Program / Course 26: Comprehensive Assessment / Lesson 1.2
What you will learn
- Lay out a self-administered biblical examination in four sections.
- Write questions on books, story, genres and key passages that test understanding and not only recall.
- Take the examination under honest conditions, without notes.
- Keep a record of the conditions so that the result means something.
The big idea
A good biblical examination has four parts. The first tests knowledge of the books and their order. The second tests the storyline from creation to the new creation. The third tests whether the student can tell a law from a proverb, a psalm from a letter, and read each as its kind of writing. The fourth tests knowledge of key passages and the questions interpreters ask about them. The exam is private: the student writes it, takes it and marks it, with no submission to the site.
Key terms
- Genre
- The kind of writing a text is, such as narrative, law, poetry, prophecy, gospel, letter or apocalypse. Genre affects how a text should be read.
- Covenant
- A binding relationship with promises and obligations. The Bible speaks of covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses and David, and of a new covenant.
- Pentateuch
- The first five books of the Bible, Genesis to Deuteronomy, also called the Torah or the Law.
- Gospel
- Literally good news. Also the name of the four books about Jesus: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
- Apocalyptic
- A kind of writing full of symbols and visions about God’s final action. Daniel and Revelation are the main examples.
- Open book and closed book
- Two exam conditions. Closed book means no notes or sources while writing. Open book means they are allowed. This course suggests closed book.
Background
The structure below is a suggestion for a private self-assessment. It is not a form to submit and it is not graded by the website. A student may shorten it, lengthen it or change it. What matters is that the exam asks questions which reveal understanding and not only memory.
The course plan suggests 25 to 30 questions on the books, story, genres, major passages and interpretive questions of the Bible. A balanced set might use about six questions for each of four sections, with a few questions that combine them. A timer of ninety minutes to two hours is typical, though each student can set a different time.
A fair exam also reflects honest disagreement. Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches differ over the extent of the Old Testament, and readers differ over the dating and authorship of many books and over the meaning of some passages. A question can ask the student to describe a disagreement accurately without settling it.
Step-by-step explanation
Step 1: Section A, the books
Write six to eight questions on the books. Ask the student to list the books of the New Testament in order, to name the divisions of the Old Testament, to match a book with its group, or to say which books are the Gospels, the letters of Paul and the general letters. A harder question asks how the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant canons differ.
Step 2: Section B, the story
Write six to eight questions on the storyline. Ask for a short account of creation and fall, the call of Abraham, the exodus, the monarchy, the exile and return, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, the spread of the church and the final hope. A good answer shows how one part leads to the next.
Step 3: Section C, the genres
Write five to six questions on genre. Give a short quotation or a reference and ask what kind of writing it is and how that affects its reading. A proverb states a general truth and is not a promise. A narrative may describe what happened without approving it. A psalm is prayer and song. A letter answers a situation. An apocalypse uses symbol.
Step 4: Section D, key passages and interpretive questions
Write five to six questions on important passages. Examples: summarize Exodus 20, Psalm 51, Isaiah 53, Matthew 5, John 1 or Romans 3. Add interpretive questions, such as why Paul and James seem to differ on faith and works, or how Christians read the early chapters of Genesis. State the main positions fairly.
Step 5: Take the exam and record the conditions
Close the notes, set the timer and write in full sentences. Do not stop to look anything up. After the exam, write at the top of the page the date, the time used and any interruption. These notes will matter when you compare this exam with later attempts.
- Does each question test understanding, or only whether I memorized a list?
- Have I included each genre at least once?
- Is there a question that asks me to state a disagreement fairly?
- Are my time and number of questions realistic for one sitting?
- Will I write in full sentences so that gaps can be seen?
- Have I recorded the conditions so that I can compare later attempts?
Examples
A books question
Name the four Gospels, the book that continues the story after them, and the book that closes the New Testament. Then give the three groups into which the Old Testament is divided in the Protestant arrangement. (A sample question.)
A genre question
Read Proverbs 22:6. What kind of writing is this, and why is it a mistake to read it as an unconditional promise? A good answer says that proverbs state general patterns and are not guarantees. (A sample question.)
An interpretive question
Describe how Romans 3:28 and James 2:24 have been read. Name one way Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox have tended to harmonize them, and say why the question matters. (A sample question.)
Different perspectives
Catholic
Catholic teaching reads Scripture within the church and alongside tradition. The Catholic student may be asked to know the deuterocanonical books and the traditional fourfold sense of Scripture: literal, allegorical, moral and anagogical.
Orthodox
Orthodox teaching reads Scripture within the church’s liturgy and the writings of the Fathers. Many Orthodox use the Greek Old Testament, called the Septuagint, as their Old Testament text.
Protestant
Protestant churches generally stress the plain, literal and historical sense of Scripture and its final authority. Within that, Protestants differ widely on matters such as baptism, church government and the end times.
Scholarly
Historical and literary scholarship asks about the setting, dating, sources and genre of each book. Its findings about authorship and composition are often debated, and an exam answer should distinguish a consensus from a minority view.
Why it matters
A four part structure prevents the exam from becoming a list of verses. It tests whether the student has a map of the whole, can read each kind of text on its own terms, and can talk about disagreements without pretending that they are not there.
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: An exam on the Bible should only test memory of verses.
Correction: Memory matters, but understanding of story, genre and interpretation shows whether the verses are understood.
Misunderstanding: Asking about disagreements shows a lack of faith.
Correction: Honest study names disagreements accurately. Each tradition teaches its own position, and a fair student can state them all.
Misunderstanding: The structure here is required.
Correction: It is a suggestion. Nothing is submitted, and a student may change the sections, the number of questions or the time.
Knowledge check
What are the four sections suggested for the biblical examination?
The books and their order, the storyline from creation to the final hope, the genres and how to read them, and key passages with the main interpretive questions. The four together test both recall and understanding, and ask the student to treat disagreements honestly.
Why does genre matter for reading?
Each kind of writing makes its claims in a different way. A proverb gives a general pattern, a psalm is prayer, a narrative reports events, a letter addresses a situation and an apocalypse uses symbol. Reading all of them in one way, for instance as plain instruction, produces mistakes.
Why record the conditions of the exam?
The record of date, time used and interruptions shows whether the result is comparable with later attempts. A score earned with notes open or in a rushed ten minutes means something different from a score earned under honest, timed, closed book conditions.
Does the site grade this examination?
No. The student writes, takes and marks the exam. Nothing is submitted. There is no certificate, accreditation, credit or degree, and the suggested time and number of questions can be changed.
Think it through
- Which of the four sections would you expect to be your weakest?
- How do you decide whether an answer shows understanding or only memory?
- What disagreement about the Bible do you find hardest to describe fairly?
- What would make you tempted to look at notes during the exam?
Independent assignment
Write the examination
In your own notebook, write the examination: 25 to 30 questions in the four sections, with a time limit and the date you will take it. Keep an answer key as a separate list of references only, not full answers. Then take the exam on the date you set, under closed book conditions. Do not send this to anyone or post it anywhere.
Further study
- Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth Use the genre chapters to write the genre questions.
- Bruce M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament For questions on the books and the formation of the canon.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Hermeneutics For interpretive questions and the problem of reading texts.
- Proverbs 22:6 A sample text for the genre question.
- Isaiah 53 A key passage to summarize in section D.
- Romans 3:28 Part of the faith and works question in section D.