Study Guide for Reading Assignment 3

J.Gresham Machen, Origin of Paul's Religion

Read the Origin of Paul’s Religion, chapters 5-6.  Use the study questions below as you read and study for the exams. 


36. Name the "naturalistic" theories of the origin of Paul's religion that have been proposed by theologians, according to Machen 

37.Which Jewish sect was known for their asceticism?

38. Which Jewish sect was known for their support of Roman rule and for their lack of belief in the resurrection ?

39. Which Jewish sect was known for their strict rules and for being popular among the people?

40. According to Machen, did Paul belonged to a group of Jews that believed in a heavenly pre-existent Messiah?

41. What did the Jewish "apocalyptic" school of thought teach about the divinity of the Messiah?

42. At the time of Paul, was the native religion of Rome an important factor in the life of the Empire—including in the East?

43.Did the Roman conquerors before Christ root out Greek religious influence in the East?

44. What kind of religion existed in Greece before Christ?

45. In the Greek religion,  describe how the worshipers of Dionysus sought to attain contact with the god.

46. What three elements finally undermined the religion of Greece?

47. Before Christ, the ancient Greek religions of the city-state found a successor in the worship of whom?

48. The most important feature of the religion of the Hellenistic age is found in the widespread desire for what?

49. The Stoics enunciated what principle?

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