Q.1
Non-believing critics might claim that the Bible, most of whose texts were more or less 'done and dusted' 2,000 or more years ago, has little to teach anyone about modern living ... since things have changed so much, not least in the past couple of centuries with travel and technology etc. But if you have been online recently ~ other than for our quizzes, of course ~ there is quite a lot of pertinent guidance in the Ten Commandments. Which of these could you claim never to have been tempted to disobey while you were online, and perhaps using 'social media'?
  • 'You shall not covet' ( = wish to have something that you haven't got, while others do have)
  • 'You shall not bear false witness against anyone else' ( = telling lies, &/or wilfully misrepresenting matters for personal advantage, valuing one's own interests or reputation ahead of theirs)
  • 'You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain' (including using 'OMG' as a casual exclamation)
  • 'You shall not make for yourself any idol (false object of worship) in place of the true God'
Q.2
A helpful way to study the Bible can be to memorise individual verses on an organised basis: such as looking at the many times when God (or an angel) appears to someone and they are told 'Do not be afraid'. If you focused on these one-a-day, how long would it take to complete the series?
  • A month
  • 40 days or nights
  • Half a year
  • A year
Q.3
Among much else, Jesus taught the value of a simple positive faith, rather than an obsession (in some powerful traditional religious quarters) with scrupulously obeying large numbers of detailed negative restrictions. Which of the options below most closely summarises the nub of His teaching on this?
  • 'Never lose sight of the 10 Commandments'
  • 'Love God, and love your neighbour as much as yourself'
  • 'Love everyone and honour God'
  • 'Love your Bible and love your God'
Q.4
Practising Christians will obviously strive to be responsible and harmonious citizens, drawing their examples and priorities from what they find in their Scriptures ~ as would people of other faiths, no doubt. Which of the following areas of concern is probably mentioned the LEAST (if at all, as such) in the Bible?
  • Regular 'sacrificial' giving of a portion of one's time &/or money to charitable causes
  • Responsible decisions in everyday life about the effect of one's lifestyle choices, purchases etc. on the environment
  • Practical help to those around us with 'life challenges': the poor, the sick, jobless, refugees, victims and others
  • Supporting one's local church community of choice, and sharing its beliefs and values with other people individually
Q.5
Even in what some people call a 'post-Christian era', Bible stories, phrases and ideas crop up a good deal in daily life and culture. Each of the following is a life-precept from Scripture ... apart from which ONE?
  • 'Turn the other cheek'
  • 'This above all: to thine own self be true'
  • 'The wise man doesn't build his house on sand'
  • '[There is] no greater love than that a man should lay down his life for his friends'
Q.6
Two American businessmen founded an organisation which puts copies of the Holy Bible into otherwise 'anonymous' places such as hotels, hospitals and prisons ~ where people may be spending stretches of time alone but under various stress and tension. They named their organisation after a doughty Bible character who rallied support for God's cause in difficult times. Who was he?
  • Gideon
  • Moses
  • David
  • Elijah
Q.7
When the Reformation came about (around 500 years ago, i.e. 1/4 of the way back through the Christian era), one major feature of it was that the Bible should be freely available in anyone's local language: this in an age when printing had barely come to Europe, so books were still rare and precious. Which of the following was NOT legally enforced in England at that time?
  • Every church should have a Bible on open display, which people could inspect and read themselves outside the times of public worship
  • That Bible would be chained in place so nobody could take it away for private use
  • Apart from historical Proper Names (of people and places), every word would be in English for the first time
  • The Bibles would be printed on fireproof paper to safeguard them from accidents with candles
Q.8
There are now almost innumerable versions and printings of the Bible in every known language, and sometimes with particular editorial emphasis for a given denomination or some other reason (e.g. versions that try their hardest to avoid emphasising 'he' when referring to individual believers, who might of course just as easily be female). One of the following is NOT ~ at least, at time of writing ~ known to be genuine: which one?
  • The New Revised Standard Version
  • Today's New International Version
  • The Living Bible
  • The Bible in Scots
Q.9
One particular Book in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible is read &/or worked-through on a regular basis in churches, monasteries and by individuals ~ usually every month, sometimes every year, possibly even every week. Which Book is this?
  • Genesis
  • Psalms
  • Proverbs
  • Isaiah
Q.10
Which of the following is the method of regular individual Bible study opted-for by most serious believers?
  • Go to church (or equivalent) each week or so, and listen to what Bible passage is chosen and preached-on there
  • Join a house-group where a small circle of like-minded friends will have guided study and discussion
  • Use published or online notes during one's private daily Time of Quiet
  • Open the Scriptures at random in the hope of divine guidance
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