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Quiz about The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

"The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins Quiz

The great biologist and renowned atheist Richard Dawkins takes on the Almighty in the book "The God Delusion". Here are ten multiple choice questions from that book.

A multiple-choice quiz by oofahlandian. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
oofahlandian

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
249,222

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
301

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. To which writer of fiction mentioned often throughout this work is the book dedicated? Hint

Stephen King

Douglas Adams

Terry Pratchett

Terry Jones

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Question 2 of 10

2. In the Preface, Dawkins insists most strenuously that one cannot refer to a "Christian Child". What is his reasoning? Hint

All of these

He or she is the "child of Christian parents"

A child is too young to determine his or her religion

Children are indoctrinated into their religion

3. What physicist is quoted from "The Pale Blue Dot" as saying: "How is that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, 'This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant?' Instead they say 'No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way'"? Hint

Isaac Asimov

Steven Hawking

Richard Dawkins

Carl Sagan

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Question 4 of 10

4. What American naturalist of the 19th century said "The religion of one age is the literary entertainment of the next"? Hint

Ralph Waldo Emerson

John Stuart Mill

Walt Whitman

None of These

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Question 5 of 10

5. What founding father of the United States said, "The Christian God is a being of terrific character -- cruel, vindictive, capricious and unjust"? Hint

Thomas Jefferson

John Adams

George Washington

John Quincy Adams

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Question 6 of 10

6. What US televangelist once told his audience of believers that God would kill him unless they sent him $8 million? Hint

Oral Roberts

Jim Bakker

Pat Robertson

Jimmy Swaggert

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Question 7 of 10

7. Which President of the United States signed the treaty with Tripoli which declared "... the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion..."? Hint

John Kennedy

Abraham Lincoln

John Adams

Woodrow Wilson

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Question 8 of 10

8. This is the beginning of a famous atheist's argument. Who argued it? "If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense." Hint

Carl Sagan

Bertrand Russell

Albert Einstein

John Lennon

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Question 9 of 10

9. What is an example of a "why-question" according to Dawkins that is not worthy of legitimate thought? Hint

Why are unicorns hollow?

Where does the Purple Spaghetti Monster reside?

All of These

Why are birds square?

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Question 10 of 10

10. Complete the quote by Dawkins: "How many literalists have read enough of the Bible to know that _____ is prescribed for adultery, for gathering sticks on the Sabbath, and for cheeking your parents?" Hint

The Death Penalty

Exile

Eternal Damnation

None of These

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. To which writer of fiction mentioned often throughout this work is the book dedicated?

Answer: Douglas Adams

The late Douglas Adams was the creator of the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe" trilogy of... well, five books. He was also a devout atheist who attributed his conversion to the first two evolution books written by Dawkins. The full dedication is "IN MEMORIAM Douglas Adams (1952-2001) 'Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too'"?

2. In the Preface, Dawkins insists most strenuously that one cannot refer to a "Christian Child". What is his reasoning?

Answer: All of these

To paraphrase Dawkins, children are too young to take a stand on politics or economics, much less the belief in the supernatural. A child born in the US will likely be of Christian parents and therefore indoctrinated into the Christian faith. The same child born in Iran will likely be born of Muslim parents and therefore be indoctrinated into the Muslim faith.

In conclusion, Dawkins tells us that we should refer to a "child of Christian parents" instead of a "Christian Child."

Answer: Carl Sagan

The pale blue dot mentioned in the title is Earth itself as viewed from Voyager 1 taken in 1990 more than four billion miles from the planet.

4. What American naturalist of the 19th century said "The religion of one age is the literary entertainment of the next"?

Answer: Ralph Waldo Emerson

This quote introduces Chapter 2, "The God Hypothesis". Emerson's works include: "Nature", "The Transcendentalist", and "English Traits".

5. What founding father of the United States said, "The Christian God is a being of terrific character -- cruel, vindictive, capricious and unjust"?

Answer: Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson, like most founding fathers, regardless of their respective religious views or lack thereof, were secularists, believing that government had no business being involved in any way with religion.

6. What US televangelist once told his audience of believers that God would kill him unless they sent him $8 million?

Answer: Oral Roberts

Suprisingly ("almost unbelievably" is the term Dawkins uses), the money came in and, for better or worse, Mr. Roberts was NOT stricken down by God.

Answer: John Adams

The treaty was drafted in 1796 with George Washington's blessing and then signed by Adams the following year.

Answer: Bertrand Russell

This is called Russell's Teapot or the Celestial Teapot. He goes on: "If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in [the teapot's] existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquistor in an earlier time."

9. What is an example of a "why-question" according to Dawkins that is not worthy of legitimate thought?

Answer: Why are unicorns hollow?

"The fact that a question can be phrased in a grammatically correct English sentence doesn't make it meaningful, or entitle it to our serious attention."

Answer: The Death Penalty

This is straight from Exodus.

Source: Author oofahlandian

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