True: The Pentateuch is another name for the Torah.
False:
Judaism
does not permit the use of music in religious ceremonies.
False:
According
to the Torah, the Ten Commandments were revealed to Moses before the Exodus.
True:
The
temple in Jerusalem destroyed by the Romans was not the same temple
built
by Solomon.
False:
Jewish
priests could come from any of the twelve tribes. (only from
the
tribe of Levi)
True:
No
women are rabbis in Orthodox Judaism.
False:
No
women are rabbis in Reform Judaism.
True:
Anyone
keeping kosher in the strictest manner would not use the same dishes
for
dairy products that are used for meat.
False:
The
Hasidim encourage intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews.
True:
Early
Christians believed that Jesus had met with his followers several times
after his death.
True:
Islam
and Christianity are alike in believing that the mother of Jesus was a
virgin at the time she became pregnant.
False:
The
Council of Nicaea took place during the time of the Emperor Justinian.
(it was during the time of Constantine)
True:
Benedictine
monks are expected to spend several hours a day chanting the Divine
Office.
False:
Lutherans
are a religious order founded by Martin Luther. (this is the
distinction
between an order, such as the Benedictines or the Jesuits, and a
denomination)
False:
Protestants
generally reject the doctrine of the Trinity.
False:
The
Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints rejects the New
Testament
in favor of the Book of Mormon. (the church adds the Book of
Mormon
but does not reject the New Testament)
True:
Evangelicals
insist that the Bible must be taken literally, so that, for instance,
the
Book of Genesis proves that the theory of evolution is wrong.
True:
Roman
Catholics made many significant changes in their patterns of worship as
a result of the Second Vatican Council.
False:
The
Greek Orthodox are an example of a Protestant tradition that emerged in
Eastern Europe.
False:
All
Arabs are Muslims but not all Muslims are Arab. (only the
second
part is true)
True:
The
Qur’an had to be dictated by Muhammad because he was illiterate.
False:
The
Qur’an was translated into Arabic after the death of Muhammad.
True:
Shiite
Muslims insist that Muhammad’s murdered son-in-law Ali was the last
legitimate
caliph.
True:
Judaism
and Islam are alike in requiring male circumcision.
False:
Judaism
and Islam are alike in prohibiting the use of wine. (Jews
will
drink wine but Muslims will not)
False:
Women
are not allowed to participate in the pilgrimage to Mecca.
True:
Muslims
are prohibited from either charging or taking interest on a loan.
False:
The
Wahabi tradition of Saudi Arabia is characterized by a less rigid
application
of traditional Islamic law. (it is stricter, and was the
basis
for the Taliban)
True:
The
Nation of Islam appealed to African-Americans in part because many of
the
early African slaves had in fact been Muslim.
In
front of the item, circle the letter of the best statement completing
it.
The
individual renamed Israel was(A)
Jacob (B) Isaac(C)
Joseph
One
difference between ancient and modern Judaism is(A)
the use of animal sacrifice(B)
the prohibition of pork(C) the use
of Hebrew as a sacred language
Judaism
expanded throughout the Roman Empire(A)
shortly after the destruction of the Temple(B)long
before the destruction of the Temple(C)
only after the Muslim conquest of Palestine
A
devout Jew would not(A) eat lobster(B)
eat lamb(C) eat eggs
Yiddish
as a language is closely related to(A)
Aramaic(B) Latin(C)
German
The
Shoah took place(A) during the Roman
occupation of Palestine(B) in the
Middle Ages(C) in the twentieth
century (this was the Hebrew term for the
Holocaust)
Judaism
and Hinduism are most alike in that(A)
they are traditions that for the most orthodox one must be born into(B)
they both emphasize the use of statues to represent divinity(C)
they both insist on the importance of one sacred city to which everyone
should make a pilgrimage
One
important difference between Hinduism and Judaism is(A)
the emphasis on making converts(B)
the emphasis on ritual purity(C)
distinctions that limit an individual’s social mobility (Judaism
does not have caste restrictions)
The
Zohar is an important text for(A)
a mystical interpretation of Judaism(B)
how to work out details in the application of Mosaic law(C)
the historical basis of modern Israel’s claim to all of Palestine
One
thing striking about Zionism is that(A)
it advocated a pluralist society in which all religious traditions
would
share authority in Israel(B)
it revived the use of Hebrew as a spoken language(C)
it advocated a fundamentalist approach according to which only an
ultra-orthodox
interpretation of Judaism was acceptable
Christianity
and Buddhism are most alike in(A)
the emphasis on non-violence(B)the
emphasis on missionaries who would promote conversion(C)
the emphasis on using violent means to gain political control
Reference
to Jesus as the Christ refers to the idea that he is(A)
an anointed leader(B) an individual
sacrificed for the sins of others(C)
an enlightened teacher
The
monks of Egypt were noted for(A)
their emphasis on learning(B)
their highly ascetic lifestyle(C)
their willingness to obey Roman orders rather than face execution
The
one Catholic religious order founded after the Protestant Reformation
was(A)
the Dominicans(B) the Franciscans(C)
the Jesuits
John
Calvin was associated with the idea that(A)
the Bible should not be regarded as literally true(B)
individuals could not affect whether they were saved or damned since
God
had already predestined them(C)
religious liberty was an important value so that there should be a
separation
of church and state
In
the nineteenth century the Catholic Church declared as a teaching that(A)
Mary as the mother of God had been conceived without original sin(B)
Mary as the mother of God had been physically assumed into heaven as
had
Jesus(C)Mary
as the mother of God had not had intercourse before becoming pregnant (this
was the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception)
Most
Christian churches emphasize(A)
belief in transubstantiation(B)
the necessity of baptism(C)
a refusal to ordain women as priests or ministers
The
idea of the rapture as the disappearance of the saved prior to the rule
of the Anti-Christ is(A) a standard
teaching of the Roman Catholic Church(B)
generally accepted by most Protestant communities but not by Catholics(C)
a teaching that appeared toward the end of the nineteenth century and
is
not generally accepted by either Catholics or Protestants
The
one group whose members are not referred to as friars is (A) the
Dominicans(B)
the Franciscans(C) the Jesuits
Individuals
who belong to religious orders in the Catholic Church make a solemn
promise(A)
to avoid sex(B) to seek converts(C)
to read the Bible (this is the vow of chastity that goes with
vows of poverty and obedience)
Muslims
who speak of “the Prophet” are referring to(A)
Abraham(B) Jesus(C)
Muhammad
One
of the Five Pillars of Islam is(A)
jihad(B)
zakat(C)
sharia
Duringthe
month of Ramadan Muslims are expected to fast(A)
everyday between sunrise and sunset(B)
everyday between noon and midnight(C)
everyday between sunset and sunrise
Muslims
insist that their claim to Palestine is through the promise of God made
on behalf of(A) Abraham’s first
son, who had been exiled to Arabia(B)
Muhammad himself, after the angel Gabriel had first spoken to him(C)
the martyred Ali
A
good Muslim is expected to pray(A)
once a day at sunrise(B) five
times a day(C) twice a day,
at sunrise and sunset
One
characteristic of the Qur’an is that(A)
its sections are arranged chronologically(B)
its sections are arranged according to a progression of themes(C)
its sections are arranged strictly according to length
Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam are alike in(A)
a belief in angels(B) a belief
in predestination(C) a belief in
an original sin that must be removed through baptism
In
prayer a Muslim will face toward a place in(A)
Palestine(B) Saudi Arabia(C)
Egypt
A
strict interpretation of Muslim law(A)
includes the death penalty for adultery (B) prohibits the death
penalty
for any reason(C) limits the death
penalty to cases of deliberate murder
During
the Middle Ages in Moorish Spain(A)
both Jews and Christians were forced to convert to Islam(B)
both Jews and Christians were allowed religious freedom as long as they
did not attempt to convert Muslims(C)
Christians were not allowed religious freedom but Jews were
Provide
brief answers to each of the following.
If I am a Jew keeping kosher, what is the difference between an acceptable piece of beef (what I would buy from a kosher butcher, say) and one that is not acceptable?
Kosher
beef is slaughtered under the supervision of a rabbi, and the most
important
point is that the blood is drained completely from the meat.
For Catholics, what is the difference between the Immaculate Conception and the virgin birth?
The
Immaculate Conception refers to the idea that Mary, the mother of
Jesus,
was herself conceived without original sin. The virgin birth
refers
to the idea that she conceived and gave birth to Jesus while remaining
a virgin.
If I am a fundamentalist Christian, how will I feel about homosexuality (and why)?
I
will be against it and I will cite the Bible (specifically a section in
the Mosaic law which called for homosexuals to be put to death).
As a fundamentalist I regard the Bible as expressing the unchangeable
law
of God.
If I am a devout Muslim, how often am I expected to make a pilgrimage to Mecca?
Once
in my lifetime, if I am physically and financially able to do it.
Jews have the Talmud and Muslims have the hadith. What do these terms mean, and is there a Christian equivalent?
Both
are the interpretations of what the scriptures call for in terms of how
someone is supposed to observe God's law. They would differ
from the Torah and the Qur'an as not being divinely revealed but having
the authority of respected teachers. There is not really a
Christian
equivalent, unless one counts the writings of the Fathers of the church
(the so-called "deposit of faith" for Catholics).
II.
Indicate whether the
statement is true (T) or false (F) by circling the correct letter in
front.
T F
Judaism
and Islam alike accept that Abraham’s oldest son was not Isaac but
Ishmael.
T F Both Christianity and Islam accept that Jesus was conceived without his mother having had sex.
T
F One parallel
between
Judaism and Islam is that both require males to be circumcised.
T
F At the time of
Jesus
Judaism had not yet spread to Europe.
T
F After the
destruction
of the Temple in the first century CE Jewish priests continued to offer
animal
sacrifices in local synagogues.
T
F Orthodox Jews
do not accept women as rabbis.
T
F The most rigid
Orthodox groups do not accept the legitimacy of the state of Israel
because it
was not established by the Messiah.
T
F Christianity
and
Islam are alike in believing that the dead will come back to life in a
bodily
form.
T
F Judaism does
not
accept the divinity of Jesus but Islam does.
T
F Someone
who is
keeping kosher would not eat a cheeseburger unless the animal had been
butchered in such a way that all the blood was drained away.
T
F Observant
Jews
and Muslims would not eat pork.
T
F Observant
Jews
would drink wine but observant Muslims would not.
T
F Martin Luther
demanded that priests would remain unmarried at a time when Catholic
clergy
were notoriously lax on celibacy.
T
F The Calvinist
doctrine of predestination insists that whether someone is saved or not
depends
on both his faith and his actions.
T
F A Mormon belief
that
sets the group apart from other Christian denominations is that God the
Father
and God the Son have bodies and the Holy Spirit does not.
In
front of the item select the letter of the answer best completing it.
A
B C
Abraham’s wife was named (A) Hagar
(B) Sarah (C) Rebecca
A
B C
One food that observant Jews would
not eat is (A) lobster
(B) beef
(C) salmon
A
B C
The land of Canaan promised to the
descendants of Abraham bordered (A) the
Mediterranean (B) the Red Sea (C) the Atlantic Ocean
A B C
The
Jewish festival of Chanukah commemorates
(A) escape from Egypt in the time of Moses (B)
the reconstruction of the Temple at Jerusalem after the
Babylonian captivity (C) the
victory of the Maccabees during a Greek invasion
A
B C
At a Passover dinner observant Jews
would not have (A) bread made with
yeast (B) wine (C)
lamb
A B
C
The New Testament was
composed in (A) Hebrew
(B) Greek
(C) Latin
A B
C
Legendarily Saint
Peter was executed in (A)
Jerusalem (B) Damascus
(C)
Rome
A B
C
The term “Divine
Office” refers to (A) a bureau in Rome
that oversees missionary efforts (B)
the Psalms and other readings chanted by monks
(C) the position of the Pope as head of the Catholic Church
A B
C
According to legend,
Muhammad ascended to heaven from a place in
(A) Jerusalem (B) Mecca (C) Medina
A B
C
One reason that
Mohammad dictated the Qur’an is that
(A) he was blind (B) he was
illiterate (C) he was in a state of
ecstasy
Answer
each of the following. Be brief but do
try to use complete sentences.
The
Protestant Reformation placed considerable emphasis on the personal
reading of
the Bible. Why could this not have been
true of Catholicism in the Middle Ages?
