Answer: thurible
Some people refer to using incense as "smells". When a church also rings bells during the worship service at particular times, the same people talk about "smells and bells".
From Quiz: Religious Paraphernalia
Answer: The Gideons
The Gideons' goal is to place a Bible in every hotel/motel room at no charge to the establishment.
From Quiz: Religious Organizations
Answer: Divine Providence
It is good that the term "Divine Providence" was explained by our first grade teacher, in the simple term, as "God's loving care for us". "The "Summa Theologica", by St. Thomas Aquinas, developed the understanding and definition of the doctrine of Divine Providence for Catholic theology. There is much discussion about the most exact meaning of this term in the theology of many Christian sects. A Dominican Father, Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, updates Aquinas on Divine Providence, in his book entitled "Providence: God's loving care for man and the need for confidence in Almighty God" (1932). As a first grade student, "God's loving care" served us well as taught by Sister St. Richard IHM (Sister Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary).
From Quiz: Memorizing the Baltimore Catechism
Answer: His name
Revelation 13:17 literally states that the number of the beast is "the number of his name": "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."
The number of the beast is mentioned a few times in the Bible, but the actual number 666 is only mentioned once, in Revelation 13:18: "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."
Three items are mentioned here - the mark, the name and the number of the beast, with the latter being 666. Some sources interpret all three to mean the same thing - the mark of the beast. Other sources maintain that they are three different things, with the name and number being used to identify the beast, and the mark being something completely different.
Incidentally, people have tried to assign the number 666 to dates (such as the death of Pope John Paul II) and locations (such as the coordinates of Jerusalem).
From Quiz: 666: The Number, the Mark, the Beast
Answer: Corpse
The name comes from the Old English "lic", meaning a corpse. In the Middle Ages, bodies being taken to the church for burial were placed on a bier under the lych-gate, where the first part of the burial service was read, prior to being taken either into the church or to the graveside itself.
From Quiz: An English Country Church
Answer: Holy water
The container usually looks like a small bowl. It is called a stoup, and found near the entrances of the church. A larger object, called a font, also carries holy water, and is used in baptisms.
From Quiz: Sacramentals
Answer: As prophesies once made about him
In Paul's letter to Timothy, the teachings that were given to Timothy were actually instructions for his ministry in Ephesus. In 1 Timothy 1:3, Paul asks Timothy to warn those about various false teachings of the word and to make those aware that men have wandered away from righteousness. Now in verse 18, it says that those instructions and teachings Timothy received from Paul were based on prophesies that were once made about him so that he can fight the good fight. The meaning behind that verse seems to be that Timothy received a prophetic word regarding this during his ordination ceremony. That is primarily the reason behind Paul's instruction to Timothy.
From Quiz: Christian Living
Answer: The World Wide Church of God
The church was originally founded by Herbert Armstrong as a radio ministry, and it came to be known as the Radio Church of God, later the World Wide Church of God (WCG). The WCG once had many controversial doctrines that departed from mainstream Christian doctrine, but many of these were revised by leadership upon the death of its founder. The WCG is now a member of the National Association of Evangelicals and claims over 60,000 members.
From Quiz: Christian Denominations Part Two
Answer: 1549
Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury under Henry VIII and Edward VI, was the primary architect of the Book of Common Prayer. When England broke ties with the Roman Catholic Church in 1532, Cranmer was given the task of creating English-language books for use in liturgy. His first effort in 1532 was very conservative, still very Catholic in form, and was merely a translation from Latin into English of books already in use (Cranmer could be accused of plagiarism!). In 1538, after meeting with a Lutheran embassy, he produced the first real English language book (The Exhortation and Litany) for use in Church of England worship. Henry was not terribly keen on it since it was somewhat too Protestant for his taste. With the death of Henry in 1547 and the the accession to the throne of the boy king Edward VI, Cranmer really got going and produced the Book of Common Prayer.
From Quiz: Praying by the Book
Answer: Absolution
There are two methods of absolution - the indicative and the precatory. In the indicative, the absolver uses such formulae as "I absolve you (or thee)", whereas in the precatory, the priest or bishop prays formally that God will forgive a person or a congregation.
From Quiz: Holy Miscellany!
Answer: 153
John 21:11 "Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn."
From Quiz: An Important Animal in Christianity
Answer: Episcopal
The Church of England, or Anglican Church, was also planted in the English colonies. In the United States, it became known as the Episcopal Church, and even today Episcopals are sometimes referred to as Anglicans. In colonial times, the Episcopal Church achieved a status almost akin to that of an established church in both Maryland and Virginia.
From Quiz: Christian Denominations
Answer: thurifer
From this question and the previous one you have probably made the connection that the root of both "thurible" and "thurifer" is "thur". "Thur" means incense.
From Quiz: Religious Paraphernalia
Answer: The Salvation Army
Their officers are commissioned to preach the gospel. The kettle attendees, who collect donations, are volunteers often not associated with the denomination.
From Quiz: Religious Organizations
Answer: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers
The Pentateuch are the first five books of the Old Testament, referred to in the Jewish tradition as the Torah. Notice the Greek root word "penta," which means "five." These five books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
From Quiz: Christianity and the Bible in Threes
Answer: Hand or forehead
Revelation 13:16 states that the mark will be "in their right hand or in their foreheads", while Revelation 14:9 states "in his forehead or in his hand", and Revelation 20:4 states "upon their foreheads or in their hands". The use of "in" versus "upon" has led to some interesting interpretations, with some sources believing that the mark will not be literally visible on a person but rather held in the hand or kept as knowledge within the forehead.
From Quiz: 666: The Number, the Mark, the Beast
Answer: Gargoyle
The word gargoyle is believed to derive from the French "gargouille", meaning a throat. In church architecture, a "chimera" or "grotesque" is similar to a gargoyle but is purely decorative - without the practical function of a water spout.
Gargoyles often take the form of demonic or devilish creatures. However, examples do exist that have been carved in the representation of real people, such as members of the clergy at the time when the gargoyle was made.
From Quiz: An English Country Church
Answer: 73
In most Protestant Bibles, there are 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. However, in the Catholic Bible, there are 7 extra books in the Old Testament known as the Apocrypha. Those books not listed in Protestant Bibles are Tobit, Judith, 1st and 2nd Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, and Baruch. While the Catholic Old Testament has 46 books, their New Testament has 27 books just like in Protestant religions.
From Quiz: Christian Living
Answer: The Moravian Church
The name means "Unity of the Brethren." The church is also sometimes called the Bohemian Brethren because its heritage began in 14th century Bohemia in what is today the Czech Republic. The church places a priority on both Christian unity and personal piety.
From Quiz: Christian Denominations Part Two
Answer: Thomas Cranmer
Archbishop Cranmer drew the content of the Book of Common Prayer from several different sources: the Missal for Holy Communion; the Manual for the occasional liturgies - Baptism, Marriage, Burial; and the Pontifical for those services presided over by a bishop - Confirmation and Ordination. He based his services on those used primarily in the south of England, known as the Sarum Rite or Use of Sarum. In the 1552 version which he produced, he shows the influence that the German reformer Martin Bucer, the Italian reformer Peter Martyr and even his chaplain, Thomas Becon, had on his churchmanship and theological thinking.
From Quiz: Praying by the Book
Answer: Ablutions
There was a time when this ecclesiastical chore fell to the Celebrant. Nowadays, the lay Communion administrants, sacristan, acolytes or others who are part of the eucharistic team perform this office.
From Quiz: Holy Miscellany!
Answer: Matthew 4:19
This was said to the two brothers, Simon Peter and Andrew as they were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. Jesus said this to call them to be his disciples.
From Quiz: An Important Animal in Christianity
Answer: Church of the Brethren
This baptismal practice earned the Brethren the nickname of "Dunkards."
From Quiz: Christian Denominations
Answer: All of these are correct
A chapter in Umberto Eco's masterful novel "The Name of the Rose" is entitled "After Compline" which suggests that the events in it occurred after the 14th-century Italian Benedictine monks in the story had gone to bed.
From Quiz: Someone Chanted Evening
Answer: YMCA
The Village People performed a rousing version of this song that, when I first heard it, thought was a public service announcement for the 'Y'. The initials stand for Young Men's Christian Association.
From Quiz: Religious Organizations
Answer: Nero
The number 666 is believed by some biblical scholars to be a code for the Roman Emperor Nero, who was brutally oppressive towards Christians. He was also alleged to issue certificates (marks) to those people of whom he approved, and those without such certificates were prevented from participating in commerce. A literal reading of Revelation 13:17 supports the idea that numbers were used for a name and that the mark was needed to participate in trade: "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."
Numbers were assigned to Greek and Hebrew letters, and summing the numbers resulted in a value for a name. In Nero's case, his name in Greek totaled 666. However, the numbering of letters has also been creatively used to indicate others throughout the ages including Martin Luther, Adolf Hitler and Henry Kissinger.
From Quiz: 666: The Number, the Mark, the Beast
Answer: Bells
To the casual visitor, the bells are commonly much more audible than visible. Most English country churches will have at least one bell, used primarily to signal the times of church services. Those with five or more bells will often have their own teams of bell-ringers, although sadly some are only chimed mechanically.
Alfred Bowell had a bell-foundry in Ipswich from 1897-1940. Thomas Mears II operated out of the still-working Whitechapel bell-foundry (1810-1844). The Taylor bell-foundry in Loughborough is also still in operation.
From Quiz: An English Country Church
Answer: Touching one knee to the floor
Genuflection is often accompanied by making the Sign of the Cross. It may be done upon entering or leaving the church, and after receiving Communion. It is a sign of respect to the "Real Presence" of Christ in the Eucharist.
From Quiz: Sacramentals
Answer: Lutherans
Lutherans believe that in Holy Communion, Jesus' body and blood is taken supernaturally through the bread and the wine. This has been a mystery for a long time and up to this day.
From Quiz: Christian Living
Answer: The United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is not to be confused with the Churches of Christ, which is a loose affiliation of individual churches growing out of the 19th century Restoration movement.
From Quiz: Christian Denominations Part Two
Answer: 21
The Book of Common Prayer includes liturgies for all services,with special liturgies for High and Holy days like Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and literally covers Anglican life from the cradle to the grave. In addition to liturgies, the Prayer Book contains a complete psalter, readings for every Sunday of the year and for High and Holy days, a Calendar of Saints, a Table of Kindred and Affinity (so that one knows whom one may legally marry!), a Catechism, the 39 Articles of Faith, prayers for private use, and more besides. My favourite is the Creed of St. Athanasius, which is rarely if ever used in worship (the use of the Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed are ordered for Morning Prayer and Holy Communion respectively). The Creed of St. Athanasius is a dandy soporific and I read it when I'm having difficulty falling asleep!
From Quiz: Praying by the Book
Answer: Gospel
The word gospel is derived from the Old English godspel, meaning good news. John-Michael Tebelak wrote 'Godspell' as his master's thesis in theatre at Carnegie-Mellon University. He was the drama director at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York. Tebelak wrote 'Godspell' as a reaction to a very boring, joyless Easter service he had attended. In his words, "It was as though they had pushed Jesus back into the tomb rather than celebrating the resurrection!" He wanted to create something that would express the joy of Easter. At one time, Tebelak had thought of entering the Episcopalian (Anglican) priesthood before the theatre bug bit him. 'Godspell' was originally presented at Carnegie-Mellon, and, later, Stephen Schwarz, who wrote the score and the lyrics (all except for 'By My Side' which was written by two of the original cast members) and Tebelak mounted the show off-Broadway, where it played over 2,000 shows. It graduated to Broadway proper and ran for 527 performances. Since then, 'Godspell' has hit the stage in every part of the world, it seems. Trivia Note: The lyrics for the song 'Day by Day' are borrowed from the Prayer of St. Richard of Chichester (1197-1253) - "O Holy Jesus, most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother, let me know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, day by day." - which just happens to be one of my favourite prayers.
From Quiz: Holy Miscellany!
Answer: To pay the temple tax
Matthew 17:27 "But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours." At that time, the temple tax was two drachmas worth.
From Quiz: An Important Animal in Christianity
Answer: Churches of Christ
The Church of Christ (or Churches of Christ) broke off from the Disciples of Christ in the early 1900's. This happened because some believers objected to the use of musical instruments in worship and to the formation of mission societies. Members of the Churches of Christ do not consider themselves to be members of a denomination, and they refer to themselves simply as Christians. The United Church of Christ is not related to the Churches of Christ; rather, it resulted from a merger of the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church. It is considerably more ecumenical than the Churches of Christ.
From Quiz: Christian Denominations
Answer: chalice
The origin of the word "chalice" traces from English to Old French to Latin and back to Greek. The root of the word means "cup".
From Quiz: Religious Paraphernalia
Answer: Simeon
The English title for this canticle is "The Song of Simeon." According to Saint Luke, Simeon was an old man of Jerusalem who had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had actually seen the Messiah. When Joseph and Mary brought Jesus into the Temple at Jerusalem to be dedicated, Simeon recognized the Baby Messiah and spoke these verses, indicating that the promise was fulfilled and he was ready to die.
From Quiz: Someone Chanted Evening
Answer: Society of St. Vincent de Paul
Featured in the story and film, "Angela's Ashes", it offers charitable gifts for re-sale to the general public. The proceeds fund various charitable programs and services.
From Quiz: Religious Organizations
Answer: 3 John, 2 John, Philemon
The five shortest books are:
1. 3 John has 219 words.
2. 2 John has 245 words.
3. Philemon has 335 words.
4. Jude has 461 words.
5. Titus has 659 words.
Notice that they are all in the New Testament. The exact word counts vary from translation to translation.
From Quiz: Christianity and the Bible in Threes
Answer: Barcode
The barcode became a popular candidate for being the mark of the beast because it was both a mark and a number and because it was tied to commerce, as indicated in Revelation 13:17: "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."
Barcodes work by assigning shapes or lines of different widths to each number. Some sources maintain that the "guard bars" (the lines on the ends and the middle of the standard Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode) are the code for the number 6; hence, every barcode contains 666. In actuality, the symbol for the number 6 is similar (even the barcode developer, George Laurer, admits this on his website), but it isn't exactly the same as the guard bars.
From Quiz: 666: The Number, the Mark, the Beast
Answer: Water - it's for use during the baptismal service
Fonts are not usually kept filled with water except during a baptism or christening. There may indeed be a collection box by the door, but don't worry about your shoes - there is no ban on wearing them in Anglican churches. And churches usually have electric light these days.
From Quiz: An English Country Church
