STUDY GUIDE FOR READING ASSIGNMENT 1

J.Gresham Machen, Origin of Paul's Religion Read the Origin of Paul’s Religion, chapters 1-2.

Use the study questions below as you read and study for the exams.

1. In recent years, on what has it been customary to base the discussion about the origin of Christianity?

2. What was really standing in the way of Paul’s Gentile mission, according to Machen?

3. How did Paul deal with the Old Testament law?

4. What was the "liberal" view of the origin of Paul's religion?

5.What are the views of the literary critic, Von Harnack, regarding the supernatural origin of Christianity?

6. The religion of Paul was a religion of______________, according to Machen.

7. In Paul's eyes, Jesus was not primarily a Revealer, but primarily what?

8. What kind of Judaism influenced Paul in his youth?

9. According to the author, what does Paul mean when he says he is a “Hebrew of Hebrews”?

10. Explain Paul's family situation.

11. According to the book of Acts what famous rabbi did Paul study under in Jerusalem?

12. In what city did Paul receive his early education?

13. Does the Book of Acts attest to the fact that Paul lived in Jerusalem at an early age?

14. Does Machen think that Paul saw Jesus before the crucifixion?

15. Does Machen think that Paul was an epileptic?

16. What does knowledge of Christ "according to the flesh" mean?

17. To which Jewish sect did Paul belong?

18. Machen says, "Birth in a Greek university city and Roman citizenship constitute the two facts which bring Paul into early connection with the larger ______ world of his day."

19. How should we describe Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus?

20. Who revealed Jesus to the apostle Paul?