It's not WHAT you know...

...it's Who you know. Or so goes the old cliché. But as we like to say around here, just because it's a cliché doesn't mean it's not true. So keep it in mind if you decide to take the "Ultimate Bible Quiz."

When I saw Jim's post about the quiz, I couldn't resist taking it, albeit with some trepidation. Granted, forty years of regular attendance in a Baptist Sunday School (that includes time off for bad behavior through several years in college) and reading the Bible cover-to-cover in each of the last fifteen years should equip me to handle the kinds of trivia that one typically finds in these online quizzes, but I also frequently have trouble finding my car keys or remembering the name of a person I met five minutes earlier.

The real concern I have with a Bible quiz is that someone taking it might try to read more into the results than is warranted. The fact of the matter is that knowing the Bible inside and out doesn't make you a better person or even a better Christian, at least in the ways we humans define "better." Sure, God desires that we strive to know Him better in every way possible -- intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and even physically as we experience His sovereign power in the created world that surrounds us. And the Bible is a primo source of good information to help us achieve that knowledge. But we'll never know Him fully in this part of life, and He's fine with that as long as we have Him.

I got a good score on the quiz, one that pleased me intellectually. But every Christian is at a different place in his or her spiritual journey, and a score on this quiz is so irrelevant in every important respect as to make it laughable. In fact, the only quiz that counts is one that has only one question, and it's a "yes or no" question at that. If you really want to know where you stand with respect to the thing that God cares about most, this is the quiz to take:

Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your savior?
Yes
No

Fortunately, it's an open book test.

Comments

I think I like your quiz better. :)

Posted by: Denise at February 6, 2007 07:47 AM

Good post, Eric.

Posted by: Janie at February 6, 2007 08:04 AM

"Open book test."

Nice.

Posted by: Jim at February 6, 2007 08:16 AM

Your quiz is much better. :)

Posted by: beth at February 6, 2007 08:18 AM

So you didn't tell us WHAT you scored :)

Posted by: jimmy at February 6, 2007 08:44 AM

So you didn't tell us WHAT you scored

Gee, I didn't, did I?

Denise, I'm glad to see that you're still among the living. Uh, you are still among the living, right? ;-)

Posted by: Eric at February 6, 2007 08:58 AM

Well said!

Posted by: Jennifer at February 6, 2007 09:12 AM

Well if anyone's interested, I know how to find out Eric's score. :)

Posted by: jimmy at February 6, 2007 10:25 AM

I couldn't find the answer in the book, but I found it in my heart. ;-)

A very nice post, Eric, as usual.

Posted by: Gwynne at February 6, 2007 10:46 AM

I scored 100% on the quiz, but I'm not going to include it on my resume. When the three wrong choices for "Where did X live?" are "San Francisco," "Washington D.C.," and "Tokyo," you're not exactly being tested. :-)

But my inner Pharisee was pleased, I have to confess.

Posted by: Bret at February 6, 2007 11:27 AM

"Inner Pharisee." Heh.

Posted by: Eric at February 6, 2007 11:39 AM

You guys make me laugh.

Posted by: Janie at February 6, 2007 03:33 PM

You make a great point Eric! That is the only question that matters - but secretly, I was also pleased with my score hehe.

Posted by: Rachel at February 6, 2007 04:10 PM

I am indeed still among the living and I'm trying to rejoin the blogging as well. :)

Posted by: Denise at February 7, 2007 07:08 PM
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