Q.1
After the Gospels come three further sections, two of which contain only one (but very important) book in each. In what order do these sections appear?
  • Early church history ~ Revelation (an account of the Apocalypse and beyond) ~ Letters from and between early believers
  • Early church history ~ Letters from and between early believers ~ Revelation (an account of the Apocalypse and beyond)
  • Letters from and between early believers ~ Early church history ~ Revelation (an account of the Apocalypse and beyond)
  • Letters from and between early believers ~ Revelation (an account of the Apocalypse and beyond) ~ Early church history
Q.2
People looking in on Christianity from outside or beyond, might still query what objective proof there is for the claims of the Bible. Plenty of well-intentioned individuals have claimed to find key relics such as wood from the cross on Calvary, Noah's Ark or whatever; but it would be very hard to prove their absolute authenticity (or otherwise). One such, wholly unique and very startling, object is the Turin Shroud ~ which purports to have been what, exactly, with reference to the events of the original Holy Week?
  • The tablecloth from the Last Supper
  • The last item of clothing taken off Jesus before He was nailed up for the Crucifixion
  • The cloth in which He was buried in the tomb lent by Joseph of Arimathea, and left behind when He was resurrected
  • The robe in which He appeared to the Disciples once He was risen
Q.3
What makes up the Holy Bible is broadly agreed across the Christian spectrum, but the principal difference is probably that the Catholic church (and various others) include a third significant division in between the Old and New Testaments. What is this called?
  • The Third Testament
  • The Apocrypha
  • The Latter Writings
  • The Secret Scriptures
Q.4
The Old Testament consists of 39 books which are shared and revered between Judaism (whose entire official holy writings they comprise), Christianity and Islam. In what order do its three main subsections appear?
  • The Prophets ~ (other, wise) writings ~ Five Books of Moses
  • The Prophets ~ Five Books of Moses ~ (other, wise) writings
  • The Five Books of Moses ~ (other, wise) writings ~ the Prophets
  • The Five Books of Moses ~ the Prophets ~ (other, wise) writings
Q.5
We rarely hear the word 'testament' in any other context in modern English usage, with one conspicuous exception. What does it mean?
  • A time, or process, of trial
  • A legal contract, such as a Will
  • An anthology of writing
  • A set of instructions
Q.6
At time of writing, we have been approaching the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth, the longest-reigning British monarch ~ among whose many titles is 'Defender of the Faith'. At her Coronation in 1953 she was given various emblems of her monarchy (orb, sceptre etc.) along with a Bible which was formally described as ... (?)
  • The wellspring of eternal wisdom
  • The most valuable thing that this world affords
  • The book of salvation for all humankind
  • The source of all truth and goodness
Q.7
Christians honour Jesus as God made man, and hence that there can be no finer example of godly living. What was His catchphrase when He referred to Jewish scriptural sources such as the Psalms and Prophets?
  • 'It is written ... '
  • 'Some people think the prophet X meant ... '
  • 'What do you reckon this passage is trying to say?'
  • 'This is what many people used to think or believe, once upon a time'
Q.8
To try and summarise the influence of the Bible over many centuries of human thought and affairs, within such a context as this quiz, would probably be somewhat presumptuous ... but we ought perhaps to have a try! The following is an edited quote from eminent Biblical scholar and commentator John Riches, of the University of Glasgow. One section is false, in that we have distorted or even fabricated it: all will become clearer once you have picked your option among the answers. Which is the wrong-'un here?
  • It [i.e. the Holy Bible] has inspired some of the great monuments of human thought, literature, and art; it has equally fuelled some of the worst excesses of human savagery, self-interest, and narrow-mindedness.
  • It has inspired men and women to acts of great service and courage, to fight for liberation and human development; and it has provided the ideological fuel for societies which have enslaved their fellow human beings and reduced them to abject poverty.
  • It has led or encouraged fallible humans to commit several of the most heinous offences against one another in the annals of history.
  • It has, perhaps above all, provided a source of religious and moral norms which have enabled communities to hold together, to care for, and to protect one another; yet precisely this strong sense of belonging has in turn fuelled ethnic, racial, and international tension and conflict
Q.9
The New Testament begins with four complementary versions of the Gospel, which scholars now believe to have been written around 40 years after the events they describe. Three of them are known as 'synoptic' since they 'see with a similar eye', and contain plenty of narrative detail with the ring of eye-witness accounts through much of the story. Which is the non-synoptic Gospel?
  • Matthew
  • Mark
  • Luke
  • John
Q.10
Many world faiths pass on their traditions and wisdom through a pairing of their scriptures with custom and 'case-lore' as time goes by, and may well be the richer for it. But when Protestants broke away from the church of Rome at the Reformation, around 500 years ago, they were particularly keen to strip away any beliefs or practices that had grown up without any clear Biblical warrant. What was their Latin slogan for this principle?
  • Sufficiet scriptura sancta
  • Dominus illuminatio mea
  • Sola scriptura
  • Opus Dei
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