Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Random Quiz - 6

1. Who cut off Saul's head after he killed himself, and hung it in a temple?
1 Chro 10:10

2. In ancient Israel, men closed a deal by ________ sandals. Ruth 4:7

3. What is the mandatory retirement age of the Levites?

4. David was forbidden by the Lord to build the house of rest for the ark of the
covenant, because the Lord,
a. considered him a poor architect
b. thought the Israelites did not deserve it
c. decided that the ark should never be put inside a house
d. deplored David's warrior habits

5. David, who was rebuked by the Lord for shedding so much blood, sings in the 5th Psalm that the Lord,
a. encourages battle against Baal worshippers
b. abhors the bloody and deceitful man
c. smites those who invade His temple
d. pities the ignorant and overzealous
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Answers:1-5

1. Philistines
2. exchanging
3. 50 years
4. d
5. b
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6. In the 6th Psalm, David begs the Lord to save his life because he
a. he fears darkness hereafter
b. can slay more of the wicked
c. can complete the building of the temple
d. cannot thank the Lord when he is dead

7. David, in the 8th Psalm, praises the Lord for having made man,
a. equal to the angels
b. a little lower than the angels
c. considerably lower than the angels
d. far lower than the angels

8. How were Esther and Mordecai related?

9. To whom did Priscilla and her husband explain the way of God more adequately?

10. Moses' brother and sister were mad because he married a ________ woman.
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Answers:6-10

6. d
7. b
8. cousins
9. Apollos Acts 18:24-26
10. Cushite Numbers 12:1
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11. Deu 22:7, How to handle if a Hebrew person found a bird's nest full of birds?

12. Who was turned down to Judas' place as disciple?

13. Who was chosen to replace Judas?

14. Who was Moses' father?

15. The shortest prayer in the Bible
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Answers:11-15

11. He could take the babies, but to leave the mother bird behind.
12. Barsabbas aka Justus aka Joseph Acts 1:23
13. Matthias Acts 1:23-26
14. Amram, with some dispute Numb 26:59
15. Lord, save me, Matt 14:30 is Peter's prayer when he begin to sink after trying to walk on water.
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16. The very last word of the Bible is ___________.
(Don't peek, think)

17. Name the spouse of a)Noah and b)Paul?

18. Name the spouses of the following characters?
a)Ruth; b)Joseph; c)Moses; d)Lamech(Cain's grandson); e)Herodias; f)Cuza; g) Gomer

19. 3 John 12 says that ________ is well spoken of by everyone.

20. 2 John is addressed to the chosen _______, which may be a reference to a specific person or church.
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Answers:

16. Amen
17. a)Name unknown; b)No spouse mentioned
18. a)Boaz,Ruth 4; b)Mary, Mat 1; c)Zipporah, Exo 2; d)Adah, Gen 4; e)herod the tetrach, Mat 14; f)Joanna, Lk 8; g)Hosea, Hos 1.
19. Demetrius
20. Lady, 2 John 1:1

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Random Quiz - 5

1. What it means by the following words:
a)Sabbath; b)Sabbath Year; c)Year of Jubilee?

2. What job did Rachel do? Gen 29:9

3, How many years Aron was older than Moses? Ex 7:7

4. Who was the person who first wrapped Jesus' crucified body in about 75 lbs of
myrrh and aloes?

5. How did Mary describe herself to the angel who announced she would give birth to Jesus?
Lk 1:38
a)"The Lord has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace"
b)"I am the lord's servant"
c)"Why is this happening to me?"
d)"I am worn out and my master is old"
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Answers:1-5

1. a)7th day (Ex 20:8-11, 31:12-17, Lev 23:3, Dt 5:12-15.
b)7th Year (Ex 23:10-11, Lev 24:1-7.
c)50th Year (Lev 25:8-55, 27:17-24, Num 36:4.
2. Shepherdess
3. 3 years
4. Nicodemus Jn 19:39-40
5. b
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6. What was Cain's reply when God asked him about his brother? Gen 4:9
a)"here am I"
b)"Am I my brother's keeper?"
c)"Am I in the place of God?"
d)"What wrong am I guilty of?"

7. How is Tabitha described in the Bible? Acts 9:36
a)as carrying gossip and sowing strife
b)as the first christian in Europe
c)as a woman who had been sick for 12 years
d)as doing good and helping the poor

8. How did Jesus reply when Martha said, "If you had been here my brother would not
have died". John 11:23
a)Your brother will rise again
b)Don't be alarmed. he's alive
c)One who lives for pleasure is dead even while alive
d)The body without the spirit is dead

9. Solomon had a)______ wives and b)______ concubines. (Anniversaries must have been
a problem).

10. Can you figure out why every 3 years Solomon's trading ships returned home, along with other precious metals, a bunch of apes and baboons? 1 Ki 10:22
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Answers:6-10

6. b
7. d
8. a
9. a)700 b)300
10. I couldn't
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11. Noah was a healthy a)______ years old man when God sent the flood (Gen 7:6), and Noah
died at b)_______ years of age (Gen 9:29)

12. True or false. Jacob and Rachel were cousins too. Gen 29:10

13. The ark was made of ________ wood (NIV), (gopher wood in KJV).Gen 6:14

14. How many times the name "God" is mentioned in the book of Esther?

15. According to Lev 19:19, does the 50% cotton/50% polyester clothes come under this ban?
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Answers:11-15

11. a)600 b)950
12. True
13. Cypress
14. None
15. Israelites were forbidden to wear clothes made of two kinds of material.
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16. Did it work, when the Arameans were camped outside Samaria, God made the sound of
chariots and horses and a big army to scare them away? (2 Ki 7:6-7)

17. David's ___________ could shoot arrows right and left handed. (1 Chro 12:2)

18. Obed's grandma _________ was his nurse when he was a baby. (Ruth 4:6)

19. When King __________ couldn't sleep, he had people read the record of his reign to him. (Esth 6:1)

20. When the Ark was on its way back to Israel, God killed ____ men who got curious and looked inside it. (1 Sam 6:19)
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Answers:

16. Yes, it worked indeed.
17. warriors
18. Naomi
19. Xerxes
20. 70

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Bible Discrepancies or Contradictions - 1

Many readers are puzzled by discrepancies(conflicting accounts) and contradictions in the Bible. May be it is due to errors that occur in centuries of copying manuscripts(MS). None reflect on the inspiration of the Scriptures. These questions are not to cast doubt on the Bible, but just to test the readers only.

(A Malayalam Proverb: "Grendham moonnu pakarthumpol, muhoortham moothramai maaridum")

1. According to Gen 25:1 Abraham's 2nd wife was Kenturah, whereas what was Kenturah as per 1 Chronicles 1:32?

2. According to Num 4:3, the Levites entered the service of the Sanctuary at age 30. In Num 20:31, when does the mission start?

3. In Matthew's genealogy of the Messiah, Jesus is descended from David's son Solomon, in Luke's account, what son of David is Jesus' ancestor?

4. In Gen 29:28, Rachel is given to Jacob a week after his marriage to Leah. According to Gen 30:41, how long he had to wait?

5. In Exo 33:20, God tells Moses that no man can see God's face. In Exo 33:11 who saw God face to face?

6. In Deu 10:6, Aaron died at Moserah. Where did he die in Num 20:28?

7. In 1 Corinthians 15:5, Jesus appeared to the 12 disciples after his resurrection. According to Matthew and Acts, how many apostles were there after his resurrection?



Answers:
1. His Concubine
2. At age 25
3. Nathan
4. 14 years. Leah,the older wife whom he didn't want was forced on him by deceit, just as he had gotten his father's blessing by deceit. He had begun to reap what he had sown.
5. Moses
6. Mount Hor
7. Only 11. Mat 27:3-5 says that Judas Iscariot hanged himself before Jesus' resurrection. Acts 1:9-26 says Matthias had not been chosen before resurrection.

Random Quiz - 4

The following 6 questions are about "Saints on sinners' Payrolls".

1. What church in Greece received greetings from believers worked in Caesar's Household?

2. What upright young man was ruler over the whole province of Babylon?

3. Sergius Paulus, who became a Christian was the deputy of what island?

4. What Jewish man served as an honored official under Ahasuerus of Persia?

5. What Roman centurion of Caesaria was a godly man?

6. The saintly Obadiah, a friend of the prophet Elijah, was the palace steward of what very wicked King?
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Answers:1-6
1. Philippi (Philippians 1:1, 4:22)
2. Daniel (Dan 2:48)
3. Cyprus (Acts 13:4-7)
4. Mordecai (Esther 10:3)
5. Cornelius (Acts 10:1-2)
6. Ahab (1 Ki 18:1-16)
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Next 6 questions are on Doves.

7. What did the dove do when the dove was sent out from the Ark, 3rd time?

8. Why did the psalmist want wings like a dove? (Ps 55:6)

9. Who said, he mourned like a dove and his eyes failed with looking upward?

10. Whom did Jeremiah tell to dwell in the rocks and be like the dove?

11. Whom did Hosea say, was like a silly dove?

12. Whom did Jesus tell to go out as harmless as doves?
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Answers:7-12
7. It did not return. (Gen 8:12)
8. To fly away to rest.
9. Hezekiah (Isa 38:9-14)
10. Inhabitants of Moab (Jer 48:28)
11. Ephraim (Hosea 7:11)
12. The Twelve (Mat 10:5,16)
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13. According to the Israelite Law, if a man was found to be lying with another's wife, what action to be done for this marriage violation? (Deut 22:22)
a) this woman should be made divorced and this man should marry her
b) this man should die
c) this woman should die
d) both should die

14. The King of Bashan was, (Ps 135:11)
a)Ag; b)Eg; c)Ig; d)Og

15. The psalmist is bitter in 137th Psalm, because the captors of the Israelites,
a)refused to let them sing the songs of Zion
b)themselves sang the songs of Zion
c)compelled them to sing a song of zion
d)were not aware of the songs of zion
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Answers:13-15
13. d
14. d
15. c
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School of fools (3 questions):
A fool in the Bible is not just someone lacking in intelligence. A fool is also someone lacking moral sense, someone who won't observe the difference between right and wrong. The Bible's main message to such people is not just, "Be smart", but "Behave".

16. Complete this verse: "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no_______".
(Ps 14:1)

17. According to Jesus, when a man says, "You fool" to someone, what is he in danger of?

18. According to Ecclesiastes, what resides in the lap of fools?

19. Where is the New Heaven and New Earth mentioned?

20. Which book talks about the Last Judgement?
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Answers:

16. God
17. Going to hell (Matt 5:22)
18. Anger (7:9)
19. Rev 21 and 22
20. Rev 20:10-15

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Brother, Is it appropriate to call a fellow believer in the Church?

In Mar Thoma Church many of us in olden days did not agree when other denomination salute each other "Brother". The only time we hear "Brother" in the M.T. Church is during the "Holy Communion" Service. The Bishop or Achan and deacons call the congregation about 8 times or so from the pulpit. That's the end of it. In early 80's I started to hear first time when African Americans made sure they call each other "Brother". Now it is time for us to take a deep look at what the Bible says about it.

Brother: Bible thoughts from Dictionary and Encyclopedia.
1. This Hebrew word is used in natural and common sense in the OT;
2. Christ's teaching include the universal brotherhood of man;
3. A near relation, a cousin;
4. Simply a fellow-countryman;
5. A disciple or follower;
6. One of the same faith;
7. One beloved or closely united with another in affection;
8. Any friend;
9. A fellow-man;
10. An ally;
11. One of the same tribe;
12. Signifies spiritual kinship;
13. A brother-man, any member of the human family;
14. A term adopted by the early disciples and Christians to express their fraternal love for each other in Christ, and universally adopted as the language of love and brotherhood in His Kingdom in all subsequent time. The growing conception of mankind as a brotherhood is the outcome of this Christian view of believers as a family. The brotherly love is a kind and lenient attitude toward people.

Jesus has made "neighbor" equivalent to "brother", a sense of fraternal affection and obligation to vital Christianity. According to rabbis, the term "brother' applies to Israelites by blood, and "neighbor" to proselytes, but either term disallowed to Gentiles. Christ and Apostles gave the name "brother" to all Christians and "neighbor" to all the world.

The missionary passion and aggressiveness of the Christian Church is the natural product of Christ's this concept of man's true relation to man.

The OT extended the concept of brotherhood beyond family ties(Zec 11:14, 1 Peter 2:17). The "brotherly covenant" is illustrated when Jonathan was a brother to his friend David(2 Sam 1:26). Israelites called fellow Hebrews as brothers (Deut 15:7-11). King Ahad made a treaty with Ben-Hadad of Syria and called him brother(1 Ki 20:32-33).

In NT, Jesus introduced a special meaning of "brother" which later became established in the early Church. So the shift of focus from blood to spiritual relationship is found in His teachings: 1) when he designated as brothers, "those who hear and do the word of God"-(Luke 8:21). 2)who are my brothers? whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother-(Mt 12:46-50). In most of the NT passages, 'brothers' is used to designate the entire Christian community(male and female). In the OT the brotherhood of all Israelites was emphasized, but in the NT the brotherhood in Christ is a relation much deeper and stronger so as to eclipse the other.

So bond between human beings to be founded not on blood alone but on shared relationship with God and His entire family, which includes our Church also.

Random Quiz - 3

1. How the word "Amen" is used in the Bible?

2. "Hallelujah" (NIV) means what?

3. True or False. The Lord's prayer basically is not a prayer for praise,
thanksgiving, meditation, or contemplation, but only petitions.

4. The Lord's prayer is:
a) a community prayer and not a personal prayer
b) This disciples' prayer shows proper approach and order in prayer
c) It was not prayed with, but taught to them
d) a modified form of the sermon on the mount
e) a pattern prayer unsurpassed for conciseness and fullness
f) all of the above
g) none of the above

5. How many petitions are there in the Lord's prayer?
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Answers:1-5

1. General meaning is "so be it", which means agreement with the speaker. This is
a Hebrew word signifying something as certain, sure, valid, truthful. Jesus
always said Amen at the beginning of His statements and not at the end.
In Rev 3:14 Jesus is called the Amen, meaning that He Himself is the reliable
and true witness of God. Isaiah 65:16 says God of Amen. Amen has remained
untranslated in Christian tradition.
2. It is a word of praise and it means, "Praise the Lord". It is seen frequently
in the Book of Psalms and often translated as, Allelouia (Greek), Halelluyah
(Hebrew), Alleluia-KJV translation. This word conveys a sense of the joyous
exultation shared as the community of faith gathers to worship the Lord.
Multitude in heaven also praises God with this word.
3. True
4. f
5. 6
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6. What are the 3 parts of the Lord's prayer(KJV)?

7. The psalm 139 is in praise of God's :
a) omnipotence
b) omniscience
c) omnipresence
d) omnifariousness
( a)=all-powerful, b)=all-knowing, c)=always present everywhere,
d)=of all forms or varieties )

8. In the Ten Commandments(Ex 20:2-17, Deut 5:6-21), a)what are our responsibilities to God, and b)what are our responsibilities to people?

9. True or false. Ten Commandments may be legitimately be interpreted as world's first Bill of Rights.

10. If Ten Commandments are the world's first Bill of Rights, what are your rights
in this document?
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Answers:6-10
6. a)Invocation (Our father who art in heaven)
b) 6 petitions/requests
c) doxology (Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever)
7. a
8. a)1-4 are our duties to God.
1) No other Gods; 2) No Idols; 3) No vain use of God's name; 4) Keep the
Sabbath holy.
b) 5-10 are our duties to people.
5) Honor Father and Mother; 6) No murder; 7) No adultery; 8) No Stealing;
9) No false testimony; 10) No coveting.
These 2 stones are the most holy object in OT religion and both stone tablets
are placed in the Ark of the Covenant. Although the Ten Commandments are
expressed negatively as 'you shall nots', they are essentially positive.
9. True
10. Unlike modern Bills of Rights this document seeks not to secure my rights, but to protect the rights of others. I am looked upon as a potential violator of
the other person's Rights, which means I have no right.

1-4 are God's rights, and 5-10 are the rights of others.
The Ten declarations are given below:

1) God's right to exclusive allegiance;
2) God's right to self-definition;
3) God's right to proper representation by His people;
4) God's right to His people's time;
5) my parent's right to respect;
6) my neighbor's right to life;
7) my neighbor's right to a secure marriage
8) my neighbor's right to personal property;
9) my neighbor's right to an honest hearing in court;
10) my neighbor's right to secure existence in the community.

First 4 statements protects the rights of the covenant-Lord. The last 6 protects
the rights of the covenant-community (people).
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11. What is the first and the Greatest Commandment?

12. What is the second Greatest Commandment?

13. What did Jesus say about these two most important commandments in the Law?

14. Where is the birth of Christ recorded?

15. Where is the Death of Christ recorded?
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Answers:11-15
11. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind and with all your strength. (Matt 22:37; Mark 12:28-34)
12. The second one is, Love your neighbor as yourself.
13. All the Law and the Prophets hang on to these two Commandments.
(Jesus put God first, and our neighbor second).
14. Matt 1:18-2:23; Lk 1:26-2:40.
15. Lk 23:26-56; Jn 19:16-42
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16. Jesus used the phrase, "I am the _______" 7 different times in the gospel of
john. What are they?

17. What is Jesus' approximate year of birth?

18. What was Balaam's sin? (2 Peter 2:15)
a)greed/wicked; b)rebellion; c)lust; d)envy

19. Who is the mysterious King of Salem (=Jerusalem)and priest of Most High God,
who blessed Abraham and in return Abraham paid a tenth (tithe) of everything he
possessed?

20. Name a)the mothers and b)all the children of Abraham?
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Answers:

16. a)I am the bread of life(6:35); b)... the light of the world(9:5); c)...door
(10:9); d)... good shepherd(10:11); e)... resurrection(11:25); f)... way(14:6);
g)... true vine(15:1).
17. 5 BC(or 4 BC). There is an error in calculation of Jesus' date of birth and it
is now generally agreed that the beginning of the CE(Christian Era) should have
been fixed at least 4 years later. 1 AD should have been Jesus' year of birth
since there is no such thing as 'zero AD'.
18. a
19. Melchizedek (Gen 14:18-20; Ps 110:4; Hebrew 5:6-10; 6:20-7:28). Both worshipped one true God.
20. a)Hagar(concubine)-Ishmael; b)Sarah(wife)-Issac; c)Kenturah(wife)-Zimran,
Jokshan,Medan,Midian, Ishbak, Shuah. Total 8 children.

Random Quiz - 2

1. How many books are in Protestant Versions of the Old Testament?

2. What are the synoptic gospels?

3. What is the famous Vulgate?

4. What was the name of the 1st Bible printed on a printing press?

5. In what year was this 1st Bible published?
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Answers:1-5

1)39.
2)Matthew, Mark, and Luke, means having a common view, similarity of each other and different from Gospel of john.
3)The Vulgate was considered the standard Bible of Christianity for over 1000 years. By the 3rd century, Latin had replaced Greek as the language of the Roman Empire. St Jerome was commissioned by Pope Damascus I to produce a standard Latin translation of the Bible and the Vulgate was completed in AD 405.
4) The Gutenberg Bible. Johann Gutenberg trained as a goldsmith, invented the movable type printing press in 1440's and produced the 1st printed edition of the Latin Vulgate. 47 copies of the Gutenberg Bible are still in existence. This movable type printing press is the top best of all inventions of the last millennium(1000 years). Thus the copying error of the Bible is eliminated.
5)1456. Gutenberg lost his printing press and shop to financier Johann Fust in a 1455 lawsuit, but is believed to have completed the major part of the production prior to the foreclosure.
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6. Who first translated the entire Bible from Latin into English?

7. What year the beloved KJV was published?

8. What year the NIV Bible was published?

9. How many languages the Bible has been translated into?

10. The Book of Hebrews quote the "OT" _____ times and Revelation quote ______ times.
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Answers:6-10

6) John Wycliffe completed this task in 1384, the year he died.
7) 1611. King James I of England commissioned a group of 47 scholars to prepare a new translation of the Bible which became known as the King James Version. Because of its elegant style, KJV is still popular after 400 years although it is in old English.
8)1978. This made possible with the work of 10 years of planning by a group of scholars from Christian Reformed Church and the National Associations of Evangelicals(USA) with the help of financial sponsorship from the International Bible Society(USA)and 10 years of translation work by 100 scholars from six countries representing 20 denominations, including Anglican, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Brethren, Christian Reformed, Church of Christ, Evangelical Free, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Nazarene, Presbyterian and Wesleyan. The multi-denominations(not any official church reps at all) helped to safeguard the translation from sectarian bias. The NIV is most widely accepted contemporary bible translation, even Mar Thoma Church enjoy using it worldwide.
9) About 4000. The US Govt estimates 6900 languages in the world. The goal of The Wycliffe Bible Translators, Dallas, Texas is to have a Bible in every language by 2025. Wycliffe was founded in 1942 by William Cameron Townsend and it has currently branches in over 50 countries. The organization is named after John Wycliffe, an English Protestant Reformer, who is the first person to complete a translation of the Bible into English. USA govt lists USA has 311 languages and India has 427 languages.
10) 85, 245.
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11. What is the meaning of the Greek term, Pentecost?

12. Pentecost has been given all the names except:
a)Feast of chosen b) Feast of Harvest c) Feast of weeks d) day of the
firstfruits.

13. Peter had said, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sin, and you shall receive the gift of the
_____ ______ (Acts 2:38)".

14. In Romans 5:5, "Now hope does ____ _______, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us".

15. After Jesus' death, the Apostle Paul still kept Pentecost. Where is the
evidence?
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Answers:11-15

11) 50th day
12) a. The 2nd of the 3 annual festivals was Pentacost and it was celebrated 50 days after Passover. Pentacost is a Greek term meaning 50.
13) Holy Spirit
14) not disappoint
15) Acts 20:16, "for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost".
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16. Where in the Bible prescribes the sacred nature of the holiday and lists appropriate sacrifices?

17. Which is not one of the 3 pilgrim festivals of OT which required all adult males to participate at the sanctuary?
a)Feast of Unleavened Bread (Just after Passover)
b)Feast of Weeks or Harvest (Pentecost)
c)Feast of Tabernacles or Ingathering
d)Feast of Trumpets

18. How many gates will there be in the New Jerusalem?

19. In the Book of Revelation, what color horse is "Death" riding?
a)White b)Red c)Black d)Pale(or Green).

20. Which prophet's sons were notorious for taking bribes and preventing judgement?
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Answers:16-20

16) Lev 23
17) d
18) 12
19) d, (Rev 6:8 KJV)
20) Samuel. (1 Sam 8:1-3 KJV)

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Who is the perfect person in the Bible, the top selling Book?

The Bible is a very unique Book and it is the top selling book always. The separate and combined world sales of Old Testament and New Testament have been 100 million every year lately. Why does the Bible have so many readers?

The Bible is the history of God's activities and His peoples' responses. It deals with actual people in an actual geographical area during actual specified historical times who had contact with other actual peoples and empires whom we know of from sources outside the Bible. Knowledge of the historical background is essential to any serious reader. The characters of the Bible are similar to the people of any other book. But the difference is, God personally talks, calls, order, guide, guard, instruct, rebuke, chastise, forgive, or listen to these regular people and made them very special. These things make the readers inquisitive.

Abraham is a patriarch, born 4000 or more years ago, the key figure in Israel's history, New testament's prime example of faith, and father of 3 major world religions-Jews, Islam, and Christians. But isn't that the same Abraham who was willing to have his wife sleep with someone else, if it will save his neck.? Anything happened? No, the covenant continues. Isn't that Jacob, the patriarch Israel, who deceived his father to get his blessings? David was a harpist, psalmist, skillful warrior, Israel's greatest, commanding, the ideal king who whole heartedly loved the Lord, even earned a title "a man after God's own heart", and the model for God's Messiah who was to be born of David's family line and ultimately to rule God's never ending kingdom. Wasn't he the same David fell prey to gross sin of adultery with Bathsheba after wickedly used his power to kill Uriah , her husband? Peter publicly pronounced the good news on Pentecost, and later died a martyr's death. But isn't that the same Simon Peter who took the coward's way out by denying Christ when a very important witness hour was needed?

Aren't we all at some point in our lives, compromisers like Abraham, liars like Jacob, wicked like David, cowards like Peter? Where is the perfect person among us? He or she doesn't exist. But in the Bible we find that all this imperfection is for a purpose. Perfection was promised and perfection did hit the world. Isn't that the Bible, a book with a thousand heart beats and it pulsates with life like these?

This book, the Bible, is the place where the human and the divine meet, where they speak to one another, clash, irritate each other, and fall in love. Don't you feel that such a book is a great one, don't you think, you want to read such a book? That's why this Book has been and continues to be the the top seller of the world. So regardless of the route, by play or by prayer, it is recommended to earn it and learn it. Wecome to "The Book" and have fun.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Lent

Churches referred in here:
The Western Church: Consists of Protestants, Catholics, and Anglicans.
The Eastern Church: Consists of the Eastern Orthodox, the Oriental Orthodox, and
the Eastern-rite churches affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church.
Mar Thoma church: Reformed Oriental Orthodox Church
(Founder: St Thomas, the Apostle)


The word "Lent" is not in the New Testament, which means it is not recorded as a commandment of Jesus Christ or Apostles. The ancient Church who wrote, collected, canonized, and propagated the New Testament, believed the Lent was a commandment from the Apostles. All churches that have a continuous history extending before AD 1500 observe Lent. The lent, traditionally observed in majority of Christian denominations, is a 40-day liturgical "season of fasting, prayer, penitence, and self-denial, in preparation for Easter. The purpose of the liturgical calendar is to re-live the major events in Jesus' life in real time. Basically, Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. It is a season for taking stock.

The theme of the Lent is, retreating into the wilderness with Jesus. So the Lent is a period of fasting in commemoration of Christ's fast. So, by observing the 40-days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus' withdrawal into the wilderness. During Lent many Christians choose to live with less, through fasting or some other form of self-denial. The dates of Lent varies each year according to the date of Easter.
Fasting: To eat very little or abstain from certain foods, especially as a religious observance. Fasting is a spiritual discipline that does not involve starvation or dehydration. Often our bodily appetites control actions. The purpose of fasting is to make the bodily appetites our servant rather than our master.
"Real Fasting" is a punishing of the body, compelling the 5 senses to learn to live without the comforts of life.
Medical fasting:
In this modern era, even medical science encourage people to fast. Basically, fasting is required physically and spiritually.

Instruction for 40 Days of fasting:
Canon 5 of the first ecumenical Council of Nicaea in AD 325 mentions Lent as a 40-day period. The 40 day fast was said by Bishop Athanasius in AD 339 to be celebrated all over the world. Thus in the 4th century the instructions to the Bishop candidates, established the length of the Lent.

The Western Church calls this season "Lent" and Eastern Church (Orthodox Church) call it, "Great Lent". In the Eastern Orthodox Church, "Great Lent" is the most important of the 4 Lenten seasons observed by Orthodox Christians and it is so named to differentiate it from the Advent fasting period which is known as "Little Lent".

Great Lent is like a 'workshop' where the character of the faithful is spiritually uplifted and strengthened; where his life is rededicated to the principles and ideals of Gospel; where the faith culminates in deep conviction of life.

Lent is not for the sake of Lent, as fasting is not for the sake of fasting. But they are means, by which and for which, the individual believer prepares himself to reach for, accept and attain the calling of his Savior. Therefore the significance of Great lent is highly appraised by the monks and the lay people. As such, great Lent is the sacred Institute of the Church to serve the individual believer to improve the standards of faith and morals in his Christian life.

Among many Christians today, Lent is a time for doing penance by praying, studying the life and teachings of Christ, refraining from sin, and giving time and money to charities. Many give up something pleasurable during Lent, such as a favorite food, coffee, alcohol, dining out, or TV. To give up something means abandon a pleasurable habit as an act of devotion and self-discipline. Originally, meat, fish, milk, eggs, and cheese were forbidden during Lent.

In recent years the Roman Catholic Church has relaxed its strictly regulated laws on fasting. According to an apostolic constitution issued by Pope Paul VI in February 1966, in USA fasting during Lent is obligatory only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. On these 2 days Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 may eat only one full meal. Catholics age 14 or older are requested to abstain from meat on every Friday during Lent. He recommended that fasting may be appropriate to the local economic situation, and all Catholics voluntarily fast and abstain. These regulations do not apply when the ability to work or the health of a person would be negatively affected.

Fasting practices vary widely among other Christian denominations and between individuals. Common practices include abstaining from meat, eating only one full meal each day, fasting entirely one day each week. Many modern Protestants consider the observation of Lent to be a choice, rather than an obligation. Roman catholics may also observe Lent in this way, though observation is no longer mandatory under the threat of mortal sin.

The Christians who choose not to follow the dietary restrictions cite 1 Timothy4:1-5 which warns of doctrines that "forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth".

Ash Wednesday: On Ash Wednesday (7th Wednesday before Easter), a priest or pastor marks a cross on the forehead of Parishioners. The ashes are obtained from the burned palms used in the previous year's Palm Sunday celebration. This ritual is blessed with a passage from Genesis 3:19(KJV), "for dust thou art, unto dust thou shall return". The ashes symbolize repentance and purification.

Dates:
1. Western Church:
The Ash Wednesday marks the first day of the Lent and ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. In the early Church, Wednesdays and Fridays were fast days. Thus the first Wednesday got prominence in Western Church. They skip Sunday for calculating 40 days, because Sunday commemorate the Resurrection (Mini Easter). So it is a 40-day period 'before' Easter, Sundays excluded.

In Roman Catholic Church, Lent officially ends at sundown on Holy Thursday(Maundy Thursday), with the beginning of the Mass of the Lord's Supper.

2. Eastern Church:
Eastern Orthodox Church follow the Byzantine tradition and the 40 days of Lent calculated differently. Orthodox Church does not skip over Sundays when calculating the length of the Great Lent. Here the Great Lent always begin on Clean Monday (7th Monday before Easter) ie. Monday before Ash Wednesday, and ends on the eve of Lazarus Saturday, ie. Friday evening before Palm Sunday. The Great Lent is followed by Lazarus Saturday(Saturday before Palm Sunday) and Palm Sunday, which are feast days. Lenten fast is relaxed on both these days, in honor of the Sabbath(Saturday) and the Resurrection(Sunday). Then the Lent fast resumes on Monday and continues through the Holy week until Easter Sunday which is considered a distinct period of fasting. Thus Technically, in the Eastern Church, Holy week is a separate Season from the Great Lent.

3. Mar Thoma Church:
Our Church use a different calendar. The Mar Thoma Church celebrates Lent and passion week combined, a 50-day period. Probably, it is because we are following a liturgical calendar similar to Eastern Orthodox Church. We are recognized as, a "Reformed Oriental Orthodox Church". We also call this season "Great Lent(or Valia Nombu)" and it has 50 days, beginning 7th Sunday before Easter Sunday. ie. 7 whole weeks plus Easter make up 50 days, including all Sundays. The Church does not skip Sundays. We do not observe 'Ash Wednesday ( also called the signing of the Cross=Kurshu Vara Perunal)', and 'Lazarus Saturday'. Thus the Great Lent is 40 days of our Lord's fast in the wilderness and 10 days to commemorate the passion of Christ, a total of 50 days combined and continuous. (The last 10 days are not exactly 10 days. It consists of 2 partial days and 8 whole days. That is, partial Friday, Saturday through Holy Saturday- 8 whole days, and partial Easter Sunday, ie. considered 10 days together.)

The faithful members of Mar Thoma Church are urged to observe some restrictions in eating and drinking and in their life style during this period. Usually the people forgo meat, fish, butter, and other enriching food. Though once Mar Thoma Church followed a stricter fasting and diet, modern Marthomites relaxed the practice on fasting and dietary restriction. Lately voluntary fasting on the part of the people of the Church is largely lost, I should say.

It makes sense to me that Mar Thoma Church forefathers' Lent calculation and the placement of 40 days before Passion week is more reasonable than Western Church calculation. Jesus met with His disciples, He had supper at Bethany on Lazarus Saturday, instructed disciples to get the Ass(donkey) for Palm Sunday, and organized things for the passion week etc. tells that Jesus must have been in town by Friday which brings up to 10 days. Technically, Lent and passion week is a combination of both ends of Jesus' public ministry which lasted 3 to 4 years. Jesus started his public ministry, at about 30 years of age, just after the 40 days of fasting and the associated events and ended with death and resurrection. There is no evidence in Bible that Jesus' fast excluded Sundays.

Passion Week(Holy Week) celebration of Mar Thoma Church:
(First Passion Week was in April, AD 30 according to historians)

Hosanna Sunday(Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday): Special Service with Holy Communion.

Passion week Monday: Evening worship(Sandhya namaskaram)- Optional.

Passion week Tuesday and Passover Wednesday: Evening worship @
7:00 pm-8:30 pm.

Passover Thursday(Eucharist, the greatest remembrance): Evening worship @
7:00 pm-9:00 pm. Most Church offer Holy Communion on Thursday.

Good Friday(Crucifixion & Burial): a special 3 part Service (9am-3pm), with a traditional Kerala Christian 'Good Friday Lunch' of "Kanji and Payar" after the 2nd part of service; (Donuts and Pizza may not give a traditional touch).

Holy Saturday: No Service.

Easter Sunday(Resurrection-Celebration of Life): Service with Holy Communion. Traditionally this service start at 3 or 4am, but gradually the start time moved to between 6am and 8am, as the life style picked up another momentum.

Note: Generally, the schedule of passion week is governed by the local church according to the availability of the clergy.

Glossary:
Byzantine: 1. Eastern Orthodox Church or rites performed in it;
2. Churches using a traditional Greek rite and subject to eastern canon Law; 3. eastern part of the late Roman empire.
Penitence: 1. regret for one's sins or misdeeds; 2. repentance; 3. remorse for your past conduct.
Penance: 1. a sacramental rite practiced in Roman, Eastern, and some Anglican Churches that consists of confession, absolution, and a penitential discipline imposed by the confessor; 2. Christian sacrament of reconciliation(a person confesses sins to a priest and is forgiven after performing a religious devotion or duty such as praying or fasting).
rite: a solemn ceremony or procedure customary to a religious group. eg. the rites of baptism, rites of courtship, the Roman or Anglican rite.
ritual: 1. Observance of set forms in public worship; 2. prescribed procedure for a religious rite. eg. orthodox ritual, a ritual dance, a weekend car-washing ritual, ritual observance, her ritual morning exercises.
Self-denial: 1. denial/sacrifice of own desires/interests voluntarily or enforced by circumstances; 2. trait of practicing self discipline; 3. curbing one's desires; 4. unselfishness.

Colors for decorations: Purple or blue, the royal colors to prepare for the King.

Goal:
The deep intent of the believer during the Lent is "forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14.)

Saturday, March 1, 2008

About this Website

1. How to search the Blog:

This website will be continuously updating. When a topic is missing from the "Blog Archive" it may be under reconstruction, revisiting, or revising. Thank you for your understanding.

This Blog, a major Project: May I trust, the readers will accept the complexity and the limitations of this major project "My Bible Quest", and bless the author for his humble contribution.

How to search "My Bible Quest" on Internet?
Open a browser/search engine preferably "Google" and type, mybiblequest.blogspot.com in the "Address bar" (not in the "Search bar").

Find your favorite topics: Click and browse on all topics under the "Blog Archive" and find your favorite topics of interest for future reference.

How to print a topic? The topics are listed under the "Blog Archive" for reading or printing one by one. Click on the topic of your choice to be printed and then go to drop down 'file' menu and click on the "print" or "print preview" and print the exact pages.

To view or print all blogs published in 2008 combined: Click on the arrow given on the year/month to bring up all together ready for printing. If you can scroll together, you can print them all together. So scroll and see whether you see what you want to print.

Team Work: We welcome and appreciate your suggestions and ideas to make this website a rich resource. You know it will certainly help to serve our young, young at heart, and curious minds of all ages.

Error in the website: If you recognize any error anywhere in this website please do not hesitate to email us or note in the comments which is also a great act of kindness to all involved.


2. All About QUIZZES in this publication

Types of Quizzes:
1. Bible Quiz (B-1, B-2,...)
2. Bible "Fun Only" Quiz, not to take seriously (F-1, F-2,...)
3. Bible Discrepancies or Contradictions Quiz (D-1, D-2,...)
4. Mar Thoma Church Quiz (C-1, C-2,...)
5. Astronomy Basics Quiz (A-1, A-2,...)
6. Non-Biblical Quiz (N-1, N-2,...)

Note on Discrepancies(D-1, D-2, etc):
Many readers are puzzled by discrepancies(conflicting accounts) and contradictions in the Bible. May be it is due to errors that occur in centuries of copying manuscripts(MS). None reflect on the inspiration of the Scriptures. These questions are not to cast doubt on the Bible, but just to test the readers only.

A dedicated blog of Quizzes for Mar Thoma Church history, faith and practices is included.

You may see the following styles of question formats incorporated in all or some quizzes:
1) Plain short or detailed answer questions including some insignificant or tricky questions; 2) Fill in the blanks; 3)True or False; 4)Multiple choice or multiple-multiple choice; 5)Match-Ups; 6)Facts, Stats, Numbers etc.; 7)By books, or by topics; 8)Definitions, Doctrines, or Quotes.

Each Round (Each Quiz Chapter): is a set of 20 Questions. Sometimes you see only less than 20 due to time restraints, eventually it will be brought up to 20.

Score: To find your score of each Round, multiply the total number of correct answers by 5. That will give your score percentage.
90%(18 questions) to 100%(20 questions) = A (ie. 18=90%,19=95%,20=100%)
75%(15 questions) to 85% (17 questions) = B
60%(12 questions) to 70% (14 questions) = C
11 questions or less correct = D(Needs improvement on Bible knowledge)

For quick verification of passage location,
Bible References of Book and/or Chapter/Verses are keyed into most questions or answers.
Questions are NIV based unless marked KJV:
NIV=New International Version, KJV=King James Version

The Purpose of the Bible quizzes is not to become a master of the Bible but to learn to be a servant to the word. For all levels of knowledge these Quizzes may stimulate appetite and ignite interest for deeper Bible study and personal time with Word and God. Bible knowledge is a heavenly requirement and ignorance is not an acceptable excuse according to the Bible. Jesus could drove Satan away when He was tempted, by quoting the word of God.

Bible is a big book and it is the source of Christian foundation. Its size or language should not intimidate us in our spiritual journey any more. This quiz opportunity will grant us a grand tour of the Bible, thereby we get familiar with: the location of historical highlights, the things you never heard or seen, spiritual secrets and standards, teachings of Christ, Bible heroes and sheroes, Practical guidance for better daily living, how to question wrong theological doctrines of own Church, how to stay away from certain denominational or special interest group pulls, how to build courage to stay on course of one's own true faith and practice etc. Basically these Bible quizzes will allow us to take an inventory of how well we know the good book and the good news.

The puzzling pleasures of these quizzes may also help to turn it as a challenging hobby. I believe the participation and clashing of minds with other believers will make the drill active and interesting, thereby helps to retain more into memory than reading, listening, or watching.

Creating separate Quiz championship tournaments of teens and adults through decent quizzing circuits are worth considering for the local, regional, national and even international competitions which also can produce eminent quizzers.

I hope Mar Thoma Church, being a reformed Church, will consider to initiate annual tournaments to create National and International Championship Teams and thereby we can instill great foundation for strong leaders and clergies.

3. What is a blog and its most useful feature?

A blog ( shortened from weblog in 1994, also called web log) is a personal or corporate website in the form of an online journal(diary) with new entries (reflections or opinions) appearing in sequence as they are written, commonly displayed in reverse chronological order, meaning 'new stuff' shows up at the top and the first blog becomes the last.
Probably the ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is the most useful feature of the blog.
Basically, a blog is a website, where we write stuff on an ongoing basis. The visitors can read, comment or email on it, or not. So blog is a diary, a daily pulpit, a collaborative space, a political soapbox, a breaking-news outlet, an educational tool, memos to friends (restricted access possible),or community, or even to the world, a collection of links etc. They come in all shapes and sizes.
Most interestingly, there are no rules. The blog, with self-restrained and responsible use within the "bloggers' code of conduct", can be a wonderful tool.
Blogs have reshaped the web and hence it impacted all walks of life including Bible study, church issues, life questions etc.
Now we are sure the deal is just kicking off and you will benefit from this great creation with amazing result. Enjoy it.