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A Concise Introduction to World Religions: Chapter 3

Instructions: For each question, click on the radio button beside your answer. When you have completed the entire quiz, click the Submit my answers button at the bottom of the page to receive your results.

Question 1:


a) It describes Jesus as the Logos—an important term from Greek philosophy.
b) It is not one of the synoptic gospels.
c) It contains an extensive description of Jesus’ childhood and adolescence.
d) It is primarily concerned with theological matters, such as Jesus’ incarnation and the salvific power of his crucifixion.

Question 2:


a) a mixture of Judaism and Christianity
b) Christianity
c) Judaism
d) Gnosticism

Question 3:


a) secret knowledge about God that is rejected by mainstream Churches
b) ‘not-knowing’ whether a God exists
c) an eschatological movement associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls
d) a ritual system derived from Egyptian polytheism

Question 4:


a) Mark, Luke, and John.
b) Matthew, Mark, and Luke
c) Matthew, Luke, and John,
d) Bartholemew, Andrew, and Simon

Question 5:


a) Decius
b) Diocletian
c) Constantine
d) Theodosius I

Question 6:


a) Arius
b) Athanasius
c) Marcion
d) Constantine

Question 7:


a) St Francis of Assisi
b) St Benedict
c) St Dominic
d) St Thomas Aquinias

Question 8:


a) Since everything in the natural world functions in a meaningful and systematic fashion, something (i.e., God) must have created this order.
b) Since it is greater to exist than not to exist and since God is, by definition, the greatest possible entity, God must exist.
c) Since everything in the world is contingent, there must exist someone/something (i.e., God) that is not contingent.
d) Since there is goodness in human hearts in spite of humanity’s sinful nature, God (as the ultimate moral exemplar) must exist.

Question 9:


a) A vision of Christ that appears in the sky (St Augustine).
b) An ecstatic sensation of oneness with God (St Teresa of Avila).
c) A conviction concerning God’s existence based on a rational argument (St Anselm of Canterbury).
d) A sense of holy awe in the presence of nature (St Francis of Assisi).

Question 10:


a) the indulgences were an unnecessary extravagance, as the Church’s financial needs should be covered by money gained through tithes
b) Purgatory did not exist, which meant that the indulgences were useless
c) indulgences were simply a means of exploiting the poor for financial gain
d) human actions, such as buying indulgences, cannot guarantee salvation. Instead, salvation comes from faith alone.

Question 11:


a) the Unitarians
b) the Quakers
c) the Puritans
d) the Pietists

Question 12:


a) Priests play a special intermediary role in the relationship between God and humanity.
b) Guidelines for moral conduct can be drawn from both scripture and tradition.
c) The pope is infallible.
d) The Eucharist should be understood as a sacrifice, within which Jesus is materially present.

Question 13:


a) Door-to-door evangelism.
b) A theological focus on the coming Rapture.
c) Worship services that feature glossolalia (‘speaking in tongues’).
d) Rejection of devotion to Mary.

Question 14:


a) In the Eucharistic meal, the bread and wine are literally transformed into the body and blood of Christ.
b) In the Eucharistic meal, the bread and wine are simply a commemoration of Christ’s sacrifice.
c) In the Eucharistic meal, the bread and wine retain their original qualities, while simultaneously becoming the body and blood of Christ.
d) In the Eucharistic meal, the bread and wine are a commemoration of the feast of Pesach.

Question 15:


a) opposing the teaching of evolution in public schools
b) restoring the unity of the various Christian churches
c) eliminating gender disparities within Roman Catholicism
d) restoring the custom of holding ecumenical councils, as was common in ancient Christianity