Dead Sea Scrolls
Religious Studies 303
Saint Martin's College
Fort Lewis
Spring 2003
Take-home Final Exam

RLS 303:  Dead Sea Scrolls
Take-home Final Exam
Spring, 2003
Fort Lewis, Term 4

Instructions:  Respond to any TWO of the following six questions with an essay of one and a half to two pages for each question you choose.  The test is open book and open note.  You may discuss the questions in advance with anyone, but do not discuss the test with anyone while you are taking it.  In answering the questions, reflect as much as you can of the material we have been reading and discussing this term, but do not answer the question simply by paraphrasing that material (tell me what you think and support it by citing and referring to the class material).  Use some simple means (parenthetical notes, for example) to give credit for quotations and ideas derived from others.  It is due at class time on Wednesday, May 7.

1. Discuss the way in which the Scrolls deal with the problem of determinism and free will?  How convincing do you find their solution to the problem?
2. Monotheism, the belief in one God, has a fundamental problem in explaining the presence of evil in the world.  How do the scrolls solve this problem, and how satisfactory do you find their solution?
3. What do we learn about the development of the “Bible” from the Scrolls preserved at Qumran?
4. From what you’ve learned from the Scrolls, what role or roles did the Teacher of Righteousness play in the Dead Sea Scrolls community?
5. How do you evaluate the militant tone of the Scrolls?  Do they reflect a revolutionary group, or is the struggle between good and evil more symbolic in nature?
6. Your spouse or friend asks you what is significant of important about the Dead Sea Scrolls.  How would you respond?

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