This GCSE RE Christianity quiz focuses on Jesus down the ages. Through the Gospel accounts and other writings, we may feel we have an adequate picture of the earthly life of Jesus: the Nativity story of that first Christmas, a glimpse of His childhood, the baptism, ministry, parables and miracles; the entry into Jerusalem and events we now commemorate as Holy Week, culminating in the Crucifixion and Resurrection; His subsequent appearances to His followers and others, and eventual Ascension into heaven.
But views on these points, and conjecture about what may have happened in between, have variously swirled among and between different traditions of believers and other scholars down the ages. It would indeed, perhaps, be surprising if such an extraordinary figure had not provoked discussion and debate, as He did in life ~ with several incidents of friction with the religious establishment of His day, and even with King Herod.
Clearly enough, for everyday Christian purposes (and indeed for GCSE RE!) it is the main sequence of events that needs to be known about, but it can surely do little harm to be aware of a wider range of interpretation and conjecture. If you actively belong to a particular Christian tradition, you may well have specific ideas that are not necessarily commonly agreed within the wider faith community, but which may well be sincere, tenable and interesting to others.
Jesus of Nazareth is probably the single historical figure who has had more written about Him than any other ~ even the more sadly newsworthy monsters of the 20th century such as the dictators Hitler, Stalin and Mao (at least two of whom published their own ~ as it were ~ ‘bibles’, to impress their thoughts, views and values on those whose lives they controlled). By the nature of Jesus, there is room for people to claim individual visions and revelations, which may or may not be genuine or helpful.
Let’s do what we can to clarify and sort some of the more significant post-Biblical claims and interpretations...