Essentials of Evangelical Theology Exam #1

According to Dr. Burch, everyone is a theologian, even atheists

True

Among the necessary theological tools, imagination asks, is this true?

False

Because of their attention to detail, theological doctrines are more like photos than paintings

False

According to Olson, the practice of unwarranted speculation can damage the credibility of genuine theological debate and research

True

According to Olson, one of the dangers of holding an “either/or” theology is that it makes it more difficult to understand a doctrine like the Trinity

False

Olson believes polemical approaches to theology are the best

False

According to Olson, “Folk Religion” can be characterized as being open, expansive, subject to critique and having significant public impact

False

According to Lewis, it is not enough to be made in God’s image, we must also be spiritually begotten

True

According to Lewis, when one turns from personal experiences to Christian doctrine, they are turning from something less real to something more real

False

According to Lewis, doctrines are not God, they are like a map that assist one in better understanding God and growing closer to God

True

According to Vincent of Lerins, a person who wished to avoid heresy and maintain a sound faith would adhere to the authority of the divine law and the tradition of the Catholic Church

True

According to Vincent of Lerins, the Church’s true Catholic tradition is that which has been believed always, everywhere, and by everyone

True

According to Irenaeus, tradition is a “living voice” not just writings handed down

True

Essential teachings that are part of the Core of Christian Identity

Dogma

According to Irenaeus, the apostles taught some secret mysteries that were not handed down to their successors

False (that is Gnosticism)

According to Irenaeus, the bishops were entrusted to pass along the church’s apostolic tradition

True

Centered set categories refer to either/or views that determine who is theologically in and who is out

False (Boundary Set Categories)

The Great Tradition refers to a minimal set of core Christian teachings established for the church by the apostles and the early church’s bishops

True

Nuanced teachings that reflect a tradition particular theological understanding of the Christian core teachings

Doctrine

The Church’s theology that explained the New Testament scriptures was developing at the same time the Church was deciding which documents would comprise the New Testament canon of scripture

True

In Christian history, canonization was the process the church used to separate out the authoritative apostolic story of Jesus from all the “fan fiction” versions of Jesus

True

For the early church, scripture was authoritative when interpreted through Jesus Christ (Gospels) and the Rule of Faith

True

According to David Wallace, our default settings leads us to believe that we are the center of the universe

True

The Wesleyan Quadrilateral includes imagination as a source of authority

False

Christians agree about the equal authority of Tradition and Scripture

False

According to David Wallace, the only thing that is capital-T-true, is that we get to decide who or what to worship and how we decide to see/interpret the reality going on around us

True

Christian Consensus would include the Ecumenical Councils as a source of authority

True

Pietists Heart Religion and Pentecostal/Charismatic movements would be examples of relying on reason as the primary source of authority

False

According to Olsen, heresy is the Mother of Orthodoxy

True

According to David Wallace, real freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline and effort, and being able to truly care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad, petty little unsexy ways

True

Johann Mohler believed that tradition must assist the Church with interpretation because the Bible has errors

False

Islamic understanding of the Quaran’s divine nature is the same as Christian understanding of the Bible

False

Jonothan Edwards believed that the book of nature interpreted the book of scripture

False

The Natural Theology debate is about which question?

Is God’s revelation of Himself in nature enough for a person to be saved?

Marcion’s canon was one reason that the early church decided to develop an authoritative New Testament canon

True

One of the consensus points among Christians is that the Bible is both personal and propositional in nature

True

Those who hold to a plenary verbal inspiration view believe that the authors of the Bible were inspired and the term infallible is often used

False (This is Dynamic Inspiration)

Those who hold to a dynamic inspiration model tend to also affirm strict inerrancy

False (This is Plenary Verbal Inspiration)

Apostolic Authority was one criterion used for determining the New Testament Canon

True

Olsen would support the idea of continuing revelation so long as primacy and normativity is given to the original revelation in Jesus Christ and Scripture

True

According to Aquinas, we do not know God in the same way that we know the world

True

“The simplest explanation for an observed fact is the preferred one” is a quote from which theologian

William of Ockham

According to Olsen, the Christian consensus regarding God is that He is transcendentally great and imminently good

True

Deism believes in a God that is both transcendent and immanent

False

Process theology believes in a God that evolves with the world in an interdependent and mutual way

True

Dynamic Monotheism is best connected with which term?

Perichoresis

Theologians use the phrase “economic trinity” when referring to God as a mystery that has not been totally revealed

False

According to Leonardo Boff, it is the Trinity’s saving mystery that makes it good news for the world’s poor and oppressed people

True

The early church chose the word hypostasis to refer to the one substance or being of God

False (Ousia)

In Christian history, the Bible has not been the problem, interpreting the Bible has been the problem

True