Q.1
'Jesus was the first Christian', some people might think ~ but even that isn't actually true: why not? All the following reasons are valid apart from ONE: which is this one FALSE argument?
  • The label 'Christian' (in fact rather a sneering reference to 'followers of the Christ') was not used until the days of the Early Church, which in turn could not even begin until Pentecost (i.e. some while beyond His death and resurrection)
  • During His earthly life and ministry, He never used such a term to describe Himself ~ you'll never see it used in such a way in the Gospels, and (except, of course, through His divine powers) He wouldn't even have recognised the word if anyone had accused Him of being one
  • The ICHTHUS ('Christian Fish') symbol, which is a Greek acronym, refers to Jesus' disciples becoming 'fishers of men' and to His reported Feeding of the Five Thousand
  • The first, designated leader of the Christians was Peter, the fisher-disciple, who stood before the crowd on the morning of Pentecost
Q.2
St Paul was responsible for founding and nurturing Christian communities ('churches') more or less all round the north-eastern shores of the Mediterranean and inland from them. As with question 1, all of the following are broadly true about him apart from ONE. Which is the one FALSE description?
  • By way of a 'day job', he was a tent-maker
  • He had begun as a fanatically anti-Christian, radical Jew
  • He also held lifelong Roman citizenship, which he used to advantage on various occasions
  • He was 'converted' during a series of secret meetings with St Peter
Q.3
As mentioned above, Paul then travelled extensively (in terms of available transport some 2,000 years ago) and had his fair share of thrills and spills 'on the road for Jesus', including a hair-raising shipwreck ~ the then-equivalent of a major train or plane crash ~ on the island of Malta. In the small hours of his final night during a visit to Troas, Paul reportedly brought back a young man from the dead in surprising circumstances: what had happened?
  • Young Eutychus had been perched on the windowsill of an upstairs meeting-room where Paul was giving a long farewell sermon to a large candle-lit gathering; dropped asleep in the small hours of the morning, and fell several metres onto the pavement below. When this was brought to his attention, Paul broke off, went down, embraced and blessed him and brought him back to life.
  • Eutychus was a young Christian follower who had been fatally injured after being crushed by a Roman army cart, while he was out and about doing errands for other believers who were housebound
  • Eutychus had a wasting disease and had told Paul, before slipping into a coma, that he would never see him again this side of Paradise. Paul reportedly visited his house again later in the day and brought him back to life
  • Eutychus was randomly attacked by a madman and bled to death; Paul returned him to life and also healed the madman of his 'demons'
Q.4
Another later but iconic believer who 'came to Christ by way of a shipwreck' was the slaveship captain John Newton, whose experience inspired that much-loved hymn 'Amazing Grace'. Newton provided much 'insider knowledge' of the slave trade, which in due course helped statesmen and parliamentarians to bring about its abolition. Which other very famous Christian was instrumental in bringing about the necessary changes in British law?
  • William Wilberforce
  • William Gladstone
  • William Wordsworth
  • William Booth
Q.5
With which Indian city was Mother Teresa strongly associated in the late 20th century, for her ministry to its poorest and most marginalised people?
  • (New) Delhi
  • Madras
  • Jaipur
  • Calcutta (now Kolkata)
Q.6
The name of Henri Dunant may not be instantly familiar to you, but three of the following four items about him are true and will set him in perspective for you. Which ONE of the following contains significant FALSE detail?
  • He founded the Red Cross
  • He was the first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
  • He was moved to particular action after witnessing the immediate after-effects of the Battle of Solferino in 1859
  • As a Swiss citizen (whose national flag he 'reversed-out' to give the Red Cross), he was a lifelong Christian in the Calvinist tradition
Q.7
Almost exactly 500 years ago, in 1517, a German monk felt convinced that the (Catholic) Church in which he had grown up had been 'getting it wrong' on almost 100 specific points, such as whether God's forgiveness could be earnt or bought with money. So the story goes, he nailed a detailed analysis of his arguments onto the church door at Wittenberg: which became the 'spark' of publication that gave rise to the Reformation, the setting-up of the Protestant branch of the church and the translation of the Bible into modern languages such as people actually spoke ~ rather than its ancient originals (Hebrew, Latin and Greek). Who was he?
  • John Knox
  • John Calvin
  • Martin Luther
  • Martin Luther King
Q.8
Which of the following is NOT true of Martin Luther King?
  • He was an Afro-American Baptist minister from Alabama
  • He had been brought up in a strong Christian family environment, and never had any serious doubts about his faith or calling
  • Besides his church and other civil-rights activities, he sprang to public notice as the de-facto leader of a boycott against segregation on the public bus system at Montgomery in the mid-1950s
  • In common with his Saviour Jesus (as he might himself have put it), he died an unnatural death before the age of 40; in his case, to an assassin's bullet
Q.9
Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer may seem another obscure name to you, but the answers offered below give a thumbnail biography of him ~ except the ONE which contains at least one outright falsehood or fabrication. Which is this odd one out?
  • “We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.” These words of Bonhoeffer were written in response to the racial injustices that led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott in the USA
  • He passed all his theology exams at too young an age to progress to ordination, so he went on tour in the USA just after the Wall Street Crash; besides broadening his pastoral and religious experience, during this period he developed a great affinity for the Afro-American Spiritual tradition and its music
  • He was executed in the Nazi camp at Flossenburg just 3 weeks prior to Adolf Hitler's death by suicide; he had also lost one brother and two brothers-in-law to the Nazis
  • A German evangelical church in London is named in his memory
Q.10
Best-known for his adventures and initiatives described in his book 'God's Smuggler', mostly about the years he spent travelling into and around (chiefly) communist countries in Eastern Europe ~ where Christianity and Bibles were officially forbidden ~ this man blithely and bravely brought hope and materials to struggling and oppressed members of the 'underground church'. His organisation Open Doors continues a broadly comparable ministry to 'difficult' countries today (see their website: ). What was the name of the man who spearheaded this particular ministry?
  • Brother Angelo
  • Brother Andrew
  • Brother James
  • Brother Theodore
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