Quotable Theologians Trivia Quiz

Answer: G.K. Chesterton

Popular lay Catholic theologian, writer, and British humorist G.K. Chesterton wrote this in Part I, Chapter 5 of "What's Wrong with the World." Chesterton is perhaps best known for his books "Orthodoxy" and "The Everlasting Man" and for creating the Father Brown series of stories.

Answer: Martin Luther

Martin Luther, having been excommunicated from the Catholic church, was invited to the Imperial Diet at Worms by the Emperor, who hoped he would recant his teachings while he was there. However, he would not. He said, "Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen."

He is often credited by tradition as also saying, "Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise," but these words are only found in some of the historical transcripts.

Answer: Augustine of Hippo

St. Augustine, who lived from 345 to 430, had an enormous impact on the development of Christian theology. This quote comes from Book 8 of Augustine's "Confessions" in a discussion of insincere prayer. Augustine confesses that there was a difference between what he would ask for in his prayer and what he would actually want in his heart. Augustine is also known for writing "De Doctrina Christiana" and "City of God."

Answer: C.S. Lewis

This quote is from C.S. Lewis's popular apologetic "Mere Christianity," which was published in 1952, and continues:

"If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death."

C.S. Lewis created the well-loved children's book series "The Chronicles of Narnia" and also wrote an adult science-fiction series of three novels.

Answer: Søren Kierkegaard

The Danish theologian and poet Søren Kierkegaard originated existential philosophy. He was the author of "Fear and Trembling" and "Either/Or."

This quote is often paraphrased as follows: "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forward." In full context, Kierkegaard wrote:

"Philosophy is perfectly right in saying that life must be understood backward. But then one forgets the other clause--that it must be lived forward. The more one thinks through this clause, the more one concludes that life in temporality never becomes properly understandable, simply because never at any one time does one get the perfect repose to take a stance--backward." (Quoted from "The Essential Kierkegaard")

Answer: John Wesley

The English cleric, evangelist, and theologian John Wesley was a leader of the Methodist movement. He experienced an evangelical conversion in 1738 and began his own ministry which involved traveling and preaching outdoors.

This quote comes from his November 7, 1768 letter to Joseph Benson published in 1915 in "The Letters of John Wesley" edited by George Eayrs.

Answer: John Calvin

French theologian John Calvin was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation who developed the theology that came to be known as Calvinism. He emphasized the doctrines of predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation. Calvin broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s. This quote comes from Calvin's "Institutes of the Christian Religion" (1536).

Answer: Karl Barth

This quote was taken from "The Harper Book of Quotations" (1993) by Robert I. Fitzhenry. Karl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian well known for his involvement in the Confessing Church, which was a German Protestant movement during Nazi Germany that arose to oppose the government's attempt to unify all Protestant churches into one pro-Nazi state church.

In 1921, Barth produced a commentary on The Epistle to the Romans. Although very influential in academia, he also made an impact on the popular imagination and was even featured on the cover of Time magazine in April of 1962.

Answer: Bernard of Clairvaux

An abbot, Bernard of Clairvaux was a prominent leader in the revitalization of Benedictine monasticism. According to tradition, he founded a monastery in 1115 which eventually evolved into Clairvaux. At the Council of Troyes, he outlined the Rule of the Knights Templar, which became an ideal model for Christian nobility.

In his original French, this line reads: "L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontés et désirs." This line has been proposed as one possible source of the common adage that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Answer: Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a founding member of the Confessing Church. He is perhaps best known for resisting the Nazi dictatorship and opposing its persecution of the Jews and euthanasia program. In 1943, he was imprisoned and then transferred to Flossenbürg concentration camp.

He was eventually executed for his involvement in a plot to assassinate Hitler. This quote comes from Bonhoeffer's book "The Cost of Discipleship."