A PDF COMPANION TO THE AUDIOBOOK

Appe n di x 1

A DISCERNMENT QUIZ1

T his quiz was an assignment asked of me by Skye Jethani, the

editor of Leadership Journal. Our initial conversation at a coffee
shop generated so many ideas, we could not contain them all in one
quiz. So we drafted a quiz to see if we could get a conversation going
about how we read the Bible and how we “apply” the Bible. For most
questions we sensed we could have had ten or more different answers,
and scaling our answers proved especially difficult. That quiz also
gave some labels connected to scores that generated more controversy
than was intended.
I have one desire with this quiz: we need to talk more about how
we are reading the Bible. Instruments like this are one way of getting
us to rethink how we read the Bible. I’ve eliminated the labels in this
edition of the quiz.
On a scale of 1–5, mark the answer that best fits your approach
to reading the Bible. If, for example, you fall between response 1 and
response 3, give yourself a 2; or between 3 and 5, give yourself a 4. Place
your score in the space after the colon. Maybe you want to rewrite the
whole question; go ahead. Choose, in other words, the answer that is
closest to your own view. What interests me most is getting you and
others into a conversation about how we read and apply the Bible.

A. The Bible is: _____

1. God’s inspired words in confluence with the authors
(genuine dual authorship).
 3. God’s inspired words that arise out of a community and
then are written down by an author (less author, more
community).
5. Words of an author who speaks out of a community’s
tradition, but which sacramentally lead us to God.

B. The Bible is: _____

1. God’s exact words for all time.
3. God’s message (instead of exact words) for all time.
5. God’s words and message for that time but need
interpretation and contextualization to be lived today.

C. The Bible’s words are: _____

1. Inerrant on everything.
3. Inerrant only on matters of faith and practice.
5. Not defined by inerrancy or errancy, which are
modernistic categories.

D. The commands in the Old Testament to destroy a village,

including women and children, are: _____
1. Justifiable judgment against sinful, pagan, immoral peoples.
3. God’s ways in the days of the judges (etc.); they are
primitive words but people’s understanding as divine
words for that day.
5. A barbaric form of war in a primitive society and I wish
they weren’t in the Bible.

E. The story of Hosea (the prophet) and Gomer (his wife) is: _____
1. A graphic reality that speaks of God’s faithfulness and
Israel’s infidelity.
3. A parable (since, for example, God would never ask a
prophet to marry a prostitute).
5. An unfortunate image of an ancient prophet that stereotypes
women and too easily justifies violence against women.
F. The command of Jesus to wash feet is: _____
1. To be taken literally, despite near universal neglect in
the church.
3. A first-century observance to be practiced today in
other ways.
5. An ancient custom with no real implication for our world.

G. The gift of prophecy is: _____

1. Timeless, despite lack of attention in the church today.
3. An ancient form of communication that is seen today in
proclaiming scriptural truths.
5. No longer needed and dramatically different from today’s
preaching.

H. Prohibitions of homosexuality in the Bible are: _____

1. Permanent prohibitions reflecting God’s will.
3. Culturally shaped, still normative, but demanding greater
sensitivity today.
5. A purity-code violation that has been eliminated by Christ.

I. The unity of the Bible is: _____

1. God’s systematic truth that can be discerned by careful
study of the Bible.
3. The gospel call to living by faith that is expressed in a
variety of ways by different authors in the Bible.
5. Not found by imposing on the integrity of each author in
the Bible to conform to overarching systems; the unity is
in the God who speaks to us today through the Word.

J. The Holy Spirit’s role in interpretation is: _____

1. To guide the individual regardless of what others say.
3. To guide the individual in tandem/conversation with
the church.
5. To guide the community that can instruct the individual.
K. The injunctions on women in 1 Timothy 2:9–15 are: _____
1. Timeless truths and normative for today.
3. Culturally shaped but, with proper interpretation and
transfer, for today; e.g., we can learn from how Paul
addressed a situation with uninstructed women in Ephesus.
5. Needed for early Christians, bound in the first century,
but not for today.

L. Careful interpretation of the Bible is: _____

1. Objective, rational, universal, timeless.
3. Dialectical, relational, culturally shaped, timely.
5. Subjective, personal, culturally bound, time specific.

M. The context for reading the Bible is: _____

1. The individual’s sole responsibility.
3. The individual in conversation with, and respect for,
church traditions.
5. The confessional statement of one’s community of faith.

N. Discerning the historical context of a passage is: _____

1. Unimportant since God speaks to me directly.
3. Often or sometimes significant in order to grasp meaning.
5. Necessary and dangerous to avoid in reading the Bible.

O. The Bible: _____

1. Can be examined and understood without bias.
3. Can be understood but with bias.
5. Can be only partially understood by a reader with bias.

P. Capital punishment: _____

1. Should be practiced today because the Bible teaches it.
3. Should be examined carefully to determine if it is the best
option today; some instances of capital punishment in the
Bible are no longer advisable.
 5. As delineated in the Bible pertains to ancient Israel; such prac-
tices are no longer useful and should be universally banned.

Q. Tattoos: _____
1. Are forbidden because of Leviticus 19:28.
3. Are forbidden in Leviticus as idolatrous marks, which we
know from study of the ancient Near East.
5. Are permissible, because the purity codes are not for
Christians today.

R. The requirement of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:29) not to

eat any meat improperly killed (strangled instead of having the
blood drained properly): _____
1. Is a permanent commandment for all Christians today.
3. Is for Jewish Christians only.
5. Is a temporary custom for first-century Jewish Christians
and is no longer a concern for Christians.

S. Adultery: _____
1. Deserves the death penalty, as stated in the Old Testament.
3. Was not punished by death when Jesus confronted it, and
therefore death is not a Christian punishment.
5. Adultery and divorce were governed by Old Testament
laws from a primitive culture, very different from our own;
just as these concepts developed within Bible times, our
understanding of proper punishment has been improved.

T. Sabbath: _____
1. Was never eliminated by New Testament writers and
should be practiced by Christians (on Saturday).
3. Developed into a Sunday worship observance for
Christians, and Christians should not work on that day.
5. Turned into Sunday for Christians, who need to worship
together (on the weekend, at least) and can work if they
think they need to.
 Appe n di x 2

IMAGES OF JESUS1

T his test is not produced by or for North Park University, and its
questions should not be taken to imply any views of North Park
University. Obviously, in a test of this type there are no “correct”
answers. This test should be taken at the beginning of a semester and
again at the end of the semester to assess change in image of Jesus and
image of self.
Note: Your professor will never know who answered what on
this test.

Part 1: What Do You Think of Jesus?

Please answer each question with a “yes” (Y) or “no” (N). Work quickly
and do not think too long about the exact meaning of the questions.
Please answer this part 1 for what you think about Jesus.

1. Does his mood often go up and down? Y N

2. Is he a talkative person? Y N
3. Would being in debt worry him? Y N
4. Is he rather lively? Y N
5. Was he ever greedy by helping himself to more
than his share of anything? Y N
6. Would he take drugs that may have strange or
dangerous effects? Y N
 7. Has he ever blamed someone for doing something
he knew was really his fault? Y N
8. Does he prefer to go his own way rather than act
by the rules? Y N
9. Does he often feel “fed-up”? Y N
10. Has he ever taken anything (even a pin or button)
that belonged to someone else? Y N
11. Would he call himself a nervous person? Y N
12. Does he think marriage is old-fashioned and
should be done away with? Y N
13. Can he easily get some life into a rather dull party? Y N
14. Is he a worrier? Y N
15. Does he tend to keep in the background on social
occasions? Y N
16. Does it worry him if he knows there are mistakes
in his work? Y N
17. Has he ever cheated at a game? Y N
18. Does he suffer from “nerves”? Y N
19. Has he ever taken advantage of someone? Y N
20. Is he mostly quiet when he is with other people? Y N
21. Does he often feel lonely? Y N
22. Does he think it is better to follow society’s rules
than go his own way? Y N
23. Do other people think of him as being very lively? Y N
24. Does he always practice what he preaches? Y N

Part 2: Who Are You?

25. Which sex are you?
 Female  Male
26. What is your age?
 18–19  20–21  22–23  24–25  older than 25
 27. Which school year are you in?
 Freshman  Sophomore  Junior  Senior
28. Are you taking this BTS course to fulfill General Education
requirements?
 Yes  No
29. Which denomination do you belong to?
 Covenant  Roman Catholic  Evangelical
 Pentecostal-Charismatic  Mainline Protestant
30. Do you go to church . . .
 weekly  at least once a month  sometimes
 once or twice per year  never

Part 3: What Do You Think

About Yourself?
[Do not look at your answers to questions 1–24.]

31. Does your mood often go up and down? Y N

32. Are you a talkative person? Y N
33. Would being in debt worry you? Y N
34. Are you rather lively? Y N
35. Were you ever greedy by helping yourself to more
than your share of anything? Y N
36. Would you take drugs which may have strange or
dangerous effects? Y N
37. Have you ever blamed someone for doing
something you knew was really your fault? Y N
38. Do you prefer to go your own way rather than act
by the rules? Y N
39. Do you often feel “fed-up”? Y N
40. Have you ever taken anything (even a pin or
button) that belonged to someone else? Y N
41. Would you call yourself a nervous person? Y N
42. Do you think marriage is old-fashioned and
should be done away with? Y N
43. Can you easily get some life into a rather dull party? Y N
44. Are you a worrier? Y N
45. Do you tend to keep in the background on social
occasions? Y N
46. Does it worry you if you know there are mistakes
in your work? Y N
47. Have you ever cheated at a game? Y N
48. Do you suffer from “nerves”? Y N
49. Have you ever taken advantage of someone? Y N
50. Are you mostly quiet when you are with other people? Y N
51. Do you often feel lonely? Y N
52. Do you think it is better to follow society’s rules
than go your own way? Y N
53. Do other people think of you as being very lively? Y N
54. Do you always practice what you preach? Y N