might consume the flesh or blood of the deity.

Judaism, the oldest living religion in the Western world, differed from the other religions and religious cults of this period in its strongly ethical bias, its commitment to monotheism, and its exclusivity—that is, its emphasis on a special relationship (or covenant) between God and the Chosen People, the Jews themselves. Certain sects of Jews envisioned a Messiah as a figure who either would serve as a temporal leader who would consolidate Jewish ideals and lead the Jews to political freedom (The Sadducees) or as a messianic redeemer who, like a shepherd looking after his flock, would lead the righteous to salvation (the Pharisees).

Learning Objective: Describe the background and growth of Christianity.
Topic: Greco-Roman background
Topic: History
Topic: Jewish background
Topic: Near eastern background
Topic: Philosophy and Religion

17. Explain the contributions of Paul to the rise of Christianity.

The apostle Paul was one of the immediate followers of Jesus, who anticipated a Second Coming in which all who had followed Jesus would be delivered to the Kingdom of Heaven. Through his efforts, the message of Jesus gained widespread appeal. Following a mystical experience in which Jesus is said to have revealed himself to Paul, he became a passionate convert to the teachings of the preacher from Nazareth. Paul is generally believed to have written ten to fourteen of the twenty-seven books of the Christian Scriptures called by Christians the “New Testament,” to distinguish it from the Hebrew Bible, which they referred to as the “Old Testament.” Paul’s most important contributions lie in his having universalized and systematically explained Jesus’ message. While Jesus preached only to the Jews, Paul spread his teachings to the gentile (non-Jewish) communities of Greece, Asia Minor, and Rome, thus earning the title “Apostle to the Gentiles.” He stressed that the words of Jesus were directed not exclusively to Jews, but to non-Jews as well. Paul explained the messianic mission of Jesus and the reason for his death. He described Jesus as a living sacrifice who died for the sins of humankind, and, specifically, for the sin that had entered the world through Adam’s defiance of God in the Garden of Eden. For Paul, the death of Jesus was the act of atonement that “acquitted” humankind of Original Sin. Where Adam’s sin had condemned humankind, Jesus—the New Adam—would redeem humankind. His resurrection confirmed the promise of eternal salvation. By their faith in Jesus, promised Paul, the faithful would be rewarded with everlasting life.

Paul’s focus on moral renewal and redemption would set Christianity apart from the mystery religions. So important was Paul’s contribution to the foundations of the new faith that he has been called “the co-founder of Christianity.”

Learning Objective: Recall the contributions of Paul to the rise of Christianity.
Topic: Christian identity
Topic: History
Topic: Jesus’ message
Topic: Paul’s teachings
Topic: Philosophy and Religion

18. List the similarities and differences between early Christian and early Buddhist teachings.

One of the most interesting historical coincidences is the parallel between the spread of Buddhism in the East and the emergence of Christianity in the West, both of which occurred during the first century of the Christian era. Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha (“Enlightened One”), lived in India some three to five centuries before Jesus, also preaching a message of humility and compassion. The Buddha was an eloquent teacher whose concerns, like those of Jesus, were ethical and egalitarian. Just as Jesus criticized Judaism’s emphasis on ritual, so Siddhartha attacked the existing forms of Hindu worship, including animal sacrifice and the authority of the Vedas. Ultimately, Jesus and Siddhartha were reformers of older world faiths: Judaism and Hinduism.

Nevertheless, there were differences between the two spiritual leaders. Buddhism is not a monotheistic religion like Christianity; Buddhists believe that salvation can be achieved in this lifetime, through nirvana, the ultimate release from illusion and from the Wheel of Rebirth. The Buddhist’s goal is not, as with Christianity, the promise of personal immortality, but rather, escape from the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. For the Buddhist, “salvation” lies in the extinction of the Self.

Learning Objective: Compare early Christian to early Buddhist teachings.
Topic: Buddha’s message
Topic: Jesus’ message
Topic: Philosophy and Religion

19. Explain how Buddhism spread in India and China.

During the third century B.C.E., the emperor Ashoka made Buddhism the state religion of India. Ashoka’s role in spreading Buddhism foreshadowed Constantine’s labors on behalf of Christianity; but Ashoka went even further. He initiated official policies of non-violence, promoted vegetarianism, and defended egalitarianism. He built monuments and shrines honoring the Buddha throughout India and he sent Buddhist missionaries as far west as Greece and southeast into Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka).

Despite Ashoka’s efforts, Buddhism never gained widespread popularity in India. The strength of the established Hindu tradition there (like that of Judaism in Judea) and the resistance of the Brahmin caste to Buddhist egalitarianism ultimately hindered the success of the new faith. Buddhist communities nevertheless continued to 
flourish in India until the
 Islamic invasion of north
ern India in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, during which
 time Buddhism became all
 but extinct. Buddhism did, however, continue to thrive
 in lands far from its place 
of birth. In China, Mahayana Buddhism gained an overwhelming following and influence. From China, the new religion spread also to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, where its impact was similarly great. Buddhism’s tolerance for other religions enhanced its popularity and universal appeal.

Topic: Buddhism’s reach
Topic: History
Topic: Philosophy and Religion

20. In your own words, describe the message of Jesus Christ as recounted in the Bible.

Like many spiritual and philosophical greats, Jesus did not write down his message himself. Indeed, even the historical Jesus is an elusive figure; his name is not mentioned in the non-Christian literature until almost the end of the first century C.E. What we know of his message comes from the Gospels (literally “Good News”), which date from at least forty years after his death.

In keeping with his Jewish background, Jesus embraced the ethical monotheism of traditional Judaism, while putting a new emphasis on the virtues of pacifism and compassion. He warned that wealth and secular achievements mattered little in the larger cosmic sense, and that one should prepare for eternal life by doing good deeds to achieve the ultimate reward in “the kingdom of heaven.” He held that love—for God and for other people—was the ultimate goal.

Topic: Jesus’ message
Topic: Philosophy and Religion