Familiar Hymns Trivia Quiz

Answer: Onward, Christian Soldiers

This hymn is based on Timothy 2:3 which says: "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." Sabine Baring-Gould is the acknowledged composer but the original has undergone changes both in lyrics and melody.

"Onward, Christian Soldiers" is reported to have been Winston Churchill's favorite hymn. It is often played at military funerals as was the case with Dwight Eisenhower. Some Christian groups object to the hymn as they believe it encourages militarism and war.

The Salvation Army is a protestant movement and bases its hierarchy on a military nomenclature. The Salvation Army has used music to attract converts and to carry on its charitable activities.

Answer: Slaves

His sense of remorse for his libertine youth is reflected in the words of "Amazing Grace":

"Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see."

As a sailor impressed into the navy, his career was marked by a pattern of disobedience even to renouncing Christian principles. He was able after his conversion on the slave-trader to ascend to high posts within the church despite not having a formal degree.

Answer: plenty

This hymn has its base in Psalm 23 which reads in part: "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies" The composition was written in 1992 by Dan Schutte. Schutte is composer-in-residence at the University of San Francisco. He has a forty year career as a composer of liturgy and worship music. "Table of Plenty" is one of his most recorded hymns.

Answer: Latin

"Ave Maria" is sung in Latin. In the Catholic denomination Mary or Maria is regarded as an intercessor to Jesus. Some Protestant churches also carry on this tradition. The bulk of Protestant denominations revere Mary as the mother of Jesus but not as an intercessor of prayer.

"Ave Maria" or "Hail Mary" has been passed down for centuries and is believed to be based on language from the Gospel of Luke. It has been traced to a Gregorian chant and a number of melodies.

Answer: Billy Sunday

Billy Sunday was a major league baseball player who became an evangelist. One of his musical staff, Homer Rodeheaver, brought "The Old Rugged Cross" to his attention and it became the musical centerpiece to his crusades.

There is a long list of stars who have recorded "The Old rugged Cross", among them Al Green, Andy Griffith, Anne Murray, Brad Paisley, Chet Atkins, Elvis Presley, Floyd Cramer, George Jones, Jim Reeves, Johnny Cash and June Carter, Kevin Max, Mahalia Jackson, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Ray Price, Ricky Van Shelton, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans,[5] The Oak Ridge Boys, The Statler Brothers, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Alan Jackson, and George Beverly Shea.

Answer: Conducting marriage ceremonies

Located at Nashua in northeast Iowa, the "Little Brown Church" hosts about 500 weddings a year and gets about 60,000 visitors a year. Weddings must be arranged in advance and scheduled Monday through Saturday as Sunday is reserved for regular services.

A young man from Wisconsin was in Nashua and was intrigued by a vacant lot. He imagined that it would be a perfect spot for a church. When he got home, he wrote a poem about his vision but put it away. He wrote in part:

"There's a church in the valley by the wildwood,
No lovelier spot in the dale;
No place is so dear to my childhood,
As the little brown church in the vale."

Years later, he found that indeed a church had been built. When he set it to music, it slowly became a standard. The church became a mecca for weddings and for couples to reaffirm their vows. Thus the iconic church and the hymn wedded.

Though the orginal 'little brown church' is in Nashua, Iowa, there are several imitations around the country.

Answer: Comforting words to a dying child

Out of that context, with music added in 1862 by William Batchelder Bradbury, it became one of the most popular hymns. In the orginal version mentioned is illness and death. These are generally omitted as they may be disturbing to younger children.

Inspiration comes from Mark 10:14: "Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them."

Answer: John Brown's Body

Julia Ward Howe was inspired to write "Battle Hymn of the Republic" after a visit with Abraham Lincoln in 1861. It quickly became not only a rallying cry of the Civil War but a cherished hymn as well. She used the same melody as "John Brown's Body" as it seemed a natural progression from abolition to eventual emancipation. She was elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970, posthumously.

In Revelations an angel casts grapes into "the great winepress of the wrath of God" and of God who wields "a sharp sword".

The three incorrect answers are real abolitionist songs. John Brown, a white man and abolitionist, lead an unsuccessful raid and slave rebellion of Harper's Ferry, West Virginia in 1859. Arms were reportedly supplied by General Lucius V. Bierce, uncle of the writer Ambrose Bierce.

Answer: Swedish

"How Great Thou Art" is a Swedish lyric based on a Swedish folk song. It had been previously translated into Russian And German. Because of its popularity, it has since been translated into many languages around the world.

Swedish writer, Carl Gustav Boberg, wrote the original in 1885 and was inspired by a plodding walk to church during which he observed the majestic forces of nature.

"How Great Thou Art" was used as a signature hymn for the Billy Graham crusades. Elvis Presley won a Grammy for his rendition in 1967.

Answer: Just a Closer Walk With Thee

No one really knows the derivation of "Just a Closer Walk with Thee". The best guess is that it is a traditional hymn from southern black churches. The first known recording was by Selah Jubilee Singers in 1941. Since then it has been recorded by over a hundred artists. In 1950 Red Foley's version sold a million records.