If you're reading this first... go to yesterday's post for the questions to the "Religious Literacy" quiz.
1. The gospels are: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John (1 point each)
2. A Hindu sacred text can include the Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads, Puranas, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Yoga Sutras, Laws of Manu, Kama Sutra (1 point)
3. Islam's Holy Scripture is called: the Quran (1 point)
4. Jesus was born in Bethlehem (1 point)
5. President Bush was referring to: The Good Samaritan (1 point)
6. The first five books of the Hebrew Bible/ Christian Old Testament are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (1 point each)
7. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (Matthew 7:12) or a similar sentiment from Rabbi Hillel or Confucius. ("Love your neighbor as yourself" is not the Golden Rule.) (1 point)
8. 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)
9. Yes, in the Beatitudes of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3) (2 points)
10. The Protestant, Catholic and Jewish versions of the Ten Commandments differ. Give yourself credit for any ten of the following 12 commandments, each of which appears in at least one of those three versions:.
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 before me.
3. You shall not make yourself a graven image.
4. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God 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)
11. Four Noble Truths are: Life is suffering. Suffering has an origin. Suffering can be overcome (nirvana). The way to overcoming suffering is the Noble Eightfold Plan.
12. The 7 Catholic sacraments are: Baptism, Eucharist/Mass/Holy Communion, Reconciliation/Confession/Penance, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, Anointing of the Sick/Last Rites,
13. The two religion clauses in the first amendment are: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." (1 point each)
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Religious Literacy Quiz
This quiz is from Stephen Prothero's book, "Religious Literacy." Good Luck!
1 Name the four Gospels. List as many as you can.
2. Name a sacred text of Hinduism.
3. What is the name of the holy book of Islam?
4. Where according to the Bible was Jesus born?
5. President George W. Bush spoke in his first inaugural address of the Jericho road. What Bible story was he invoking?
6. What are the first five books of the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Old Testament?
7. What is the Golden Rule?
8. "God helps those who help themselves": Is this in the Bible? If so, where?
9. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God": Does this appear in the Bible? If so, where?
10. Name the Ten Commandments. List as many as you can.
11. Name the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism.
12. What are the seven sacraments of Catholicism? List as many as you can.
13. The First Amendment says two things about religion, each in its own "clause." What are the two religious clauses of the First Amendment?
14. What is Ramadan? In what religion is it celebrated?
15. Match the Bible characters (the first list) with the stories (the second list) in which they appear. Hint: Some characters may be matched with more than one story or vice versa.
Adam and Eve
Paul
Moses
Noah
Jesus
Abraham
Serpent
Exodus
Binding of Isaac
Olive Branch
Garden of Eden
Parting of the Red Sea
Road to Damascus
Garden of Gethsemane
Come back for the answers tomorrow.
1 Name the four Gospels. List as many as you can.
2. Name a sacred text of Hinduism.
3. What is the name of the holy book of Islam?
4. Where according to the Bible was Jesus born?
5. President George W. Bush spoke in his first inaugural address of the Jericho road. What Bible story was he invoking?
6. What are the first five books of the Hebrew Bible or the Christian Old Testament?
7. What is the Golden Rule?
8. "God helps those who help themselves": Is this in the Bible? If so, where?
9. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God": Does this appear in the Bible? If so, where?
10. Name the Ten Commandments. List as many as you can.
11. Name the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism.
12. What are the seven sacraments of Catholicism? List as many as you can.
13. The First Amendment says two things about religion, each in its own "clause." What are the two religious clauses of the First Amendment?
14. What is Ramadan? In what religion is it celebrated?
15. Match the Bible characters (the first list) with the stories (the second list) in which they appear. Hint: Some characters may be matched with more than one story or vice versa.
Adam and Eve
Paul
Moses
Noah
Jesus
Abraham
Serpent
Exodus
Binding of Isaac
Olive Branch
Garden of Eden
Parting of the Red Sea
Road to Damascus
Garden of Gethsemane
Come back for the answers tomorrow.
Friday, May 08, 2009
Authority is found at a big table
I should've seen it coming but the ending wasn't near as helpful as the rest of the book. In a nutshell, we're still arguing about where authority lies for the Christian tradition - not a surprise. But the simple, and self-evident as I see it, bottom line is that the argument itself is where the authority lies.
Some would prefer that we call it a conversation (and Tickle does). But in my family, you're not really talking until you start raising your voice a little. So, for my blog's sake, let's say... it's in the argument.
Where there is disagreement is allowed, where differing opinions are honored, where people sit at the table with others who disagree, it is at that table that truth is honored most.
Conversely, where disagreement is feared, where differing opinions are hushed, where folks the table is kept to reserved seating for those who look and think like you, it is at that table that truth doesn't stand a chance.
The Great Emergence then is about acknowledging that truth is a lot harder to come by than once declared. Therefore, we need more voices and more diversity in order to find out what is authoritative. And when you get disagreement and differing voices, it's hard not to find that something authoritative emerges from that diversity... it's called community.
The Church has this great opportunity to find itself a place to call Home for those desperate for community. I like to say that I'm a "Star Trek Voyager" generation, meaning that I'm part of a generation of explorers that are so lost that we don't believe that we'll ever really make it back home. And so home becomes the community in which we enjoy home in the here and now.
A great example of this is at my friend Jeff's church. They started a new Sunday evening worship service called "Worship in a New Key." They worship creatively and then turn their chairs around and share a meal together. Check out their site.
For this next year at our community of faith (which is our preferred way of speaking about church), we're going to have at least four worship services in our fellowship hall, around tables. It's one of the many things we're doing to celebrate our 50th anniversary year. We're focusing on table - feeding all who hunger: body, mind and spirit.
Sometimes people say that the Bible has become an idol since the Great Reformation. I wonder if in 500 years from now, the table will receive the same critique.
Perhaps saying that the Great Emergence is about replacing scripture with the table is too simple. Yet, as one of the next generation of pastors, I'll take community over scripture any day of the week and twice on Sunday morning.
Some would prefer that we call it a conversation (and Tickle does). But in my family, you're not really talking until you start raising your voice a little. So, for my blog's sake, let's say... it's in the argument.
Where there is disagreement is allowed, where differing opinions are honored, where people sit at the table with others who disagree, it is at that table that truth is honored most.
Conversely, where disagreement is feared, where differing opinions are hushed, where folks the table is kept to reserved seating for those who look and think like you, it is at that table that truth doesn't stand a chance.
The Great Emergence then is about acknowledging that truth is a lot harder to come by than once declared. Therefore, we need more voices and more diversity in order to find out what is authoritative. And when you get disagreement and differing voices, it's hard not to find that something authoritative emerges from that diversity... it's called community.
The Church has this great opportunity to find itself a place to call Home for those desperate for community. I like to say that I'm a "Star Trek Voyager" generation, meaning that I'm part of a generation of explorers that are so lost that we don't believe that we'll ever really make it back home. And so home becomes the community in which we enjoy home in the here and now.
A great example of this is at my friend Jeff's church. They started a new Sunday evening worship service called "Worship in a New Key." They worship creatively and then turn their chairs around and share a meal together. Check out their site.
For this next year at our community of faith (which is our preferred way of speaking about church), we're going to have at least four worship services in our fellowship hall, around tables. It's one of the many things we're doing to celebrate our 50th anniversary year. We're focusing on table - feeding all who hunger: body, mind and spirit.
Sometimes people say that the Bible has become an idol since the Great Reformation. I wonder if in 500 years from now, the table will receive the same critique.
Perhaps saying that the Great Emergence is about replacing scripture with the table is too simple. Yet, as one of the next generation of pastors, I'll take community over scripture any day of the week and twice on Sunday morning.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Creating the wind of change
If you had to choose from these four categories, which would most describe you?
Liturgical Christian (Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, etc...)
Renewal Christian (Pentecostal, etc...)
Social Justice Christian (Mainline, etc...)
Conservative Christian (Evangelical, non-denominational, etc...)
I would assume that if you're reading this blog, you immediately find fault in having to pick just one. Exactly. Therein lies the problem. At one time the Christian tradition had an easier time "classifying" each other. But then the 80's came and what Tickle calls "watercooler" theology entered the scene. We began to talk about our faith, our traditions, our beliefs. And now, we've changed. (shame on us for talking about our faith with others.)
What seemed like simple interest in other types of Christianity has created some momentum between the four categories. Watch this video:
I think it looks like a fan. And if you can imagine, there ought to be responses within the church to deal with the breeze it creates. So, she maps out four: each are serving the change in their own way. In other words, these are not folks who want it all to stay the same.
Traditionalists: people who are going to stay in their quadrant as a keeper of the tradition, whichever it is.
Re-traditioning: folks who have chosen to stay in their church of heritage but are energetic in refurbishing it.
Progressives: folks who have chosen to stay in their church of heritage but want to remodel rather than refurbish it.
Hyphenates: folks who feel on the margin of any tradition and are truly living in between then and when.
Where do you fit?
Liturgical Christian (Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, etc...)
Renewal Christian (Pentecostal, etc...)
Social Justice Christian (Mainline, etc...)
Conservative Christian (Evangelical, non-denominational, etc...)
I would assume that if you're reading this blog, you immediately find fault in having to pick just one. Exactly. Therein lies the problem. At one time the Christian tradition had an easier time "classifying" each other. But then the 80's came and what Tickle calls "watercooler" theology entered the scene. We began to talk about our faith, our traditions, our beliefs. And now, we've changed. (shame on us for talking about our faith with others.)
What seemed like simple interest in other types of Christianity has created some momentum between the four categories. Watch this video:
I think it looks like a fan. And if you can imagine, there ought to be responses within the church to deal with the breeze it creates. So, she maps out four: each are serving the change in their own way. In other words, these are not folks who want it all to stay the same.
Traditionalists: people who are going to stay in their quadrant as a keeper of the tradition, whichever it is.
Re-traditioning: folks who have chosen to stay in their church of heritage but are energetic in refurbishing it.
Progressives: folks who have chosen to stay in their church of heritage but want to remodel rather than refurbish it.
Hyphenates: folks who feel on the margin of any tradition and are truly living in between then and when.
Where do you fit?
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