Archive for the ‘christianity’ Tag
I’m not a religious person but I’ve always been curious about how and when all of the religions were founded. Every story is as ridiculous as can be but I still remain curious. I know many of you Christians out there are firm believers but believing in things that are unknown and unprovable brings out my skeptical side and lack of faith. That skepticism prompted this short quiz to see just how much all of you believers know about religion. Have fun with it because it isn’t all that easy. As always the answers will be listed below.
- Only one book mentions the name of God in the Bible. Which one?
- What mythological beast as the head of a man, the body of a lion, and the tail and feet of a dragon?
- According to the Bible, what substance was used to caulk Noah’s Ark and to seal the basket in which the infant Moses was set adrift on the Nile?
- In the Bible, which of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse rides a red horse?
- What country was the world’s first constitutionally atheistic state?
- What name is the most common in the Bible-shared by 32 people in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament?
- What is the meaning of orbium phonographicorum theca, one of the words the Vatican has added to the Latin language in a bid to keep up to date?
- How many decks were there on Noah’s ark?
- “Salt of the Earth”, “Feet of Clay”, “Apple of My Eye”, are all clichés from the Bible. What is there common source?
- According to the Bible, in which city were the disciples of Jesus first called Christians?
Answers
Esther, the Manticore, Pitch, or natural asphalt, War, Albania 1967-1990, Zachariah, Discothèque, Three (Genesis 6:16), The King James Bible, Antioch (Acts 11:26)
I just thought today would be a good day to congratulate the Philadelphia Eagles for one of the greatest games I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching in recent years. I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Steelers fan and I’m supposed to hate the Eagles no matter what. The hell with that, they looked unbelievable and unbeatable. The cherry on top of the game was Saquon Barkley becoming the greatest running back in the NFL. No true sports fan can ask for more than that. I won’t even mention all of the ridiculous half-time hip-hop BS because it was an insult to America. I don’t understand why we still wonder why the rest of the world has such a low opinion of us. I’ll end this rant on sports by offering many kudos to the Philadelphia team along with a friendly warning; the Steelers will be back next year and hopefully they’ll remember how it feels to be the reigning champs and play accordingly.
Today’s post is something that’s apparently popular to my readers because every time I post a quiz the responses have been excellent. As anyone that reads this blog knows I’m not a religious person, but today’s quiz is going to test your knowledge about religion. I’m not claiming to have all these answers, but I’ll bet you don’t either. As always, the answers will be shown at the bottom of the post.
- Who was the only Englishman to become Pope?
- How tall was Goliath, the Philistine giant slain by David with a stone hurled from a sling?
- What language is Jesus believed to have spoken?
- What was the first town in the United States to be given a Biblical name?
- What does the word “amen” really mean?
- According to the Bible, how many pearly gates are there?
- According to the Bible, on what day did God divide land and water?
- How many people were on Noah’s Ark?
- How high were the walls of Jericho before they came tumbling down?
- In what language was the New Testament originally written?
ANSWERS
Nicholas Breakspear who was Pope Adrian IV, “Six cubits and a span” or 11’9″, Aramaic, Salem-Massachusetts, “So be it”, 12, On the third day, 8, 21 ft, Greek
I hope all of you had an enjoyable Easter holiday. With that in mind I thought I’d offer up a little religious history and trivia. While I’m not all that religious I certainly enjoy anything concerning history whether it be mythological or factual. Enjoy.
- The egg has become the symbol for Easter because it began as an ancient symbol of new life and considered a fitting symbol for the Resurrection.
- A Bible published in London in 1632 became known as the Wicked Bible. It was called that because the word “not” was missing from the seventh commandment, making it “Thou shalt commit adultery.”
- Few people know that one of the most famous structures in Greek mythology was built by a man named Epeius. It was the Trojan horse.
- A bird was credited with saving Rome from attack by the Gauls in 390 B.C. The bird was a goose and according to legend its honking alerted the Romans to a night raid by the Gauls.
- The political-religious movement, Rastafarianism, is named after former Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie who at his coronation was titled Ras Tafari.
- The Vatican’s Sistine Chapel was named after Pope Sixtus IV who had it built as a private papal chapel.
- When the American Foundation for the Blind recorded the entire 774,000-word King James version of the Bible in 1944, it took 84 1/2 hours.
- The King James version of the Bible was the common source for a number of clichés; “Salt of the earth”, “Feet of clay”, and “Apple of my eye”.
- The seven cardinal virtues are prudence, temperance, fortitude, justice, faith, love, and hope.
- The seven deadly sins are pride, covetousness, lust, gluttony, anger, envy and sloth.
And here is a bit of bonus trivia concerning Pope John Paul II. His talents extended beyond the realm of his calling. He was also a gifted writer and musician. His 1979 record album, “At the Festival of the Sacro Song” sold over 1 million copies.
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IT’S EASIER TO PREACH TEN SERMONS THAN TO LIVE JUST ONE
Over the years I’ve voiced my opinions concerning people obsessed with the supernatural and occult. Unfortunately, I haven’t always been kind in my criticisms and opinions about them. I’ve never been a believer of these superstitions like black cats walking in front of me or walking under a ladder. I always thought them silly, without basis in fact, just superstitious nonsense passed down from generations who apparently didn’t have a clue either. I hate to admit it, but I may have to eat my words.
While I totally scoff at almost everything superstitious, I discovered quite by accident that I’ve been paying closer attention to one superstition over the years and didn’t realize it. My obsession is and has been the number three. For most of my life I considered that my lucky number and if something occurred where I had to make choices and the number three was involved, I always picked number three. I don’t know why, it wasn’t planned, and I really didn’t realize the extent of the human races’ obsession with that number until now. So, I decided to do a little more research which opened my eyes even further. Here’s my homage to the number 3.
THE GENIE GAVE ME THREE WISHES
Three is the average number of seconds visitors to an Art gallery spent in front of each painting. Triceratops means three horned faces. Three goals are a hat trick. A triathlon is a three-part swim, run, and cycle competition. Any national flag made of three bands of color is a tricolor. The Three Musketeers in the novel by Alexander Dumas’s are Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. Dante’s Divine Comedy is structured around the number three, alluding to the holy Trinity. That book has three parts; Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso – each divided into 33 cantos in terza rima (three-line stanzas).
In Greek mythology, the three Fates control birth, life, and death; the three Furies upheld sacred laws; and the three Graces bestowed beauty and charm. The ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans all had Trinity’s of God’s. Jupiter’s symbol is a three-forked bolt of lightning, Neptune’s a three-pronged trident, and Pluto’s, a three headed dog. Hindus worship the trinity of Brahma, the Creator; Vishnu, the Perseverer; and Shiva, the Destroyer.
In Christianity, Christ represents one third of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Ghost); he was visited by three wiseman at his birth; 33 years later, after Judas betrayed him for 30 pieces of silver and Peter denied him three times, he was crucified at 3 PM and rose from the dead three days later.
Time is threefold: past, present, and future. Pythagoras called three the perfect number, denoting beginning, middle, and end. The strongest shape is a triangle. The three states of matter are solid, liquid, and gas. Earth is the third planet from the sun. White light is made from three primary colors: red, blue, and green. The three primary colors of pigment are red, yellow, and blue, whose totality is black.
I suspect that all of the number three’s I listed above are only a small sampling of the use of the number three. Over the course of my existence, I’ve been subconsciously pelted with the number three in virtually every phase of my life. How could I not have three as my favorite number? Brainwashing at its absolute best.
REMEMBER THOSE “THREE LITTLE WORDS” TOO!
I am not now or ever have been considered a religious person. I’ve read as much information as I could find on almost every major religion over the years. It was my vain attempt to convince myself one way or the other that such a thing was necessary in my life. I accomplished my goal but it left me with volumes of information on religions both interesting and some not so much. Today I’ll post some strange but true religious trivia and you can do with it what you will.
- The temple of all faiths: Birla Temple in New Delhi, India, includes separate areas for worship for every known religion.
- It was not until the fourth century that the church (Christianity) began to celebrate the feast of Christmas.
- The first Bible printed in America in 1663 was a translation into the Algonkian language.
- The word “and” appears 46,277 times in the King James version of the Bible.
- Hijmar, a holy man of Benares, India, held his left arm in the same position for 12 years.
- The first book digest: Dubash Meghji, of Zanzibar., ate one page of the Koran each day for thirty years.
- Each year Shia Muslims in Ahmadabad, India, mourn the death of Imam Husain, a descendant of the prophet Mohammad, by whipping themselves with knife-tipped chains.
- In 1993, Israel’s telephone company offered a service for people to fax messages to God, to be placed in the Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall.
- Forty nuns at a convent in Stetyl, the Netherlands, have maintained a continuous prayer in their chapel for ninety-eight years.
- The people who worship a nail: The Maria Gonds of Chandra, India, pray only to a 12 inch spike.
- In 1685 a church bell from a Protestant chapel in France was whipped and burned after being charged with “inflaming the hearts of heretics”.
- Prayer stones addressed to Egyptian god Ra and sold to worshippers in Ancient Egypt had large ears engraved on them – so Ra would be sure to hear their messages.
- In 1992 a historic church in Melle, France, installed a juke box that plays Gregorian chants, Tibetan mantras, and Jewish liturgical music.
And last but not least:
- Ancient Egyptian priests in 450 b.c. trained baboons to sweep out their temples.
CAN I GET AN AMEN?
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