Mathematical Religion Trivia Quiz

Answer: 67

66 books in the Bible + 1 god = 67

According to Christian belief, there are 66 books in the Bible: 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. The Old Testament consists of information prior to the time of Jesus. The New Testament consists of information during and after the time of Jesus.

Mono means one, so a monotheistic religion only consists of one god. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are perhaps the three major monotheistic religions in the world.

Answer: 20

5 books in the Pentateuch * 4 gospels = 20

The Pentateuch consists of the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. All of these books were written by Moses. It begins with the creation of the world and ends with the beginning of Israel.

There are four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These books consist of various parts of Jesus's life. Each book focuses mainly on different parts of Jesus's life, which is why some things that may appear often in one book, occurs very little or not at all in the other books.

Answer: 2

6 realms of existence - 4 noble truths = 2

The 6 realms of existence are from lowest to highest: hell, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, anti-gods, gods. Buddhists believe in approximately 136 different types of hell, and it is here that the most amount of suffering occurs. It is in hell where the dharma or divine path is hardly even remembered, let alone practiced. The hungry ghosts realm consists of a desire or a greed that will most likely never be fulfilled. In the animal realm, there is ignorance. In the human realm, there is doubt. It is also in this realm only where liberation from all other states is possible. The anti-gods realm consists of jealousy and paranoia. The highest realm, the god realm, is where enlightenment can finally be reached.

The 4 noble truths of Buddhism discuss suffering in some way, because neither humans nor the world is perfect. The four noble truths are: All life is marked by suffering; Suffering is caused by desire; Suffering can be eliminated; Suffering is eliminated by the Eightfold Path. The four noble truths were originally discovered by the Buddha during his time of enlightenment.

Answer: 10

10 commandments / 1 day of rest = 10

Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai as a covenant between him and God. The Ten Commandments can be divided into two sections: the first four deals with God and the last six deals with people. They are: Have no gods before the Lord. Have no idols. Do not take the name of the Lord in vain. Keep the Sabbath holy. Honor your father and mother. Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not give false testimony. Do not covet. The stone tablets that the Ten Commandments were written on are one of the things stored in the Ark of the Covenant.

In the Bible, it is stated God created the heavens and the earth in seven days. However, only on the first six days did God create something. It was on the seventh and final day, and after creation had been completed, that God rested and made the seventh day a holy day.

Answer: 139

62 years for Muhammad + 77 years for Zoroaster = 139

Muhammad was the founder of Islam and was born in Mecca in 570AD. When he was 40 he had a revelation which led to him founding Islam. It was not well-received, and it took years of conflict before Muhammad was able to conquer Mecca, and later the Arabian Peninsula. He died in Medina on June 8th 632AD.

Zoroaster was the founder of Zoroastrianism. He was born in Iran in 628BC. When he was 30 he had a vision; following that, he traveled Persia preaching the message. Zoroaster died in 531BC. Neither the reason for his death nor his location of death is known. However, it is believed he was murdered during the storming of Balkh.

Answer: 35

7 sacraments * 5 times a day = 35

The sacraments began with Jesus. Not every Christian has to receive every sacrament. The seven sacraments are baptism, confirmation, Communion (also called Eucharist), penance and reconciliation, anointing of the sick, ordinance, and marriage. Baptism is when someone is fully admitted to the Christian church and usually consists of having water flow over the entire body to signify the death and resurrection of Jesus. Confirmation is when Christians receive the Holy Spirit. Communion is the eating of bread and drinking of wine to symbolize the body and blood of Jesus. This was first done with Jesus and the disciples at the Last Supper. Penance and anointing of the sick are spiritual healings when a baptized man has sinned. Holy Orders is when a man has become a prominent religious figure, such as a bishop or deacon. In marriage, the man and women must promise to be faithful to one another until death.

Muslims believe in the Five Pillars of Islam. One of those pillars is Salah, or the requirement to pray five times a day. Once a Muslim has hit puberty, this becomes a requirement. When praying, Muslims must face Mecca, the birthplace of their founder Muhammad. These five times are set periods: dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and night. To make the prayer valid, Muslims must pray at the correct time, face Mecca, wear clean clothes, cover parts of the body that are not to be seen in public, and be pure from hadath.

Answer: 1

4 purposes - 3 sons = 1

The four purposes of life are dharma, artha, kama, and moksha. Dharma is the righteous duty and is used to explain the reality of the universe. Artha is the purpose. Kama is the pleasure. Moksha is liberation from the cycle of one's life and is comparable to the afterlife of many religions. These four stages might be related to the four parts of the Vedas, a religious text of Hinduism. These roles are for men only as women are in a dependent role and may need a man's protection.

The first humans on Earth, Adam and Eve, were parents to three sons. From oldest to youngest, they are Cain, Abel, and Seth. Cain murdered his brother Abel after God rejected his sacrifice but accepted Abel's sacrifice. As a result of this murder, Eve gave birth to a new son, Seth. Abel became the first martyr. This is one of the similarities between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

Answer: 4

12 tribes / 3 wise men = 4

The twelve tribes of Israel consist primarily of sons of Jacob. The sons of Jacob that make up the tribes include Simeon, Levi, Gad, Issachar, Judah, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Asher, and Zebulun. The other two people who are part of the tribes of Israel are Ephraim and Manasseh, two sons of Joseph. Interestingly, even throughout the Bible, the names of the tribes are different, although each time there is 12 tribes. For example, in Revelation 6:5-8, the tribes are listed as Reuben and Joseph are listed in place of Dan and Ephraim.

When Jesus was born, wise men came from the east with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Because these were the three gifts that were recorded, it is believed there were three wise men although the number is not known for certain.

Answer: 13

9th plague + 4 castes = 13

The ten plagues of Egypt, in order, are blood, frogs, gnats, flies, disease on livestock, boils, fire, locusts, darkness, and death of the firstborn. These plagues were sent to convince the pharaoh to let the Jews leave Egypt and head to the Promised Land. It wasn't until the final plague that the pharaoh finally agreed to this.

The four castes of Hinduism are teachers/priests, warriors, merchants, and servants. It is based on a person's position in society. There is a fifth group of Hindus, called untouchables, who are not considered to be part of a caste, because of their low place in society. The origins of this caste system are unknown.

Answer: 84

7 deadly sins * 12 years of age = 84

The seven deadly sins are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. Despite being used in Christian teachings, a listing of these is not located in the Bible (unlike the twelve fruit of the Spirit). Lust is excessive desire for anything sexual. Gluttony is the overindulgence of anything. Greed is the excess of wealth. Currently, sloth is spiritual apathy, although the definition of this deadly sin has changed more so than the other six. Wrath is an uncontrollable feeling of anger. Envy is an excessive desire for material objects. Pride, the most serious deadly sin, is a high sense of one's own self. Pride is often considered to be the root of the other six deadly sins.

A bat mitzvah is a Jewish ceremony for when a female turns 12 and becomes an adult under Jewish law. By contrast, a man becomes an adult, and thus has his bar mitzvah, at the age of 13. It is customary to give the female gifts during her bat mitzvah. In some bat mitzvahs, the females, like the males, read from the Torah but among some Jews, females don't read from the Torah. Once a girl has her bat mitzvah, she has all the responsibilities of a Jewish female adult.