116: Quiz: Sort out books of the Bible

March 3, 2008 by


 

“The Bible must be the most popular yet least-read book in the world!”

(Bishop John Pritchard, Oxford, England, in the preface to “The 100-Minute Bible”)

    This isn’t a joke, although it may sound like one. Michael Hinton, who was born in Bristol, England, and spent 25 years as a school headmaster, knows something about the challenges of educating people. Now that Hinton has switched professions and runs a village parish in Kent — he has prepared a remarkable little tool to give people a “big picture” of the Christian Bible.
    Bishop Pritchard’s stern verdict is backed up, of course, by data from Gallup Polls to the work of Boston University’s Stephen Prothero, who ReadTheSpirit talked with a couple of weeks ago.

    Oh, there’s no problem at all with Bible ownership. Americans have helped the world to keep The Bible such an all-time best seller that it is excluded routinely from “best-seller lists” — to make room for other books in the No. 1 slot on the list.
    But do we read it?

    Test yourself with this simple Mix ‘n’ Match quiz. It’s based on Hinton’s book — as a way of recommending the little book to you today. (Click on the cover or the title to jump to our review — and you can even buy a copy via Amazon, if you wish.)
    Just match these books to excerpts from summaries from Hinton’s little blue volume. Then, click on the link at the
end and the correct answers will pop up. If you’re a daily subscriber by
Email (you can sign up for free on the right-hand side of our site),
we’re sorry that you don’t get this Click-to-See-the-Answers feature in
your Email versions — so, please don’t read too far ahead today, if
you’re an email reader.

THE 10 BOOKS:

1.) 1 Samuel.

2.) 1 Kings.

3.) Hosea.

4.) Nehemiah.

5.) Genesis.

6.) Daniel.

7.) Jeremiah.

8.) Ecclesiastes.

9.) Deuteronomy.

10.) Jonah.

THESE BOOKS ARE ABOUT:

A.) A secular leader, he’s famous for rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls in record time.

B.) Three guys were thrown into a furnace but they weren’t even wilted by the experience.

C.) There’s pretty strong advice here that we ought to enjoy life — because it speeds past quickly and a lot of it can wind up wasted on vanities.

D.) God buried Moses in a mysterious place.

E.) A wise man tried to tell people the bad news they wanted to hear — but they weren’t interested. Some of his prophecies, written down by Baruch, were burned by a king.

F.) A disgruntled man famously sulked underneath the shade of a bush, because God did not destroy a city. Then God destroyed the bush, instead.

G.) A prophet accused people of being unfaithful to God — and knew something about the subject.

H.) Even the Queen of Sheba was dazzled by a ruler in this book!

I.) A powerful leader, called by God since boyhood, finally agreed to help people find a ruler — and wound up anointing Saul as king.

J.) In their extreme old age, and by a special providence from God, Abraham and his wife Sarah bore a son, Isaac.

 

When you think you’ve got all the answers, CLICK on the link below in the online version of this
quiz, and the ANSWERS will pop up!
    Ready? CLICK for the ANSWERS below …


HERE ARE THE ANSWERS:

1.) I. His name was Samuel and he played a major role as a king maker. He eventually anointed David as well.

2.) H. Even though a ruler herself, she was dazzled by Solomon and you’ll find the story in 1 Kings.

3.) G. Hosea knew about unfaithfulness, because he was married to the prostitute Gomer.

4.) A. That’s Nehemiah who was the super-energetic builder. He was a royal official in his day, but not a priestly figure. A good model for inspired lay people, perhaps.

5.) J. The story of Abraham falls within the vast scope of Genesis, which extends from the famous creation story, through the flood, Noah’s ark and far beyond that.

6.) B. These were Daniel’s friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego — of gospel music fame. This trio was so famous, they even got a mention in the Broadway show, “Guys and Dolls.” No kidding.

7.) E. Jeremiah definitely was a herald of bad news — important news for people to hear, but tough messages, nevertheless. He had a very rough life.

8.) C. People may be surprised by how many lines they know from Ecclesiastes by heart. Like: “Vanity! Vanity! All is vanity!” And, “To everything, there is a season …”

9.) D. Your impression of the details here depend on which translation of the Bible you read. Some English versions are a little vague on this point — but the Hebrew clearly indicates that God buried Moses. And, the passage falls in Deuteronomy.

10.) F. That was Jonah, who should have learned his lesson about trusting God’s will at that point. Some translations describe the shady plant in other terms. Hinton calls it a “bush.”

How’d you do?
    Remember — if
you enjoyed this week’s
quiz, you can print it or email the entire text it to a friend. We
only ask that you credit the quiz to “David Crumm” and
“readthespirit.com” (If you’re new to ReadTheSpirit, we often run
quizzes on Tuesdays and you can quickly find our past quizzes by
finding the “Categories” area on our Web site and clicking on the
“Tuesday Quiz” category!)

    Tell us what you think. Email me ReadTheSpirit Editor David Crumm, or leave a Comment for other readers on our site.

    OR, click on the “Digg” link below and add a very brief “digg” comment — even a phrase — to this story’s listing on Digg-It, which will tell even more folks worldwide that it’s worth reading:

111: Quiz yourself on Dr. Seuss’ Silliness — and Suspiciously Spiritual Themes

February 25, 2008 by

“More ministers use (Green Eggs and Ham) in their sermons than any other book of mine. They find the damnedest things in it.”
    (Dr. Seuss quoted in Robert Short’s “The Parables of Dr. Seuss”)

“We hope this book will raise at least two questions in readers’ minds: First, isn’t something very much like this really what Dr. Seuss was saying? And second, regardless of what Dr. Seuss was saying, isn’t this exactly what the New Testament is saying?”
    (Robert Short in his “Introduction” to his new Seuss book)

THIS is Part 1 of a 2-part series on Robert Short, Dr. Seuss and Short’s amazing creation of the “Gospel According to …” genre. Here’s Part 2, an in-depth interview with Short.
    You may be among the millions who already know Robert L. Short’s fame as a scriptural interpreter. At least in my home growing up in the 1960s, there always was a copy of Bob’s “The Gospel According to Peanuts” on the living room bookshelves along with paperback collections of Charles Schulz’s cartoons — and copies of all the Dr. Seuss books that had been published by that time!

    In my mind, they all mingle among the formative forces in my own spiritual development. To me, it’s only natural to think of Short, now in his mid-70s, finally publishing a scriptural analysis of Dr. Seuss’ works.
    But, does this still sound a little crazy to you?
    Well, before you dismiss this idea out of hand — stop and think for a moment. Take today’s quiz, think back over the Seuss books you love — and read Bob’s words in our interview.

LET’S HAVE SOME FUN:

    We’ve chosen 10 of the 11 Seuss books that Bob covers in his book — and we’ve created this mix-and-match quiz. Most of us have chunks of Seuss text forever committed to memory.
    Let’s see how much you can recall.
    Just match the lines to the book titles. Then, click on the link at the
end and the correct answers will pop up. If you’re a daily subscriber by
Email (you can sign up for free on the right-hand side of our site),
we’re sorry that you don’t get this Click-to-See-the-Answers feature in
your Email versions — so, please don’t read too far ahead today, if
you’re an email reader.


THE 10 TITLES:

1.) “Horton Hatches the Egg” (published 1940).

2.) “Bartholomew and the Oobleck” (1949).

3.) “Horton Hears a Who!” (1954).

4.) “The Cat in the Hat” (1957).

5.) “Green Eggs and Ham” (1960).

6.) “I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew” (1965).

7.) “The Lorax” (1971).

8.) “Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!” (1972).

9.) “Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?” (1973).

10.) “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” (1990).

THE LINES:

A.) “If you will let me be, I will try them.”

B.) “Your mountain is waiting. So — get on your way!”

C.) “I sat there with Sally. We sat there we two.”

D.) “Those Truffula trees! All my life I’d been searching For trees such as these.”

E.) “The time has come. The Time is now.”

F.) “Your troubles are practically all at an end. Just run down that hill and around the next bend.”

G.) “‘Toodle-oo!’ sang out Mayzie and fluttered away.”

H.) “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”

I.) “Oh, snow and rain are not enough! Oh, we must make some brand-new stuff!”

J.) “Duckie! Don’t grumble! Don’t stew!”

    When you think you’ve got all the answers, CLICK on the link below in the online version of this
quiz, and the ANSWERS will pop up!
    Ready? CLICK for the ANSWERS below …

HERE are THE ANSWERS:

1.) G.

2.) I.

3.) H.

4.) C.

5.) A.

6.) F.

7.) D.

8.) E.

9.) J.

10.) B.

How’d you do?
    Remember — if
you enjoyed this week’s
quiz, you can print it or email the entire text it to a friend. We
only ask that you credit the quiz to “David Crumm” and
“readthespirit.com” (If you’re new to ReadTheSpirit, we often run
quizzes on Tuesdays and you can quickly find our past quizzes by
finding the “Categories” area on our Web site and clicking on the
“Tuesday Quiz” category!)

    Tell us what you think. Email me ReadTheSpirit Editor David Crumm, or leave a Comment for other readers on our site.

    OR, click on the “Digg” link below and add a very brief “digg” comment — even a phrase — to this story’s listing on Digg-It, which will tell even more folks worldwide that it’s worth reading:

Quiz: What’s Your “Religious Literacy”?

February 18, 2008 by

THIS is Part 1 of a 2-part series on Stephen Prothero’s “Religious Literacy.” Here’s Part 2.


“As for the sacred Scriptures, or Bibles of mankind, who in this town can tell me even their titles?” wrote Henry David Thoreau in the 1850s.

“In America, religion is miles wide and a quarter inch deep,” pollster George Gallup Jr. liked to say in the 1980s.


“The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind,” evangelical historian Nark Noll wrote in the 1990s. 

 
Perhaps in America, passion and ignorance concerning religion have been such constant partners that there’s nothing much that can be done about it at this late stage in the game. But, Boston University’s chair of religious studies, Stephen Prothero, has launched a spirited campaign aimed at opening the minds of millions of American students—and adults as well.

In his book, “Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know—And Doesn’t,” Prothero writes that he’s distressed over polls that show a majority of the Americans who want 10 Commandments displayed in public buildings—actually are unable to name the commandments, when asked to rattle them off.

That’s not to mention the American inability to pick up on the vast majority of the 1,300 biblical references in the works of Shakespeare, or even biblical references in more recent critically acclaimed dramas, like “Pulp Fiction.” Prothero even argues that knowing a thing or two about the Bible would help Americans discern more of President George W. Bush’s remarks.

In our Part 2, a Conversation With Stephen Prothero, he’ll speak for himself. But before we get too full of ourselves: Wait a minute! Let’s test what we know, OK? Here are 10 of the questions that Prothero asks his incoming students each year—knowing full well that a majority of his students will fail this test. Try to answer all 10—then, read further to see the correct answers.

You can order a copy of “Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know—And Doesn’t” from Amazon.

10 Questions from Religious Literacy by Stephen Prothero

1.) Name the 4 Gospels.

2.) Where in the Bible can one find: “God helps those who help themselves”?

3.) What is the Golden Rule?

4.) What are the first five books of the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Old Testament?

5.) President George W. Bush spoke in his first inaugural address about responsibility along the Jericho Road. What Bible story was he invoking?

6.) Where in the Bible can one find: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God”?

7.) List as many of the 4 Noble Truths of Buddhism as you can.

8.) What are the seven sacraments of the Catholic church, the largest Christian denomination in the world?

9.) What are the two religion clauses of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?

10.) What is Ramadan?

ANSWERS ARE BELOW …

1.) Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.

2.) Nowhere. It’s not in the Bible.

3.) Treat others as you wish to be treated. (Matthew 7:12) (Prothero points out that “Love your neighbor as yourself is not the Golden Rule.”)

4.) Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

5.) The story of the Good Samaritan.

6.) Jesus said it in the Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 5:3)

7.) Here are the 4: Life is suffering. Suffering has an origin. Suffering can be overcome. The path to overcoming suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path.

8.) Baptism. Eucharist/Mass/Holy Communion. Reconciliation/Confession/Penance. Confirmation. Marriage. Holy Orders. Anointing of the Sick/Last Rites. (Various names are acceptable for several of the seven sacraments, Prothero says.)

9.) Clause 1: “Congress shall make no law restricting an establishment of religion …” Clause 2: “… or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

10.) The Muslim month of fasting that celebrates the revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad. (Prothero says it’s enough to know it’s a Muslim month of fasting -– but still many students get this wrong each year.)

How’d you do?

090: Quiz That Might Simplify Your Life

January 28, 2008 by

IF you’re looking for
the Interfaith Heroes stories, Click Here and you’ll jump over there. IF you’re here for ReadTheSpirit, then you’ve come to the right place.

  Are your New Year’s Resolutions already in tatters?
    And, we haven’t even reached February!
    So, today our quiz is all about the need to “Simplify.” We’re recommending Paul Borthwick’s new book, which is great for discussion groups. The book is written for evangelical Christians, but the truths are universal.
    So, let’s see how much you know about these issues related to the complexity — and the need for simplicity — in our lives today.

    Try to answer all 10 questions — then, click on the link at the
end and the correct answers will pop up. If you’re a daily subscriber by
Email (you can sign up for free on the right-hand side of our site),
we’re sorry that you don’t get this Click-to-See-the-Answers feature in
your Email versions — so, please don’t read too far ahead today, if
you’re an email reader.
     INTRIGUED by today’s subject? Well, click on the book cover and you can read our review and consider
buying a copy through our Amazon-related store.

THE 10 QUESTIONS:

    1.) Borthwick argues that expanding choices are adding to our stress. According to his calculation, how many ways can you order a Starbucks coffee?

    A. 500. B. Nearly 10,000. C. 19,000.

    2.) Tip No. 6, among the 106 in Borthwick’s book is: “Beware the Want-Makers.” By that, he means that we need to turn our backs on the overwhelming number of offers we receive each day to spend more money. How many credit card offers were mailed to Americans in 2005?

    A. 300 million. B. More than 1 billion. C. 5 billion.

    3.) It’s important to separate “needs” from “wants” in our lives. Americans consider cars to be essential parts of their lives — in many cases, two cars are considered essential for a household. But, what percent of people in the world own a car?

    A. about 8 percent. B. about 25 percent. C. about 40 percent.

    4.) Borthwick stresses the importance of Isaiah 58 in prioritizing the essential goals in our lives. Which spiritual challenge does NOT appear in Isaiah 58?

    A. let the oppressed go free
    B. share your bread with the hungry
    C. bring the homeless poor into your house
    D. secure your family from enemies

    5.) Soothing and inspiring music can help us reduce stress more than a lot of popular rock music, Borthwick argues. He recommends “The Four Seasons,” in particular. Who composed the piece?

    A. Beethoven. B. Vivaldi. C. Frank Sinatra.

    6.) Eating more slowly is a popular tip, included in this book. This is the resurfacing of a trend that goes back a long way in our cultural history. One earlier wave of this idea suggested that people should chew their food 32 times before swallowing — slowing down the meal, helping people to lose weight and saving money. What was this once-popular 32-chew method called?

    A. Fletcherizing. B. Chewzing Health. C. Einsteining.

    7.) Bortwick recommends mini-sabbath breaks throughout the day, including tea time. He says the British usually do this around 4 p.m., although British customs vary widely — and many take their tea times later than 4 p.m. One beloved British custom is “cream tea.” What does the phrase mean?
    A. the tea is brewed with cream
    B. the tea is accompanied by bread with cream and jam
    C. the tea is served in the very early morning when fresh cream comes from the barn

    8.) “The Emperor’s New Cloths” is held up as a tale well worth remembering — as we rethink whether all of our expensive finery improves our lives or winds up simply making us look foolish. In the tale, who finally humbles the emperor?

    A. his horse. B. a witch. C. a little boy.

    9.) The book also holds up Micah 6:8 as wise advice. What’s NOT included in this passage?
    A. Walk humbly with God. B. Love mercy. C. Act justly. D. Store provisions against a time of need.

    10.) To make a final point about the overwhelming debt Americans are stacking up in the world, Borthwick cites data about total U.S. debt, including the long-term debt of the federal government. His point is that, for quite a while, we’ve been living far beyond our means in the world. Calculated this way, how much debt has been stacked up by every man, woman and child in the U.S.?

    A. More than $10,000. B. Nearly $100,000. C. More than $160,000.

    When you think you’ve got all the answers, CLICK on the link below in the online version of this
quiz, and the ANSWERS will pop up!
    Ready? CLICK for the ANSWERS below …

HERE are THE ANSWERS:

   
1.) C. By the time you consider all the officially offered choices, you’ve got 19,000 options for coffee at Starbucks!

    2.) C. More than 5 billion!

    3.) A. Only about 8 percent. Evangelist Rob Bell also uses this example in some of his talks about global wealth and poverty to point out that, even Americans who claim to be struggling financially — actually are rich by global standards.

    4.) D. The 58th Chapter of Isaiah looks outward and admonishes us to leave our secure strongholds, seek out the needy — and help them with their problems.

    5.) B. Antonio Vivaldi. It’s a Baroque favorite from the early 18th Century.

    6.) A. Horace Fletcher, whose popularity extended into the early 20th Century, was called The Great Masticator.

    7.) B. Yummy “clotted cream” often comes with bread in the form of fresh scones. Mmmmm.

    8.) C. A little boy finally points out the obvious fact that the emperor is quite naked.

    9.) D. Sure — you know this already, right? It’s the same principle found in the Isaiah passage above. It’s pretty challenging spiritual advice, all in all.

    10.) C. Yes, indeed. We’ve been rolling through quite a binge of global consumption. Perhaps we should simplify at least a few things in our lives this year, hmmm?

How’d you do?
    Remember — if
you enjoyed this week’s
quiz, you can print it or email the entire text it to a friend. We
only ask that you credit the quiz to “David Crumm” and
“readthespirit.com” (If you’re new to ReadTheSpirit, we often run
quizzes on Tuesdays and you can quickly find our past quizzes by
finding the “Categories” area on our Web site and clicking on the
“Tuesday Quiz” category!)   

PLEASE, TELL us what YOU think and what you’re reading! CLICK
on the Comment link at the end of our online version of this story. (If
you get the daily stories via our free email service — available on
the right-hand side of our Web page — then you’ll need to click on the
headline, jump to our site — and you’ll find the Comment link at the
end.)
    OR, we always welcome your emails. Click Here to send us an email!

085: Quiz: Frost, Dickinson and Ye Olde King James

January 21, 2008 by

Poetry & Spirit Week: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5.

  It’s Tuesday in this special week on
spirituality and poetry, so let’s check out our memories for some
classic lines of poetry, shall we? A couple of months ago, one of our most
popular quizzes was called  “The Bible and the Bard,” Click Here if
you’d like to jump back to that quiz.
    In a similar style today, we’re giving you 12 lines: some are by
poet Emily Dickinson; some are by poet Robert Frost; and some are from the
King James Version of the Bible.
    The quiz? Simply figure out which line is which.

    Try to answer all 12 — then, click on the link at the
end and the correct answers will pop up. If you’re a daily subscriber by
Email (you can sign up for free on the right-hand side of our site),
we’re sorry that you don’t get this Click-to-See-the-Answers feature in
your Email versions — so, please don’t read too far ahead today, if
you’re an email reader.
     INTRIGUED by today’s subject? Well, click on the book covers, you can read a review and consider
buying a copy through our Amazon-relaed store.

THE 12 PASSAGES:

    1.) We spend our years as a tale that is told.

    2.) They made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.

    3.) The soul selects her own society, then shuts the door.

    4.) Between eternity and time, your consciousness and me.

    5.) For this is love and nothing else is love, the which it is reserved for God above.

    6.) “Can’t a man speak of his own child he’s lost?”

    7.) Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away.

    8.) Then shall the trees of the wood sing out.

    9.) Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.

    10.) Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me.

    11.) He ate and drank the precious words, his spirit grew robust.

    12.) There go the ships: there is that leviathan.

    When you think you’ve got all the answers, CLICK on the link below in the online version of this
quiz, and the ANSWERS will pop up!
    Ready? CLICK for the ANSWERS below …


HERE are THE ANSWERS:

   
1.) The Bible from Psalm 90.

    2.) The Bible from Song of Solomon 1:6.

    3.) Emily Dickinson from “Exclusion.”

    4.) Emily Dickinson from “Bequest.”

    5.) Robert Frost from “A Prayer in Spring.”

    6.) Robert Frost from “Home Burial.”

    7.) Robert Frost from “Birches.”

    8.) Bible from 1 Chronicles 16:33.

    9.) Robert Frost from “Death of the Hired Man.”

    10.) Emily Dickinson from “The Chariot.”

    11.) Emily Dickinson from “A Book.”

    12.) Bible from Psalm 104.

How’d you do?
    Remember — if
you enjoyed this week’s
quiz, you can print it or email the entire text it to a friend. We
only ask that you credit the quiz to “David Crumm” and
“readthespirit.com” (If you’re new to ReadTheSpirit, we often run
quizzes on Tuesdays and you can quickly find our past quizzes by
finding the “Categories” area on our Web site and clicking on the
“Tuesday Quiz” category!)   

PLEASE, TELL us what YOU think and what you’re reading! CLICK
on the Comment link at the end of our online version of this story. (If
you get the daily stories via our free email service — available on
the right-hand side of our Web page — then you’ll need to click on the
headline, jump to our site — and you’ll find the Comment link at the
end.)
    OR, we always welcome your emails. Click Here to send us an email!

080: Quiz: Are You Equipped for Global Change?

January 14, 2008 by

Religious Leadership Week: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5.


  Congregational consultant Dr. Alfred Bamsey and ReadTheSpirit Editor David Crumm prepared this week’s quiz — as a kind of benchmark to see how well equipped you are for understanding the global changes that are sweeping through American religious life.
    To read more about Dr. Bamsey’s work, make sure to check out Monday’s story, which contained his recommended-reading list. Today’s multiple-choice questions touch on a whole range of data, details and popular voices that are important in understanding religious trends.
    See how many correct answers you can rack up.
    Then, when you’re finished, click on the link at the
end of this portion of the quiz and the correct answers will pop up. If you’re a daily subscriber by
Email (you can sign up for free on the right-hand side of our site),
we’re sorry that you don’t get this Click-to-See-the-Answers feature in
your Email versions — so, please don’t read too far ahead today, if
you’re an email reader.

THE 10 QUESTIONS:

    1.) According to Scott Thumma, one of the leading experts studying enormous congregations and the co-author of “Beyond Megachurch Myths,” what is a “megachurch”?
    A. A Protestant church that averages 2,000 attendees at weekend services.
    B. Any congregation with more than 1,000 members.
    C. A church designed to attract young people with contemporary music and lively worship.

    2.) Who is Eugene Peterson?
    A. Developer of a guide to birds and advocate of ecotheology.
    B. He rewrote the Bible in common language.
    C. A jazz pianist who wrote many contemporary hymns.

    3.) What two writers have jointly produced two popular books analyzing scriptures about both the first week and the last week of Jesus’ life?
    A. Crossan and Borg.
    B. Wright and Spong.
    C. Graham and LeHaye.

    4.) Random House published a landmark non-fiction book in late 2007, called “American Crescent.” To what does the title refer?
    A. Changing cultures around America’s Pacific rim.
    B. The growth of Islam in the U.S.
    C. Religious change in three trend-setting East Coast cities.


    5.) According to author Philip Jenkins, whose book was recommended on Monday, how many Christians were there in the year 2000?
    A. 500 million
    B. Nearly 1 billion
    C. A little more than 2 billion

    6.) Which three of the following countries are projected to have the largest Christian communities in the year 2015?
    A. Nigeria
    B. United States
    C. China
    D. Mexico
    E. Philippines
    F. Brazil

    7.) Which continent is projected to have the most Roman Catholics in 2025?
    A. North America
    B. Africa
    C. Asia
    D. Latin America

    8.) According to church-growth consultant William Easum, what is the best growth strategy for a pastor of a church that is averaging less than 100 people in worship?
    A. Introduce contemporary music and sing fewer traditional hymns.
    B. Arrange to air services on a public-access television or a local radio station.
    C. Spend more time having one-on-one conversations about the core of the faith with people who are not affiliated with any church.
   

    9.) Name the influential American sociologist, who has been charting changes in religious life for decades and who has proclaimed that “the influence of music and art on spirituality is becoming increasingly apparent”?
    A. Robert Wuthnow
    B. Howard Beale
    C. Benjamin Braddock

    10.) Why do people travel to Bodh Gaya, India? (Shown at left.)
    A. To climb to the top of a major Hindu temple.
    B. To visit the most important Sikh center in Asia.
    C. To meditate at the place that tradition says Prince Gautama Siddhartha attained enlightenment.

    When you think you’ve got all the answers, CLICK on the link below in the online version of this
quiz, and the ANSWERS will pop up!
    Ready? CLICK for the ANSWERS below …


HERE are THE ANSWERS:

   
1.) A. Thumma and Travis didn’t come up with this definition, but it’s the one they accept and explain in their book. The term has been used loosely to describe a range of big churches — but this is the meaning that’s becoming widely accepted, the authors argue.

    2.) B. That’s Oscar Peterson, the jazz great, in the photograph with the questions. The bird expert is Roger Tory Peterson.

    3.) A. You can click on book covers in any of our stories and jump to our bookstore to read further reviews and buy copies, if you wish.

    4.) B. Click HERE to read our original piece on “American Crescent” — or click on the book cover at left to read more about the book in our bookstore.

    5.) C. And roughly half of that 2 billion is made up of the Roman Catholic church.

    6.) Biggest in this list will be B, D and F.

    7.) D. The growth of the Catholic church in Latin America is the subject of one of Philip Jenkins’ major books.

    8.) As amazingly basic as it sounds, Easum says “C” is the answer for growing small congregations.

    9.) A. Howard Beale was the half-crazy anchorman in “Network” who began raving on live TV with a stained-glass window as a backdrop. Benjamin Braddock was the character played by Dustin Hoffman in “The Graduate” — and his most memorable experience with a church comes as he is racing away from one at the very end of that movie.

    10.) C. The prince is better known around the world today as the Buddha.

    HOW DID YOU DO?
    Remember, if you enjoyed today’s quiz, you’re free to pass it around — either by sending a link to this page to a friend — or you’re welcome to actually cut and paste this quiz into your own publication or Web site, as long as you credit it to the Rev. Dr. Alfred Bamsey and David Crumm — and you need to mention that it came from readthespirit.com

    COME BACK OVER THE NEXT TWO DAYS for more intriguing stories by our visiting writer: the Rev. Dr. Alfred Bamsey.

075: Quiz on “Race;” It’s “Beyond Black & White”

January 7, 2008 by


RACE.

It’s a red-hot subject these days and, throughout history, it has been inextricably linked to equally thorny issues related to religion: things like religious doctrines, boundaries and stereotypes. Historian Mark Aronson, who specializes in writing books for young readers, has produced this superb new overview of the issue from the ancient world to modern times.

You can visit Amazon now, if you wish, and order a copy of his book: Race: A History Beyond Black and White

THIS QUIZ honors Aronson’s new book by giving you a feeling for the broad scope of interesting topics you’ll find between these covers. We’ve chosen 10 subjects mentioned in his book. This is a multiple-choice quiz. Select the correct answer for each question.

Try to answer all 10 questions—then scroll down to read the answers below.

10 Question Quiz on Race in America Beyond Black and White

 

THE 10 QUESTIONS:

1.) Who was the Rev. Howard Thurman (shown at left)?
A. A pioneer in the American interfaith movement.
B. A colleague of Mahatma Gandhi.
C. Someone who influenced the work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
D. All of the above.

2.) Who was Memnon?
A. An African king from Ethiopia.
B. A hero of the Trojan War, killed by Achilles.
C. A villain in the “Scorpion King” movie and not a hero at all.
D. All of the above.

3.) Who were the Harlem Hellfighters?
A. The first African-American regiment in World War I.
B. A basketball team who toured the world in the 1930s.
C. A Hollywood song-and-dance team in the late 1940s.
D. All of the above.

4.) Who gets the credit for coming up with the first major group of myths about Amazons?
A. The ancient Greeks.
B. Sir Walter Raleigh.
C. DC Comics in the Wonder Woman series.
D. An online bookstore chain.

 

 

5.) Who is famous for calling slavery “a cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty”?
A. Thomas Jefferson.
B. John Brown.
C. Abraham Lincoln.
D. John F. Kennedy.

6.) In the mid-1800s in the U.S., which ethnic group wound up facing the strongest civil rights struggles, because of widespread attempts to transfer many of the hateful attitudes from anti-black racism to their growing numbers?
A. Irish.
B. Mexicans.
C. Asians.

7.) Who among the following famous people made a strong point of opposing the Eugenics movement, which tried to scientifically improve the human race by, among other things, supporting laws to sterilize adults with certain disabilities? Who publicly opposed this idea?
A. Woodrow Wilson
B. H.G. Wells
C. George Bernard Shaw
D. G.K. Chesterton

8.) Who is the “Mother of Exiles”?
A. Mother Teresa.
B. The Statue of Liberty.
C. The City of Paris.
D. Jazz music.

9.) Bhagat Singh Thind was defeated in a major court case in which he tried to knock down barriers preventing Indian-Americans from obtaining U.S. citizenship. One of his major claims for public respect was:
A. He served nobly in World War I.
B. He starred in a series of Army recruiting films in Hollywood.
C. He was on the medical team that found a cure for tuberculosis.
D. He was Abraham Lincoln’s bodyguard for his first four years in office.

10.) Which children’s book author was noted for celebrating cultural diversity?
A. Dr. Seuss, who wrote “Cat in the Hat” and other books.
B. Tomi Ungerer, who wrote “Crictor” about a boa constrictor and other stories.
C. Don Freeman, who wrote about “Corduroy” the bear and other stories.
D. All of the above.

ANSWERS to Trivia Quiz on Race in America Beyond Black and White


HERE are THE ANSWERS:

 

 

1.) D. Howard Thurman was all of these things and more. (His story appears in our book http://www.InterfaithHeroes.info)

2.) D. All of the above, believe it or not. He fought for Troy in the war, and was considered a great hero of the conflict. His name echoed into modern history, but not in a noble way. As further evidence of how incredibly poor Hollywood’s historical memory is these days, the villain Memnon in “Scorpion King” is not even African. He’s depicted by a Scottish actor in the movie.

3.) A. No, in this case, the answer is not “all of the above”. The Hellfighters were the 369th Infantry Regiment, also known as the Black Rattlers. (That’s a photo of the unit in the upper right.)

4.) A. The ancient Greeks explored the mythic possibilities extensively, then Romans and others expanded on the concept. Aronson’s book points out that Sir Walter Raleigh made a claim in the 16th Century that he had spotted Amazons in North America.

5.) A. The line is famous because it was in Jefferson’s first draft of the Declaration of Independence, but later it was taken out under loud objections by Southern delegates. Jefferson himself was in deep personal conflict over the issue, since he owned slaves.

6.) A. Irish. Aronson writes at length and includes some historical illustrations from this struggle in the 1800s.

7.) D. It was the Catholic writer G.K. Chesterton, who specialized in writing theology as well as mystery stories throughout his career. Chesterton actually published a book opposed to the theory of Eugenics. The other three famous men in our list, A through C, thought that Eugenics appeared to be a good idea. Of course, none of them had seen what a German political movement would do with the concept in the 1930s and 1940s.

8.) B. It’s part of the Emma Lazarus poem, “The New Colossus.”

9.) A. Thind was a noted Sikh scholar, writer and lecturer. He pointed to his service in World War I as proof of his patriotism. In fact, he had reached the rank of sergeant. After his defeat in the courts, he continued his work across the U.S., however, as a pioneering advocate of interfaith understanding.

10.) D. These three and many other children’s authors and illustrators played a major role in opening up attitudes of American families toward people who might, at first glance, seem dangerously different.

How’d you do?

please tell us what YOU think …

We want our “national conversation” to continue

Conversation is far better than the dangerous shouting matches we’ve been witnessing in our global culture recently. So, please, email us at [email protected] and tell us what you think of our stories—and, please tell a friend to start reading along with you!

We welcome your Emails! . We’re also reachable on Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, Huffington Post, YouTube and other social-networking sites. You also can Subscribe to our articles via Email or RSS feed. Plus, there’s a free Monday-morning “Planner” newsletter you may enjoy.