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NonCanonical Scripture Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
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Non-Canonical 'Scripture' Trivia

Non-Canonical 'Scripture' Trivia Quizzes

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When the New Testament was put together in the early days of the Christian Church there was a lot left out. This section is for those gospels and other writings which did not quite make the cut for one reason or another.
8 Non-Canonical 'Scripture' quizzes and 95 Non-Canonical 'Scripture' trivia questions.
1.
  Non-Canonical Gospels   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 20 Qns
Many first through third century Gospels were not selected for inclusion in the New Testament canon. This quiz surveys these early writings, including the Gospels of Thomas, Peter, Mary, and Nicodemous.
Tough, 20 Qns, skylarb, Oct 30 07
Tough
skylarb
984 plays
2.
  The Infancy Gospel of Thomas editor best quiz   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This "lost gospel" recounts some entertaining (and potentially enlightening) stories about Jesus' childhood. Take this quiz to find out more!
Average, 10 Qns, stuthehistoryguy, Jan 01 24
Average
stuthehistoryguy gold member
Jan 01 24
2111 plays
3.
  The Book of Enoch   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
This quiz will serve as an introduction to the Pseudepigraphal Book of Enoch, which was largely written during the intertestmental period and which is quoted in the New Testament.
Tough, 15 Qns, skylarb, Aug 05 09
Tough
skylarb
937 plays
4.
  Non-canonical Epistles    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Many early Christian epistles were not selected for inclusion in the New Testament canon. This quiz surveys those writings.
Tough, 10 Qns, skylarb, Oct 28 04
Tough
skylarb
725 plays
5.
  The Coptic Gospel of Thomas   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The modern discovery of the Coptic Gospel of Thomas created quite a stir. How much do you know about this apocryphal work?
Average, 10 Qns, skylarb, Jun 11 07
Average
skylarb
536 plays
6.
  Gnostic Gospels   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz overviews several gospels once used in the Gnostic community.
Tough, 10 Qns, skylarb, Jun 16 07
Tough
skylarb
864 plays
7.
  Non-Canonical Acts    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz surveys early, and largely legendary, Christian writings about the acts of the apostles.
Difficult, 10 Qns, skylarb, Nov 13 04
Difficult
skylarb
775 plays
8.
  The Pseudepigrapha    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz is about the collection of religious writings that, while often popular among believers, were not included in Jewish, Christian, or Protestant Bibles.
Tough, 10 Qns, skylarb, Feb 09 05
Tough
skylarb
655 plays
trivia question Quick Question
When were most of the Pseudepigrapha written?

From Quiz "The Pseudepigrapha"





Non-Canonical 'Scripture' Trivia Questions
1. What do Catholics call the Pseudepigrapha?

From Quiz The Pseudepigrapha

Answer: The Apocrypha

Protestants usually use the term Apocrypha to refer to the Catholic deuterocanonical books (those that are in the Catholic Old Testament but not in the Protestant Old Testament). Protestants then use the term Pseudepigrapha to refer to books that are outside of either canon, while Catholics call these extra-biblical books Apocrypha.

2. Which canonical, New Testament book quotes the Book of Enoch?

From Quiz The Book of Enoch

Answer: Jude

See Jude 1:14-15. Jude also contains other allusions to Enoch, and Jude also alludes to another Pseudepigraphal work, the Assumption of Moses.

3. What is an epistle?

From Quiz Non-canonical Epistles

Answer: A letter

The New Testament canon contains epistles written by Paul, Jude, John, and James, as well as the anonymous epistle to the Hebrews.

4. When was the Gospel of Mary most likely written?

From Quiz Gnostic Gospels

Answer: 2nd century AD

The Gnostic theology contained in the text, as well as the use of the term "Savior," means that a dating prior to the second century AD is unlikely.

5. The Gospel of Thomas was rediscovered in 1945. Where was it found?

From Quiz The Coptic Gospel of Thomas

Answer: Egypt

The gospel was discovered in 1945 as part of the Gnostic library at Nag Hammadi, Egypt. The Coptic manuscript was entirely preserved on papyrus. It is debated whether the gospel was authored by Gnostics, as the Gnostic library also contained many non-Gnostic texts.

6. When was the first collection of the Pseudepigrapha published in English?

From Quiz The Pseudepigrapha

Answer: 1913

It was edited by R.H. Charles and included the Catholic deuterocanonical books as well as several pseudepigraphal books.

7. Enoch was descended from Adam by how many generations?

From Quiz The Book of Enoch

Answer: 7

See Jude 1:14: "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam..."

8. Eusebius published an epistle from Jesus Christ to which king of Edessa?

From Quiz Non-canonical Epistles

Answer: Abgarus

The epistles to and from Jesus appeared in Eusebius's "Ecclesiastical History". In the epistles, Abgarus writes to invite Jesus to pay a visit, and Jesus writes back to decline. Few scholars would argue that the epistles are authentic, though they were popular among the common people.

9. A Gospel written by which group of Jewish Christians seems to have been an amalgam of Matthew, Mark and Luke?

From Quiz Non-Canonical Gospels

Answer: The Ebionites

We do not actually have the Gospel of the Ebionites, but from what we can read of it in other writings, it appears to have combined Matthew, Mark, and Luke, absent the miraculous birth and the claims to divinity. The Ebionites claimed to follow the teaching of James and denied Christ's divinity, teaching instead that he was only adopted as God's son at his baptism.

10. Many Gnostic Gospels take the form of a question and answer session between Jesus and his disciples. When do these periods of dialogue usually take place?

From Quiz Gnostic Gospels

Answer: After the resurrection

In the canonical Gospel of John, these sorts of question and answer sessions took place prior to the crucifixion, but in the Gnostic Gospels, they often occur after the Resurrection when Jesus is revealing additional mysteries to his disciples.

11. Chapters 3 and 4 of this work concern how Jesus reacts to adversity. In Chapter 3, a child scatters the pools that Jesus has purified, and in Chapter 4, another child runs into Jesus' shoulder. How does Jesus react in both instances?

From Quiz The Infancy Gospel of Thomas

Answer: He causes both children to die on the spot

Out of character as this may seem, these acts do seem in keeping with the Jesus who withers a fig tree in an apparent fit of pique (Matthew 21:19 and Mark 11:14). As a side note, the concept of Hell was very problematic in the Early Church, and no extant scripture that I know of fixes it as the concrete place suggested by the "red herring" answer above.

12. Who wrote the Pseudepigrapha?

From Quiz The Pseudepigrapha

Answer: Jews and Christians

"Pseudepigrapha" means "false inscription" and is the collective label given to the non-canonical religious books that were written by Jews and Christians and often attributed to Biblical characters.

13. What do we know about Enoch from the Old Testament?

From Quiz The Book of Enoch

Answer: He walked with God and was taken by God

See Genesis 6:19-24. Methuselah was the son of Enoch, not vice versa. It was Elijah who was caught up in a whirlwind.

14. Five early, noncanonical books about the acts of specific apostles survive. When were they written?

From Quiz Non-Canonical Acts

Answer: Second and third century

The canonical Acts of the Apostles was likely written in the last half of the first century, but these books focusing on the acts of individual Apostles followed later and are largely legendary in character.

15. In which non-canonical epistle, attributed to Paul, does the apostle say for his recipients to "think and act in fear" that they may have eternal life?

From Quiz Non-canonical Epistles

Answer: Laodiceans

1 Timothy and 2 Corinthians are both canonical. There is nothing unorthodox in this epistle to the Laodiceans; it was most likely excluded form the canon because it was considered a forgery.

16. Who was the first major historical figure (that we know of) to list a particular canon of Christian scripture?

From Quiz Non-Canonical Gospels

Answer: Marcion

The Gnostic Marcion's proposed canon contained ten letters of Paul (the letters we now have except for Timothy and Titus) and a single Gospel which may have been an edited version of Luke. The church may have been spurred to form the New Testament canon in response to Marcion's canon. Marcion excluded from his canon those books and letters and verses that seemed to imply that the God of the Old Testament was good and that creation was good, since he taught that the God of the Old Testament was evil and not the true God.

17. Women frequently appear in the Gnostic Gospels. Who plays an important role in the Dialogue of the Savior?

From Quiz Gnostic Gospels

Answer: Miriam

Miriam, along with Matthew, Judas, and other disciples asks Jesus questions. The gospel contains both positive and negative portrayals of women.

18. How many sayings of Jesus are contained in the Gospel of Thomas?

From Quiz The Coptic Gospel of Thomas

Answer: 114

Some have posited that these sayings may be one part of the hypothetical "Q" source, a source used for all of the synoptic gospels.

19. In Chapter 5, Joseph calls Jesus in for a private talk, admonishing him for his actions and warning him that their family is being persecuted because of Jesus' behavior. How does Jesus react?

From Quiz The Infancy Gospel of Thomas

Answer: He miraculously blinds all His accusers

In response, Joseph grabs Jesus' ear and gives it a hard yank. Irritated, Jesus responds cryptically: "Is it not enough for you to seek and not find; you have not acted at all wisely. Do you not know that I am yours? Do not grieve me."

20. When were most of the Pseudepigrapha written?

From Quiz The Pseudepigrapha

Answer: 200 BC - 200 AD

The term is generally used to refer to books written in this time frame, which is sometimes also referred to as the "intertestemental period". These books were all written after the last book of the Old Testament was written, but before the New Testament canon was closed.

21. What three places does Enoch tour in the Book of Enoch?

From Quiz The Book of Enoch

Answer: Earth, sheol, and heaven

The story is that Enoch--when God "took him"--was shown the mysteries of the universe and the whole future fate of humanity.

22. What beautiful woman and wife of Lycomedes does John raise from the dead?

From Quiz Non-Canonical Acts

Answer: Cleopatra

In the Acts of John, the son of Zebedee is portrayed as having a special power to raise the dead. In this story, Lycomedes is commander-in-chief of the Ephesians. In the book, John also resurrects Drusiana, another man's beautiful wife.

23. In a series of epistles, Paul has a discussion with which philosopher?

From Quiz Non-canonical Epistles

Answer: Seneca

There are a total of thirteen epistles attributed to Paul and Seneca. Seneca praises Paul for his wisdom and tells him he is determined to read Paul's epistles to Caesar. Because of these letters, St. Jerome listed Seneca among the holy writers of the Church. The epistles are thought by scholars to have been forged by a Christian or Christians who wondered why Paul seemed to be unknown to the leading figures of his day.

24. Which Gospel, containing 114 sayings of Jesus, was discovered in the wilderness near Nag Hammadi in 1945?

From Quiz Non-Canonical Gospels

Answer: Thomas

It was found among other Gnostic books and is thought by most scholars to express a Gnostic world view. There is some debate as to its date of authorship, though most scholars place it in the second century. Some of the sayings, however, are thought to trace back to the historical Jesus, and a few scholars have even argued that it predates the canonical Gospels. Many of the sayings are similar to those found in Matthew, Mark and Luke, and others are quite different.

25. Some scholars believe The Gospel of Truth may have been written by one of the prominent Gnostic teachers. Who is sometimes credited with authorship of the Gospel?

From Quiz Gnostic Gospels

Answer: Valentinus

According to Tertullian, Valentinus was once a candidate for bishop of Rome, but when he was not selected, he broke with the church and developed Gnostic doctrine.

26. The gospel begins, "These are the ___ sayings of Jesus." What word is missing from the quote?

From Quiz The Coptic Gospel of Thomas

Answer: Secret

The text goes on to say that "whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings shall not experience death." The emphasis on "secret" knowledge has lead many to believe that the work is definitively Gnostic.

27. The quality of Jesus' rhetoric impresses a scholar named Zachaeus, who proposes to teach Jesus to read and write. What does Zachaeus hope to accomplish by this?

From Quiz The Infancy Gospel of Thomas

Answer: He feels that Jesus will learn to respect and honor his elders, as well as love children his own age

Of course, this attempt to teach Jesus does not go as planned. Jesus immediately launches into a detailed interpretation of the allegorical meaning of the pen strokes that constitute the letter "Alpha". Zachaeus gives up in frustration and sorrow, admitting that this mere child is already more knowledgeable than he. It is intriguing, also, that the instruction given here seems to be in Greek, since the text repeatedly refers to the letters Alpha and Beta; "Zachaeus" is also a name of Greek derivation. This preference for Greek is made even more explicit in Chapter 11, when a later teacher proposes to instruct Jesus "first in Greek, then in Hebrew".

28. The pseudepigraphal Psalms of what King of Israel look forward to a time when the Messiah will purge the Gentiles from Jerusalem?

From Quiz The Pseudepigrapha

Answer: Solomon

The Psalms of Solomon is one of only five surviving Pseudepigraphal writings that contains Jewish (as opposed to Christian) traditions about the Messiah.

29. Which church father referred to the Book of Enoch as "Holy Scripture"?

From Quiz The Book of Enoch

Answer: Tertullian

The other three expressed a negative attitude toward the book, which soon lost favor outside of Ethiopia. Today, it is a part of the Ethiopian canon.

30. In the Acts of Thomas, to what country does Thomas take the gospel?

From Quiz Non-Canonical Acts

Answer: India

Because Thomas refuses to go to India, his own twin brother Jesus sells him into slavery to ensure that he will make the journey.

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