Take the Bible Test

The Freedom from Religion Foundation, of all people, has a Bible knowledge test on their website. Actually, it’s a very slanted chunk of propaganda which focuses on the, shall we say, less than reputable passages while totally ignoring the positive passages.

In any event I scored a whopping 46 out of 50. A score that the ffrf claims means I know more than a minister, priest or rabbi. I find that conclusion highly doubtful but I would hope that I would score as well on a more balanced quiz.

The web site claims that the average score is 15. Given that there are 4 choices per question, that’s only an eyelash above the 12.5 average you could expect parrots pecking the answers randomly to score.

Of the four I got wrong, two I was just flat out wrong and the other two I was trying to decide between two answers, one of which was the correct one, and finally chose the wrong one.

The two I was flat out wrong on were:

Which one of these phrases did Jesus not say about witnessing?

I chose "If I bear witness of myself, it is not true,” which apparently Jesus did say in John 5:31. The correct answer was, supposedly, "God is my witness."

What personal sacrifice for "the kingdom of heaven" was Jesus talking about when he told his disciples, "He that is able to receive it, let him receive it"?

I chose “Pluck out your eyes,” and Jesus did talk about this in Matthew 5:29, but in a different context. The right answer was, supposedly, “Castrate yourself.” However, I have to disagree with that one. The passages quoted, Matthew 19:11-12, are generally interpreted as referring to celibacy and not physical mutilation. However, Origen did interpret it that way and, well, you know (oh the pain).

The two where I chose the wrong one, although I thought about picking the right one, were:

What reason did God give for tormenting Job?

I chose "I wanted to see how far a man would bend before breaking” instead of "Satan dared me, so I destroyed Job for no reason at all."

How does the biblical god treat haughty women?

I chose “He makes them barren” instead of “He puts scabs on their heads and uncovers their private parts.”

As I’ve said many times, the Bible has lots and lots of good stuff in it. It also has lots of stuff that has to be taken in cultural context and which the modern zeitgeist demands that we reject.

How anyone, reading the book with even a hint of objectivity can conclude it’s the “word of God” is totally beyond my comprehension. What did God find so important about recording the census of the Hebrew tribes in Numbers?

The general population of the U.S. is probably as biblically illiterate as it is scientifically illiterate and the two tend to add together. If people knew what the Bible actually said, they wouldn’t be caught dead accepting its seven days of creation over evolution. So why am I opposed to teaching about the Bible in public schools? Only because I know that in many areas it wouldn’t be a balanced presentation and would effectively become an avenue for pitching Christianity.