Biblical Quizzes for Really Smart People XIII

I have more obscure or difficult quotations up my sleeve. Indeed, I have been collecting a few Latin phrases, derived from the Vulgate, which I think should be understood by everyone, but I don't yet want to present them. Thus, for today let's return to some more texts, three from each Testament.

1. "But he passed through the midst of them and went away."

I will never forget the occasion that first brought this text to my consciousness. It was the early 1970s, when I was a student at Brown University. Tensions were high in our society not only because of the Viet Nam War but because of the new "grooming standards" (or lack thereof) of my generation. There was quite a bit of tension within the Evangelical church on the permissible extent of facial hair and hair length for men. I recall that one Evangelical pastor from someplace in Texas preached a sermon on this text that was reported in the wire services. The gist of what he had to say was that since Jesus was able to pass through the midst of people unrecognized (oops, I gave away that this text refers to Jesus!), he must have been able to "fit in" to his culture. The preacher next argued that males in Jewish culture at that time in general wore their heart short. Hence, Jesus had short hair. Hence, young men in America in the early 1970s ought to have short hair. I don't know, frankly, whether the pastor was just trying to gain some notoreity or really believed what he said, but it made me forever skeptical about the way that people used texts from 2000 years ago (or more) to try to "prove" how we ought to live today (see this essay, too). I seem to have so many indelible college memories relating to the Scriptures. So, where does this verse appear?

2. "It is better for me to die than to live."

We have many experiences in life where we say "poor me." Though we know that no one likes those who indulge in self-pity, we all so indulge at times. This verse supplies very apt words for those inclined to self-pity. Indeed, this verse gives us better words than we could come up with on our own. On our own we might say something like, "Woe is me!" (Where does that come from, by the way?) or "Isn't life miserable for me!" But this Scripture helps us by letting us express a death wish in eloquent but brief words. One of the reasons I love the Book of Job (from which this isn't taken, by the way) is that it gives us better words for distress, loss and grief than we could come up with on our own. So, who said these words, and what is the context in which they appear?

3. "Is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?" NRSV or "Betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?" KJV.

I gave one previous text about kisses. One of the first "sermonettes" I preached when I was a stripling (about 20 years old) was on "Biblical kisses." I thought I was so cool because I spoke about the kiss of intimacy, the kiss of recognition and, here, the kiss of betrayal. Here I was, 20 years old, and I had a three-point sermonette on a topic that riveted and entertained young and old alike. The only problem was that I knew nothing at all about kisses and their meaning. I was so immersed only in the mechanics of living that I would rather have spent my day and life with the text, coming up with catchy three-point messages, than in exploring the truth of what I was addressing. So, in some ways this text serves as a painful reminder of a past I hope I have left behind, though I sometimes think I may not have fully done so. In any case, where do you find this text?

4. "Their foot shall slide in due time," KJV. Or, the NRSV has, "for the time when their foot shall slip."

Again, this is a rather obscure verse but it played an important role in probably the most famous sermon in American history. It is the "text" that Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) used for his revival sermon in Enfield, CT (1741) entitled "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." As this verse indicates, according to Edwards, all of us are perched precariously in life, our sins weighing us down, our guilt overwhelming us and only the mercy of God keeping us from plunging into the eternal abyss of the fire that never goes out. In due time our feet shall surely slip; we are dangling over the precipice of the fiery death right now. What we need to do, according to Edwards, is to repent of our unrighteous ways and beg God for his grace in Jesus Christ. I go through Edwards' sermon in great detail in these three essays; all I want you do to here is to come up with the verse on which Edwards based his sermon. What is it?

5. "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver."

If there is any verse I feel is my life "motto," this is it. My life is a striving for, and a struggle with, words. There are lots of realities in which you don't really need words to communicate (such as in tango), but when you use words, use them with care. Not only is it true that "a gentle answer turns away wrath" and "a harsh word stirs up anger," but the careful shaping of words allows the construction of incomparably beautiful things. I.M. Pei has nothing over one who can speak fit words. So, where do you find this wonderful verse?

6. "Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian?" NRSV. The KJV has, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."

Translators are not in agreement with respect to whether these words are in the interrogative or indicative mood. But someone is saying that someone else is very persuasive in the way he presents his words. Who is saying this and where is the text?

Well, that concludes another quiz. Look for more soon.

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