Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 7, 1994 TAG: 9409020004
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
I'm afraid I'm going to use my recent illness as the excuse for the delay. I just couldn't seem to get the responses organized enough to get them in column form earlier.
Some of you will recall that on May 22, the day before my now-famous heart attack, I reprinted a series of 10 religion questions a Washington Post columnist asserted every journalist should know the answers to.
It was a tough exam, but a couple dozen of you gave it the old college try. Respondents included ministers, librarians, homemakers, Catholics, Protestants and the nonreligious.
What I've done is taken one of the best answers to each question (with the occasional parenthetical comment from myself) and reprinted them here. At the end of today's column is the name of the overall winner of my entirely unbiased judging, as well as a surprise special award.
Here we go, again, with the two questions that stumped everybody printed last:
1. In the Church of England, what is a suffragan bishop?
A: "A suffragan bishop may be a bishop appointed to assist another bishop, or any bishop in his capacity as a subordinate to his archbishop."
- The Rev. Keith E. Ritchie, pastor of White Memorial United Methodist Church, Shawsville.
2. What are rabbis referring to when they speak of the Midrashim?
A: "The word `midrash' derives from a word ... which means `to search' or `to inquire.' In studying the Scriptures, early Jewish sages `inquired' beyond the surface or literal meanings of verses and passages and compiled their own commentaries on what they read. Each sage wrote his own commentary or `midrash.'
"Most of these commentaries or `midrashim' (the Hebrew plural of the word midrash) are embellishments or explanations that attempt to `read between the lines' of Scripture. The greatest number of Midrashim were written between the years 400 and 1200 Common Era [A.D.] and use a narrative or storytelling style."
- Teresa Irvin, Wytheville.
4. In U.S. Protestantism, which are the three traditional peace churches?
A: "Society of Friends (Quakers), Mennonites, Church of the Brethren."
- Marjorie Eaton, Mouth of Wilson.
5. What is the dominant religious affiliation among members of Congress?
A: "If you lump all the Protestants together, they win by a landslide. However, if you break them down into denominations, the Catholics outnumber [more than 2-to-1] any specific Protestant denomination. [Methodists are the largest Protestant group]."
- Anne Sampson, Roanoke.
6. What were the teachings of Gautama Buddha on suffering?
A: "To Gautama Buddha, `suffering' had several different shades or layers of meaning: in a temporal sense, suffering meant physical discomfort and/or mental unhappiness. In a spiritual sense, he defined suffering as being in spiritual disharmony with the natural flow, or harmony, of the universe.
"Buddha's `teachings on suffering can be summed up in what he himself termed the `four noble truths:'
"Truth One: Suffering is universal; everyone experiences suffering at some time (or times) in their lives.
"Truth Two: Suffering is ultimately the result of wrong attitudes and/or wrong actions.
"Truth Three: Suffering can be eliminated by eliminating wrong attitudes and/or wrong actions.
"Truth Four: Wrong attitudes and/or wrong actions can be eliminated by following the `holy, eight-fold path,' [which involves] right viewpoint, right aspiration, right speech, right behavior, right livelihood, right effort, right mindedness, and right contemplation."
- Teresa Irvin, Wytheville.
7. What's the difference between Sunni Muslims and Shiite Muslims?
A: "When the Prophet, Mohammed, died, one group of his followers believed that he had designated his son-in-law, Ali, as his successor. They insisted on the divine right of members of the Holy Family to rule. Their descendents are the Shiites (from Shiah, party of Ali). The opposing faction did not believe Mohammed had chosen a successor... They are the Sunni (from Sunna or well-trodden path) .
The Sunni [more than 90 percent of all Muslims] believe in a community consensus in order to make decisions, but that divine omnipotence takes precedence over human will. The Shiites, on the other hand, believe their ... leader ... alone knows the truth. But they also accept that man has free will."
- Anne Sampson, Roanoke.
8. Who were the founders of these religious orders, and when: Cistercians, Jesuits, Missionaries of Charity, Benedictines?
A: "Cistercians were founded by St. Robert of Molesme in 1098; Jesuits by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1534; Benedictines by St. Benedict of Nursia in 529 [early 6th century, anyway]; and Missionaries of Charity by Mother Teresa in 1950."
- Michael L. Ramsey, Roanoke.
10. How did Amos, the Hebrew prophet, get into trouble?
A: "Amos was a southern (Judah) prophet who went north (to Israel) and spoke out against the people there, primarily at the king's own temple in Bethel. A gutsy, but not endearing, move."
- Keith Wagner, pastor of Roanoke Church of Christ, Brandon Avenue Southwest, (whose alternate answer was, "Actually, Amos got into trouble with the early feminists when he referred to them as `the cows of Bashan.' '')
Now for the two stumpers:
9. What are deep-water Baptists and where are they?
A: This question stumped almost everyone, including me. Answers ranged from deep South Baptists, to those who will only baptize by immersion (a characteristic of all Baptists, by the way) in "living" or "moving" waters.
The most creative answer came from Annette Clemons of Roanoke: "Why, they're people out on those North Atlantic oil rigs!"
Colman McCarthy, the Washington Post columnist who originated the questions, says "deep-water Baptists" is "just an expression" indicating those Baptists who dunk converts deep and long, usually in a river, as opposed to those who settle for a shallow dip in the church baptismal font.
3. What is the current grievance against the U.S. government by the Native American church regarding the use of eagle feathers in worship services?
A: Nobody got this one right. The usual guess was similar to this one by Angela M. Watkins of Natural Bridge Station: "The bald eagle is protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Therefore, the killing or maiming of a bald eagle is punishable by a jail [term] or stiff fine. This is the conflict: should the U.S. government make exceptions for practicing religious which use endangered species' bodies or parts in their rites?"
The answer, McCarthy reports, is that eagle feathers now reclaimed by Department of Interior officials from birds that died natural deaths or were poached are routinely given to students who want them for school projects but are routinely denied to American Indian church groups. Federal legislation now in Congress would, among other things, allow Indians access to the feathers for use in religious rites.
Now for the winners:
Annette Clemons receives a special commendation for the most humorous responses. She came up with a jest for each question.
Among the serious responses, the winning entry came from Anne Sampson (could her hair length have anything to do with that?), with an honorable mention to Teresa Irvin.
My thanks to all of you who entered - and waited so patiently for this column. We may try another quiz - maybe not this tough - in the future.
By the way, McCarthy originally posed these questions as a test of knowledge for journalists. You might not be surprised to learn that those who tried it here didn't do very well.
by CNB