The Winds of Faith Trivia Quiz

Answer: China

Fei Lian and Fengo are the animal and human manifestations of the Taoist god of the wind. In animal form, this god has the head of a deer, the body and wings of a dragon and the tail of a snake. Tradition has it that he carries around a bag and stirs up trouble.

Question by Shuehorn.

Answer: Saint Vitus

While all these saints are quite important in Roman Catholicism, only one of them seems to bother about the weather: Saint Vitus. According to legend, Vitus escaped gruesome torture when a storm struck the Roman temples around him.

Saint Agnes is the patron saint of young girls and protects them against rapists.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux is the patron saint of beekeepers, chandlers and Cistercians, to name only a few.
Saint Rita of Cascia is the female counterpart to Saint Jude: patron saint of desperate cases.

Question by JanIQ, who studied at Saint Rita's college.

Answer: True

Indeed: the Holy Book of the Islam does mention the word wind at least thirty times. One of the most hopeful quotes I found was in the Surah Ar-Rum, verse 46: "Among His Signs is this, that He sends the Winds, as heralds of Glad Tidings, giving you a taste of His (Grace and) Mercy,- that the ships may sail (majestically) by His Command and that ye may seek of His Bounty: in order that ye may be grateful."
The Quran was given to the Muslims by the prophet Mohammed. Praise Be Upon Him, or (PBUH) Muslims add to the prophet's name.

Question by JanIQ.

Answer: Across the river Jordan

According to 2 Kings 2, Elijah first wanted to say goodbye to Elishah on three different locations, but Elisha would not leave from Elijah's side. Only after crossing the river Jordan from Jericho, Elisha declared that all he wanted was "a double portion of Elijah's spirit". After Elijah declared this was hard to do, "it happened, ..., that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. " (2 Kings 2:17)

Elijah did once reappear together with Moses and Jesus on top of an unnamed mountain (see among other sources Matthew 17:1-8).

The wedding banquet at Cana was where Jesus performed his first miracle, according to John 2:1-11.

There is no mention of Lake Titicaca anywhere in the Judaic texts.

Question by JanIQ.

Answer: Zoroastrian

Vate, sometimes called Vayu-Vata, is the name of a Zoroastrian divinity with two separate natures: Vayu represents the wind and Vata represents the atmosphere. Much like the weather, Vate is both angelic and demonic, depending on whether their actions are favorable or not for humans.

Zoroastrianism is the only one of these religions that is dualistic; the red herrings all are major monotheistic religions.

Question by Shuehorn.

Answer: Kaze

Kamikaze, literally the divine wind, is a well-known Japanese expression since the end of the Second World War. But the origin of the expression dates back to 1274, when on two occasions strong winds thwarted the Mongolian invasion plans of Kublai Khan.

During the Second World War, the outcome of many battles in the Pacific was determined by the carrier-based airplanes on both sides. As the American forces gradually gained the upper hand at these battles, the Japanese fleet concentrated on sinking the American airplane carriers, and used suicide squads (nicknamed kamikaze) to that end.

Shintoism is an ancient religion stemming from Japan. Animals, trees, rocks and winds all could be declared "kami", and Shinto followers would gladly meditate on the evolution of any of these kami. Some anthropologists have called Shinto an animistic religion, but it is in fact a tradition to which no other religion can be compared.

Question by JanIQ.

Answer: Boras

Aboriginal men used to vist a bora at one of the most important moments of their lives, to be inspired by Baiame (whose name also can be spelled as Baayami, Baayama, or even Byamee). More specifically a bora was an intitiation site, the place where young boys had to show their right to be called adult men.
Whilst almost every aboriginal tribe or clan has its own set of beliefs, Baiame is a common figure in most tribes from the southeastern part of the mainland Australia.

The red herrings are various winds typical of non-Australian places, and as far as I found, none of the red herrings have a religious connotation.

Question by JanIQ.

Answer: Wicca

Gerald Gardner combined motifs from different sources (paganism, druidism, hermetism) into the belief of Wicca. Since its formation by Gardner, Wicca has developed into various traditions - some duotheistic (the Great Moon Goddess and the Great Horned God), some monotheistic (only the Goddess), and even pantheistic or atheistic traditions.
According to Gardner's teachings, air or wind arises in the east, while water is associated with the west. The fire is associated with the south and earth with the north, and the spirit dominates the centre.

Voodoo is a belief developed by people of African ancestry living in the Caribbean region. Bushongo is a Bantu religion from the Congo. Cao Dai is Vietnamese in origin.

Question by JanIQ.

Answer: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The quote is from Ether 6:5. It tells about the descendants of Jaredi embarking and crossing a wide sea en route to the promised land (probably the Americas). This is one of the books in the Book of Mormon, one of the most holy texts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly named LDS Church, nicknamed the Mormons).

Jehovah's Witnesses, the Society of Friends (nicknamed the Quakers) and the
United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing (nicknamed the Shakers) are three remarkable Christian denominations.

Question by JanIQ.

Answer: Vayu

The three red herrings are the three main gods in Hinduism: Brahma the Creator, Shiva the Destroyer (of evil) and Vishnu the Preserver (of all that is good).
Vayu was described as "exceptionally beautiful", but tastes can differ. I found a picture of Vayu as a blue-green giant with two legs and four arms, and in this quality he didn't strike me as quite beautiful. Vayu used to travel in a carriage drawn by white and purple horses, but their number can vary between two and one thousand. Vayu's siblings are Agni (god of fire), Varuna (god of water) and others. Bhumi (mother Earth) is only a distant relative.

Question by JanIQ.