1 point each: Name the Four Gospels.
Answer: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
1 point: Name a sacred text of Hinduism
Answer: Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads, Puranas, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Yoga Sutras, Laws of Manu, or Kama Sutra
1 point: What is the name of the holy book of Islam?
Answer: Quran
1 point: Where according to the Bible was Jesus born?
Answer: Bethlehem
1 point: President George W. Bush spoke in his first inaugural address of the Jericho road. What Bible story was he invoking?
Answer: The Good Samaritan
1 point each: What are the first five books of the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Old Testament?
Answer: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
1 point: What is the Golden Rule?
Answer: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (Matthew 7:12). Rabbi Hillel and Confucius are also credited with similar statements. "Love your neighbor as yourself" is not the Golden Rule.
2 points: "God helps those who help themselves." Is this in the Bible? If so, where?
Answer: No, this is not in the Bible. In fact, it is contradicted in Proverbs 28:26: "He who trusts in himself is a fool." The words are Ben Franklin's.
2 points: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God." Does this appear in the Bible?
Answer: Yes, in the Beatitudes of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3).
10 points: Name the Ten Commandments.
Answer: Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish versions differ. Give yourself credit for any 10 of the following 12: 1) I the Lord am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage. 2) You shall have no other gods besides Me. 3) You shall not make yourself a graven image. 4) You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain. 5) Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. 6) Honor your father and mother. 7) You shall not kill/murder. 8) You shall not commit adultery. 9) You shall not steal. 10) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 11) You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. 12) You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.
4 points: Name the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism.
Answer: 1) Life is suffering. 2) Suffering has an origin. 3) Suffering can be overcome (nirvana). 4) The path to overcoming suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path.
7 points: What are the Seven Sacraments of Catholicism?
Answer: 1) Baptism 2) Eucharist/Mass 3) Reconciliation/Confession/Penance 4) Confirmation 5) Marriage 6) Holy Orders 7) Anointing of the Sick/Last Rites
1 point each: The First Amendment says two things about religion, each in its own "clause." What are its two religion clauses?
Answer: "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of a religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The words before the comma are the Establishment Clause; the words that follow are the Free Exercise Clause.
2 points: What is Ramadan? In what religion is it celebrated?
Answer: Ramadan is a Muslim holiday characterized by a month of fasting. A better answer might be: "The ninth month of the Muslim year, during which strict fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset."
7 points: Match the Bible characters with the stories in which they appear. Some characters may be matched with more than one story or vice versa. CHARACTERS: Adam and Eve, Noah, Paul, Moses, Jesus, Abraham, Serpent. STORIES: Exodus, Binding of Isaac, Olive Branch, Garden of Eden, Parting of the Red Sea, Road to Damascus, Garden of Gethsemane
Answer: Adam and Eve + Garden of Eden; Serpent + Garden of Eden; Abraham + Binding of Isaac; Moses + Exodus or Parting of the Red Sea; Noah + Olive Branch; Jesus + Garden of Gethsemane; Paul + Road to Damascus
