Deck 6: Religion

Question 1

Augustinus says that before his vision he had been an atheist.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Augustinus believed that blaming evil on human disobedience failed to exonerate God from responsibility for the existence of evil.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Black Elk says that religious belief is based on reason.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

One of the ceremonies performed by Black Elk was the elk ceremony.

Question 5

Aquinas argues that belief in God requires a leap of faith.

Question 6

Kierkegaard claims that there is only one type of heroism.

Question 7

Kierkegaard argues that reason can never produce genuine religious belief.

Question 8

Buber argues that belief in God is based on faith.

Question 9

According to Buber, the primary word I-It can never be spoken with the whole being.

Question 10

Gutiérrez argues that one cannot have peace without justice.

Question 11

According to Gutiérrez, the Church should only minister to spiritual needs.

Question 12

Starhawk is a practitioner of traditional Native American religion.

Question 13

According to Starhawk, witchcraft recognizes the autonomy of each believer.

Question 14

Feuerbach says that he was created by God.

Question 15

According to Feuerbach, religious beliefs are produced by human thinking.

Question 16

James argues that religious faith should determine our beliefs on all matters.

Question 17

James defends religious belief on pragmatic grounds.

Question 18

Campbell claims that there is no final system for the interpretation of myths.

Question 19

According to Campbell, the main purpose of mythology is to explain the nature of the universe.

Question 20

Christ argues that women need to worship the Goddess so that they can forget about their earthly worries.

Question 21

According to Christ, religion has a compelling hold on the psyches of many people.

Question 22

Lin Yutang claims that Chinese pagans believe in God.

Question 23

Lin says that he became a pagan because his father was a pagan.

Question 24

Whitehead claims that both science and religion are important spheres of human thinking.

Question 25

Whitehead believes that most of the obstacles preventing a reconciliation between science and religion come from scientists.

Question 26

Wiredu defends traditional African religious thinking against Western critics.

Question 27

Wiredu believes that modern scientific thinking is more useful to human existence than is pre-scientific religious thinking.

Question 28

Flew claims that the main problem with religion is that it teaches intolerance.

Question 29

According to Flew, it is likely that some theological assertions do not make statements.

Question 30

Although he attacks Christianity, Russell praises the Buddha.

Question 31

Russell claims that the moral objection to religion is that there is no reason to suppose that any religion is true.

Question 32

Before converting to Christianity, Augustinus had followed the doctrines of

A) Docetism.
B) Manicheanism.
C) Epicureanism.
D) Buddhism.

Question 33

Augustinus describes his vision by saying that it was like

A) the force of a tornado.
B) an endless sky of blue.
C) a diamond like no other.
D) a light like no other.

Question 34

The main reason that Black Elk performed the religious ceremonies described in the text was

A) to entertain his people.
B) to worship the great spirit.
C) to activate the healing powers of his great vision.
D) to demonstrate the power of positive thinking.

Question 35

Black Elk says that his people and the birds have the same religion because

A) they both build their houses in the shape of a circle.
B) they speak essentially the same language.
C) they both sing praises to the spirit world.
D) they are both two-legged creatures.

Question 36

The first premise in each of Aquinas' arguments assumes that

A) God is all-powerful.
B) everything that happens has a reason.
C) there is some movement or change in the natural world.
D) nature abhors a vacuum.

Question 37

The selection from Aquinas begins with

A) the description of two arguments for God's nonexistence.
B) the argument for God's existence that is based on motion.
C) a description of a vision that Aquinas has recently experienced.
D) an attack on Christian heretics.

Question 38

According to Kierkegaard, the ideal religious hero was

A) Jesus.
B) Noah.
C) Abraham.
D) Paul.

Question 39

Kierkegaard believed that Christianity was

A) the most rational of religions.
B) based on a paradox and should thus be rejected.
C) harmful to both the individual and society.
D) based on a paradox that requires a leap of faith.

Question 40

In the selection in the text, Buber refers to God as

A) the ultimate creator.
B) the eternal Thou.
C) the Absolute.
D) the Inexpressible.

Question 41

According to Buber, which of the following would not be true of an I-Thou relationship?

A) In an I-Thou relationship, the self is not seen as a collection of mental states.
B) In an I-Thou relationship, the I cannot exist without the Thou.
C) An I-Thou relationship must be spoken with the whole being.
D) An I-Thou relationship is only possible between human beings and God.

Question 42

Gutiérrez is best classified as

A) an atheistic existentialist.
B) a Protestant priest.
C) a liberation theologian.
D) a Marxist economist.

Question 43

One of the terms that Gutiérrez uses to describe the political reality of many Latin American countries is

A) "socialized terror."
B) "institutionalized violence."
C) "economic alienation."
D) "totalitarian oppression."

Question 44

According to Starhawk, the principal deity in witchcraft is

A) an immanent earth goddess.
B) a transcendent earth goddess.
C) a horned male god.
D) a transcendent male god.

Question 45

Starhawk claims that the only law of witchcraft is

A) love your neighbor as yourself.
B) never use magic for evil purposes.
C) follow the rules of your coven.
D) love unto all beings.

Question 46

Feuerbach claims that the essence of religion is

A) biological.
B) spiritual.
C) anthropological.
D) sociological.

Question 47

According to Feuerbach, God as God is

A) the Creator of the universe.
B) a meaningless concept.
C) a concept by which we measure our pain.
D) only an object of thought.

Question 48

According to James, which type of questions immediately present themselves as questions whose solution cannot wait for sensible proof?

A) theological questions
B) moral questions
C) scientific questions
D) paradoxical questions

Question 49

When we have a genuine option that cannot be decided on intellectual grounds, James says that we are justified in

A) making a leap of faith.
B) appealing to the scientific method.
C) appealing to our passional nature.
D) taking an agnostic position.

Question 50

The ancient sea god to whom Campbell compares mythology is

A) Neptune.
B) Proteus.
C) Narcissus.
D) Zeus.

Question 51

With which of the following statements would Campbell not agree?

A) The great world religions cannot serve the needs of contemporary humans.
B) One function of mythology was to help the individual fit into the community.
C) The creative hero can consciously control the creation of a new mythology.
D) In his life-form the individual is only a fraction of the total image of man.

Question 52

Christ begins her article with a quote from a play by

A) Henry Miller.
B) Ntosake Shange.
C) Adrienne Rich.
D) Simone de Beauvoir.

Question 53

Christ claims that the simplest and most basic meaning of the symbol of the Goddess is

A) the acknowledgement of the legitimacy of female power as a beneficent and independent power.
B) the overcoming of the denigration of the female body.
C) the acknowledgement that ancient societies were matriarchal.
D) the affirmation of the cycles of the natural world.

Question 54

Lin Yutang compares the life of a pagan to that of

A) a roaring lion.
B) a man without a master.
C) an orphan.
D) a wanderer.

Question 55

According to Lin Yutang, all priesthood lives on the common staple food of

A) divine grace.
B) revelation.
C) falsehood.
D) fear.

Question 56

Whitehead claims that the true purpose of religion is to

A) serve as a foundation for morality.
B) give us hope by promising us a better life.
C) inspire us to live a life of adventure.
D) help us transcend the natural world.

Question 57

With which of the following claims would Whitehead not agree?

A) Science is even more changeable than theology.
B) Religious ideas must remain static.
C) A clash of doctrines is not a disaster.
D) For over two centuries religion has been on a weak defensive.

Question 58

Wiredu compares traditional African religious thinking to the thinking of

A) Buddhism.
B) Native American religion.
C) Taoism.
D) Christianity.

Question 59

The term for soul in the philosophy of the Akans of Ghana is

A) nipakua.
B) okra.
C) ntoro.
D) mogya.

Question 60

The Flew selection in the book begins with the description of a parable derived from an article written by

A) Friedrich Nietzsche.
B) H.G. Wells.
C) John Wisdom.
D) Bertrand Russell.

Question 61

In order for a statement to be meaningful, Flew claims that the denial of the statement must be

A) falsifiable.
B) verifiable.
C) illogical.
D) contradictory.

Question 62

Russell opens his essay in the text by saying that his view on religion is the same as that of

A) Aquinas.
B) Nietzsche.
C) Kierkegaard.
D) Lucretius.

Question 63

According to Russell, the worst feature of Christianity is

A) its attitude toward sex.
B) its belief in redemption.
C) its belief in immortality.
D) its condemnation of art.

Question 64

What were the principal problems that plagued Augustinus before he experienced his religious vision. How did his vision allow him to resolve these problems?

Question 65

Carefully describe Augustinus' religious vision. What did his vision tell him about his own existence and about the existence of God? Critically evaluate this vision from your own religious standpoint.

Question 66

Compare and contrast Black Elk's vision with the vision of Augustinus. How did the conclusions that Black Elk drew from his vision differ from the conclusions that Augustinus drew from his?

Question 67

Identify and explain four basic beliefs of Native American spirituality. How do these beliefs compare with/differ from your own spiritual or religious beliefs?

Question 68

Carefully summarize Aquinas' five arguments for the existence of God. Then critically evaluate the validity or effectiveness of these arguments.

Question 69

Compare and contrast Augustinus' views on the nature and existence of God with Aquinas' views. Which of their positions comes closer to your own views on the nature and existence of God? Explain your answer.

Question 70

Name the person who Kierkegaard identifies as the ideal religious hero. Why, according to Kierkegaard, does this person represent the ideal religious hero? Do you agree with Kierkegaard on this point? Why or why not?

Question 71

Compare and contrast Kierkegaard's account of the basis of religious belief with Black Elk's account. Which of their accounts comes closer to your own thinking on this matter? Explain your answer.

Question 72

Carefully explain Buber's distinction between an I-It relationship and an I-Thou relationship. Then describe a human interaction or encounter that exemplifies an I-It relationship, and an interaction or encounter that exemplifies an I-Thou relationship.

Question 73

Compare and contrast Buber's views on the nature of religious belief with the views of Kierkegaard. How does each of their views compare with/differ from your own views on this matter?

Question 74

Carefully describe three of Gutiérrez's criticisms of the Church. What are some of the suggestions that Gutiérrez makes for reforming the Church?

Question 75

What, according to Gutiérrez, constitutes the true nature of Christianity? Briefly explain the two Biblical themes that he uses to justify his interpretation of Christianity.

Question 76

Describe three essential differences between witchcraft and Christianity. What, according to Starhawk, were the basic reasons that the Church persecuted witches?

Question 77

Explain the nature and significance of the coven, as well as the nature and significance of magic, in the religion of witchcraft. Why do craft rituals take place in a circle?

Question 78

Carefully explain Feuerbach's theory on the origin of religious beliefs? However, according to Feuerbach do certain religious beliefs come to dominate human existence?

Question 79

What, according to Feuerbach, is the nature of the relationship between God and humanity? How does he believe that this relationship was established? Do you agree with what Feuerbach says about this relationship? Why or why not?

Question 80

Explain carefully what James means by the "will to believe." When, according to James, are we justified in employing the will to believe?