How Well Do You Know Your Catholic Bible Basics?

By: Olivia Cantor
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
How Well Do You Know Your Catholic Bible Basics?
Image: YouTube

About This Quiz

The Bible is the most important book for Roman Catholics. How well do you know information about this Bible, and what’s in it? Take this quiz on Catholic bible basics and find out how much of the Good Book you really know.
What are the two major parts of the Bible?
Genesis and Revelation
Old and New Testament
The Old and New Testaments are the major divisions of the Bible. The Old Testament was written before Christ was born, the New Testament after he died.
Matthew and Mark
Luke and John
What does the legal-sounding "testament" mean?
prophecy
laws
contract
The word "testament" also means "contract." In the Bible’s case, they’re relationships with rules, between human and God.
sayings
Which famous former Egyptian noble wrote most of the early books in the Old Testament?
Abraham
David
Solomon
Moses
Moses was adopted by Egyptian royalty, before becoming an important figure in the Bible. He wrote the first five books of the Old Testament.

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What is the feel-good meaning of "gospel," as the word?
good news
The term "gospel" is translated from an old phrase meaning "good news." Of course, they were about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
archive
holy words
songs
What language was the Old Testament originally written in?
Syrian
Mesopotamian
Egyptian
Hebrew
Most of the Old Testament was written in the Hebrew language. It's the language of Israelites, and is spoken today by over 9 million people.
What were the eight blessings that Jesus Christ taught?
Suggestions
Guidelines
Beatitudes
The Eight Beatitudes are Jesus' equivalent of the Ten Commandments. In fact, people say they are the commandments, given a new spin with Christ's teachings.
Rulings

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For the Catholic Church, what's in the Bible, really?
History
God's words
The Bible is seen as God's words. The belief is that the Bible was written by people who were inspired by God Himself, and through their writing, His will is revealed.
Fables
Religious administration
The Bible is appropriately named. What does "Bible" mean if translated from its root word?
the list
the books
The Bible is probably the most obviously named book ever made. The word "Bible" is taken from "ta biblia," or "the books."
the witnessing
the prophecies
The Pentateuch is an important section of the Bible. Which books were they?
The first 5
The Pentateuch is the name for the first five books of the Bible. They are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
The last 5
The Gospels
The Books of Prophets

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Why are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John so important?
great prophets
great apostles
names of the four gospels
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the four people who supposedly wrote the basic text for the four gospels, the books about Jesus. They were written at different times.
great writers
We know that many people wrote the parts of the Bible. How many were in this crowd?
We don't know.
The actual authors of the Bible may never be known. Estimates put it at 40 or more writers.
mostly the prophets
Moses and Jesus' apostles
All the named books in the Bible
What were the early chapters of Genesis, the first book, all about?
how God created everything
The early chapters of the Book of Genesis described the beginning of everything from a certain point of view. It also sets the idea that God really is the Creator.
introduction to the Bible
how God started religion
how God created humans

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This language was used for the New Testament. What was this ancient language of an empire?
Spanish
Greek
The New Testament was written in Greek. It was the common language in the historic times after Christ died.
Arabic
French
What did God give the Israelites as the original guide set in stone in the Old Testament?
The Golden Rule
Eye for an eye
Laws in Leviticus
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments were given to Moses to be followed by the Israelites. These commandments are the basis for most, if not all, of the code of laws they had at the time.
Were named books, like Job, really written by them?
it depends
no
Though some writings may have been passed on from the person the book is named after, none of the books in the Bible were written wholly by the named authors.
yes
We'll never know.

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Why are there so many versions of Jesus' life in the New Testament?
just had to be sure
no one knows
historical comparison
different audiences
The four gospels were meant for different audiences. That way, the same teachings and stories from Christ's life could better reach out to as many people as possible.
In the Old Testament, who did God enter into a spiritual contract with?
Israelites
In the Old Testament, God entered into a spiritual contract with the people of Israel, through Abraham and leaders in his family lineage. The books of the Old Testament are a history of that contract.
Everyone
Abraham
Egyptians
The Book of Exodus was partly a story of about freedom. What were people freed from?
ignorance
another religion
slavery
The Book of Exodus was, in the beginning, a tale of how Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. They wandered in the desert for many years after.
sex

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What was Revelations, the last book, all about?
observations of the other books
index of events
the end times
The Book of Revelations is, for some, the grimmest of the books of the Bible. This last book talks about what'll happen at the end of the world, and everything as we know it.
timeline for the Bible
In the New Testament, this apostle wrote 14 of the books. Who was this overachieving holy man?
Matthew
Paul
Paul the Apostle wasn't one of the original 12 apostles. However, he was one of the most important figures in the years after Jesus Christ's death, as he founded many churches.
Mark
Luke
While the term "Trinity" is used for Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, how many times was it used in the Bible?
none
The term "Trinity" or "Holy Trinity" hasn't been used in the Bible. However, mentioning the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in one thought or passage happens many times.
a few times in Revelations
all the time
used only in the New Testament

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What important event in the New Testament created the Holy Mass?
Sermon on the Mount
The birth of Jesus Christ
Last Supper
The rituals that Christ established in the Last Supper were the beginnings of our Holy Mass. In particular, the spiritual conversion of bread and wine to body and blood of Christ has its roots here.
Jesus wandering into the desert
What was the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for humanity?
torture
performing miracles
preaching
death
Jesus Christ's suffering and death through crucifixion was an ultimate sacrifice. It was an offering to seal the pact between God and humanity.
What was Jesus Christ's miracle after he was crucified?
messages from the afterlife
resurrection
Jesus Christ rose up from the dead on the third day. After dying as a human, he rose in his true form as the Son of God.
healing Peter's wounds
turning water into wine

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God provides. What did he give the Israelites as food when they were wandering in the desert?
manna
The Book of Exodus mentions that when the Israelites needed food in the desert, God provided. It was called manna, a flakey substance they could bake into cakes.
fish
loaves
fruits
What triggered the walls of Jericho to fall?
flood
earthquake
wind
noise
The Israelites needed to bring the walls of Jericho down. After some instructions from God, they used trumpets and shouting to shatter the walls, and invade the city.
Which unwelcome "person" visited Jesus when he was fasting for forty days in the desert?
Joseph, his father
Satan
When Jesus was in the desert to fast and meditate, Satan came to him. He tempted Jesus by trying to make him use his divine powers for selfish reasons.
tax collector
priests

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What was Eden, and why was it so important?
first city
first country
first garden
Eden was the Garden that God created where everything was perfect. It was where humans first lived.
first farm
What did the forbidden fruit give to anyone who ate it?
shame
death
sleep
knowledge
The forbidden fruit is from the tree of knowledge. Eating one makes you self-aware. In the Bible, Adam and Eve realized they were naked after eating one of the fruits.
What did Delilah do to Samson to make him powerless?
stabbed him
cut his hair
Delilah betrayed the warrior Samson by cutting off his hair, which was key to his strength. He later regained his strength, and took his enemies with him to the grave.
kissed him
blinded him

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The Apostles were very important in the New Testament. Who were they?
holy men
prophets
Christ's followers
The 12 Apostles were Jesus Christ's most trusted followers. At least some of them were probably leaders and capable men in their own right, such as Peter and Judas.
military leaders
Why did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah?
for invasion
they killed Israelites
sinful cities
In the Bible, God had looked with displeasure at the many sins happening within the walls of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot, a good man, tried to save the cities. He needed to find a few good men. He failed.
They refused to convert.
Why did Lot's wife turn into a pillar of salt?
looked back
After Lot failed to find a certain amount of good people in Sodom and Gomorrah, God instructed Lot to leave with his family, but that they should never look back. Lot's wife did, and was turned into a pillar of salt.
cursed the Lord
was unfaithful
was unkind

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Toward the end, Jesus drove out people from the temple grounds. Why did he get angry?
They were from different religions.
They were squatting.
They were noisy.
They were merchants.
Jesus wanted to keep the spirit of the temple pure, so to speak. What he did was chase out all the merchants.
When Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding of Cana, who was the only person who convinced him to show his divine power?
Mary Magdalene
Joseph the Carpenter
Mother Mary
Mother Mary was the one who requested that Jesus help the wedding by turning water into wine. Some scholars say that this was the First Miracle, and was a sign of things to come.
John the Baptist
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