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Religion

PART ONE: Ancient Mythologies

  1. In Greek mythology, who were the only three goddesses to remain virgins?
    Athena, Artemis, and Hestia

  2. Name the parents of the following Greek gods:
    1. Apollo
      Zeus & Leto
    2. Hebe
      Zeus & Hera
    3. Helios
      Hypherion & Thea
    4. Leto
      Coeus & Phoebe
    5. Dionysus
      Zeus & Semele

  3. Name the Roman equivalent to the following Greek gods:
    1. Eos
      Aurora
    2. Hestia
      Vesta
    3. Cronus
      Saturn
    4. the Moerae
      The Fatae (Fates)
    5. Demeter
      Ceres

  4. Odin, the chief of the Norse gods, had two ravens which perched on his shoulder and brought him the news of the world. Name them.
    Hugin & Mugin

  5. The Norse god Balder, was fated to die. Yet his mother Frigg tried to save him by making every living thing promise to do him no harm. She neglected one insignificant shrub, and a twig from this shrub eventually killed Balder. Name it.
    Mistletoe

PART TWO: Roman Catholicism

  1. What was the chief doctrinal pronouncement of the first Vatican council?
    That the Pope is infallible

  2. For every Pope who has reigned in this century, give his name as Pope, the dates of his reign, and for extra credit, his real name.
    A: Leo XIII (1878-1903); Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Aloisio Pecci
    St. Pius X (1903-1914); Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto
    Benedict XV (1914-1922); Giacomo Giambattista, marchese della Chiesa
    Pius XI (1922-1939); Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti
    Pius XII (1939-1958); Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli
    John XXIII (1958-1963); Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli
    Paul VI (1963-1978); Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini
    John Paul I (one month in 1978); Albino Luciani
    John Paul II (1978-present (at the time, 1986); Karol Jozef Wojtyla

  3. For the following causes or vocations, name the patron saint, and give his or her feast day:
    1. Comedians
      Genesius (Aug. 25), Lawrence (Aug. 10), Vitus (June 15)
    2. Dysentery sufferers
      POLYCARP (Feb. 23); Lucy of Syracuse (Dec. 13)
    3. Funeral directors
      JOSEPH of ARIMATHEA (Mar. 17); Dismas (Mar. 25)
    4. Postal workers
      GABRIEL the ARCHANGEL (Sept. 29)
    5. Skin diseases
      St. George (Apr. 23); Marculf (May 1); Peregrine Laziosi (aka Peregrinus) (May 1); Roch (Aug. 16)
    (NOTE: As you can see, there are multiple saints for certain causes. The capitalized names are more likely than the others to have been the official answer sought by My Second Favorite Organ.)

PART THREE: The Bible

  1. Name the only book of the Bible which does not mention the name of God.
    Esther

  2. Cite the gospel passage recited by Linus to explain the true meaning of Christmas, in "A Charlie Brown Christmas."
    Luke 2: 8-14

  3. The Apocrypha are Bible texts not acknowledged by all faiths. Name the books of the Apocrypha. (The Revised Standard version is the authoritative text here.)
    The following texts comprise the Deuterocanonical books: First Book of Esdras; Second Book of Esdras; Tobias; Judith; Additions to Esther; Wisdom; Baruch; Epistle of Jeremiah; Book of Susanna; The Book of Bel and the Dragon; Prayer of Manasseh; First Book of Macabees; Second Book of Macabees; Sirach; Prayer of Azariah; Paul to the Laodiceans
    The following six books are apocryphal texts which have not been canonized: The Gospel of Thomas; The Sibylline Oracles; The Book of Enoch; Slavonic Life of Adam and Eve; The Books of Adam and Eve; The Book of Jasher.

  4. Name the months of the Jewish calendar.
    Nisan; Iyar; Sivan; Tammuz; Av; Elul; Tishrei; Cheshvan; Kislev; Tevet; Shevat; Adar

PART FOUR: Church and State

  1. The first legislation passed in one state was a resolution "to adopt the laws of God until there is time to frame better." Name that state.

  2. In Angle vs. Vitale, the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the so-called "Regents Prayer," a non-denominational prayer composed by the New York Board of Regents for recitation in public schools. Give the text of the Regents Prayer.
    "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessing upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country"

  3. Name all of the countries which have established Islam as their official state religion. (There are 23.)
    This question was already excessive and boring in 1986

  4. Name the man who immediately succeeded Thomas Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury.
    Richard of Dover