The Nature of God Quiz | Religion Mixture

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What is the 'study of the nature of the divine' called?

Answer: theology

When the word 'GOD' is spelt with a capital 'G', as in 'God', it is thought of as a *single* all-powerful God, while 'GOD' spelt without a capital 'g' is usually used to refer to one of a set of divine beings.

2. People from which of these religions first used the term 'theology' to describe the study of God?

Answer: Christianity

Even though it has its origins in Christianity (believers adapted the word from ancient Greek), the word can be used to describe the study of the beliefs of the divine of other religions as well.

3. A certain sect of people believe that God does exist, but doesn't intervene in the world and its functioning. God just created the world in a certain way, and left it at that. They don't believe in either miracles or revelations. What are these people called?

Answer: Deists

Thomas Jefferson was a famous deist, you can read quotes supporting his beliefs in deism here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_on_Deism

A very interesting page on deism can be found here: http://www.religioustolerance.org/deism.htm

4. There is a certain belief that God *does* exist, but is very much unlike what most perceive God to be: instead, God is cruel, arrogant, abusive, and a liar. God is not worthy of worship. What is this belief called?

Answer: Maltheism

Maltheists believe that God is dependent on the worship and adoration of human beings to survive, without which God will "wither" and die. They hence try to discourage people from worshipping God.

5. ___ is the belief that everything in the universe, including plants, animals, minerals, air, water, fire and earth, is inhabited by spirits.

Answer: Animism

Many believe that animism was the first form of worship and human religion.

6. This belief says that there is only *one* God, which may or may not be manifested in the forms of the 'gods' or 'avatars' of various religions. What is it called?

Answer: Monotheism

Polytheism would be the opposite of monotheism, i.e. the belief in more than one God.

7. Kathenotheism means the worship of one god at a time. Different gods are worshipped, depending on the kathenotheist's locality and the time. By whom was the term 'kathenotheism' coined?

Answer: Max Mueller

Friedrich Max M�ller originally coined the term with reference to the Vedas, which are the ancient religious scriptures of the Hindus.

8. The belief that 'God is the universe' and 'the universe is God' is called ___ .

Answer: Pantheism

The Hindu religion is said to be pantheistic, as every object is said to be 'God'. If you are in India and you happen to touch your foot to a book, even accidentally, somebody might tell you not to do so 'because it is God'.

A quote by a Hindu saint sums up this belief:

"One day, it was suddenly revealed to me that everything is Pure Spirit. The utensils of worship, the altar, the doorframe - all Pure Spirit! Man, animals and other living beings - all Pure Spirit! Then, like a madman, I began to shower flowers in all directions. Whatever I saw, I worshipped.
"One day, while worshipping Shiva, I was about to offer a bel-leaf on the head of the image, when it was revealed to me that this universe itself is Shiva.
"Another day, I had been plucking flowers when it was revealed to me that each plant was a bouquet adorning the universal form of God. That was the end of my plucking flowers!
"I look on man in just the same way. When I see a man, I see that it is God Himself who walks on Earth."

(Taken from this site: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Thebes/5310/hindi.html. )

I must mention, however, that most Hindus aren't all this religious.

9. There is a belief that while there is a 'perfectly good' God, there is also an evil deity of equal strength. What is this belief called?

Answer: Dualism

According to dualist belief, both 'good' and 'evil' exist simultaneously, and neither can survive without the other. 'Good' and 'evil' both 'balance' each other. Manichaeism, an ancient religion founded by the prophet Mani (210-275 B.C.), is an example of a religion with a dualist belief. Info on this religion can be found here: http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manichaeism.

10. What is the fundamental belief in the existence of a 'God' or 'gods' or 'the divine' called?

Answer: Theism

All the various beliefs about the nature of 'the divine' in this quiz were theist, i.e. the fact is that they *do* believe in the concept of 'the divine'. The opposite of theism is 'atheism'.

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This being my first Religion quiz, I have tried to write everything from as neutral a perspective as possible. If you are offended by any of its content, please feel free to send me a note!

Source: Author achernar

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor CellarDoor before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The Nature of God Trivia Quiz

Approximately 85% of the world's population believes in the existence of 'God', 'gods', or simply - the 'divine' (Source: CIA World Factbook). However, their beliefs about its nature aren't the same...

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The Nature of God Trivia Quiz

Approximately 85% of the world's population believes in the existence of 'God', 'gods', or simply - the 'divine' (Source: CIA World Factbook). However, their beliefs about its *nature* aren't the same...

Approximately 85% of the world's population believes in the existence of 'God', 'gods', or simply - the 'divine' (Source: CIA World Factbook). However, their beliefs about its nature aren't the same...