Christian Trivia Question #12 - Anti-Semites

When someone is called "anti-Semitic", it is actually related to Noah.  How?

Christian Trivia Question #11 - The Monograms of Jesus

This one is a freebie.  No question, just some info to check out (like where the "Jesus Fish" comes from:

A number of monograms of the name of Jesus have been used in Christian art and symbolism.  You may have heard of some of them:

IHS:   (or JHS) monogram of the name of Jesus (i.e. the traditional Christogram symbol of western Christianity) is derived from the first three letters of the Greek name of Jesus (ΙΗΣΟΥΣ), Iota-Eta-Sigma. There is also a variant form, IHC, using the lunate sigma (i.e. with the Greek letter sigma equated to Latin-alphabet "C" due to the common "lunate" form of sigma (i.e. IHCOYC).  I can still picture the communion tablecloth in the little Presbyterian Church I grew up in that had this monogram (IHS) embroidered in red letters on the white linen.  Never knew what it meant.

"XP" or CHI RHO:  (usually shown as the X with the "P" through the center of the X).  The Labarum or Chi Rho symbol is derived from the first two letters of the word "Christos" (ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ) in the Greek alphabet.

"IC XC":   formed from the first and last letters of Iesous and Christos in Greek (again, using the "lunate" form of the letter sigma of the Roman and Medieval periods).

ΙΧΘΥΣ:  (which literally means "fish" in Greek) consists of the initials of the Greek words Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς Θεοῦ Υἱὸς Σωτήρ meaning "Jesus Christ, God's son, saviour" (thus giving rise to the Christian fish symbol).

IX: the first letters of Iesous Christos (ΙΗΣΟΥΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ) in Greek

INRI = Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews).  This comes from the sign Pilate directed the soldiers to put on the cross (John 19:19).

Christian Trivia Question #10 - The Ages of John the Baptist and Jesus

An easy one:  The Gospel of Luke gives a hint about the relative ages of Jesus and John the Baptist.  How much older is John the Baptist than Jesus?

God Bless you guys,

Dad (and Mr. Hoff)

Christian Trivia Question #9 - Halloween

Simple question this time. Where does the word Halloween come from?

Christian Trivia Question #8 - Who came first?

We all know basically who each of these Biblical figures are. But do you know roughly when they lived?

All you have to do for this one is put these Biblical figures in chronological order - in the order in which they appear in history.  Here they are in alphabetical order:

Able

Abraham

Cain

Daniel

David

Elijah

Isaac

Jeremiah

Jesus

John the Baptist

Joshua

Moses

Nebuchadnezzar

Noah

You can reply to all on this one and I'll give the answer when all have submitted their answers.

Peace,

Dad / Mr. Hoff

Christian Trivia Question #7 - Blessed are the .......

Easy(r) question:

Name the Beattitudes.(or blessings) given by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.

(Hint:  Matt 5)

Include the blessing or reward that Jesus gives to each of the blessed.

Christian Trivia Question #6 - Know your Heresies

Christian Trivia #5 asked how many ‘persons’ were present at the Transfiguration event.  It was kind of a trick question to see if you picked up that the Father and the Son are each persons even though they are ONE God.  This is what we call “The Trinity”:  One God – 3 Persons.

Today, the vast majority of Christians today are “Trinitarian” – they believe in the Trinity.  This seems like a no-brainer. 

But it wasn’t always like that for Christians.  There were many erroneous teachings about Jesus in the early centuries of Christianity.  Some incorrect ideas of who Jesus was became accepted by many Christians and some even lasted many decades until they died off in favor of the true Apostolic teaching.  So these Christians did not deny Christ, they just had a flawed understanding of who He was.

These false beliefs were called “heresies”.  The word heresy comes from the Greek word ”haireo” which means to choose.  The idea is that these false teachings were chosen by Christians rather than accepting the Apostolic teaching which comes Divinely protected by Christ. 

But those Christians chose to follow either their own ideas or a popular idea presented by another Christian about the faith.  Someone believing a heresy is called a heretic.  

So, Trivia #6 is about the early heresies that popped up concerning exactly who Jesus was.

Name at least 3 heresies that mischaracterized who Jesus was. 

I’ll give you hints:

1.      Jesus was a Divine being, but not the same substance as the Father.  He was a created being, He had a beginning – created by the Father.

2.      Jesus was Divine, but actually only Spirit who only appeared to have a human body.  His human form was only an illusion to those who saw Him.

3.      God was one God, but acted in 3 modes – the Son (Jesus) being one of the modes of God.  Kind of like saying I am one person, but I can assume 3 modes: a brother, a son, and a father - all at the same time. This heresy denied that God was 3 Persons and therefore rejected that Jesus was a distinct Person.

Obviously, you can look these up – I don’t expect you to know them off hand.  It’s an “open internet” quiz.

(Yes, they're getting harder.)

Happy researching,

Dad

Christian Trivia Question #5 - Who was at the Transfiguration?

Name all the persons involved in the Transfiguration.  

This is a bit of a trick question, so read the passage carefully.

Christian Trivia Question #4 - Calling all Apostles

Which of the 12 Apostles did Jesus call first?

(Hint: Answer is in 1st chap of one of the Gospels.)

Christian Trivia Question #3 - INRI

In many paintings of Jesus on the Cross, the acronym "INRI" is written on a piece of wood tacked onto the Cross over His head.  

1. What does it stand for?

2. According to John's Gospel, who wanted it there, and who didn't?

Christian Trivia Question #2 - That's my dad

The Gospels record the name of only one natural father of the 12 Apostles. 

What’s his name?

Hint: 2 of them are sons of this man.