Pop quiz: Christmas 101

We are the Bible belt. Been known for that a long time. Since about 1920 when journalist H. L. Mencken coined the praise to characterize our regional emphasis on the Bible and its importance to daily life.

Don’t know exactly why but we of the Bible belt have grown lax in our knowledge, interpretation, and application of the good book. In my youth Bible knowledge contests, known as Bible drills, were a welcome aspect of church life and many young people became confident citizens through their endeavor to be competent with the Scriptures. Now, we almost apologize when we ask young people to bring their Bibles to church much less memorize a verse here and there.

We are four days from a new year. It would be a great opportunity to embrace 2007 as the year we become familiar with the book that is still the most published and popular book in the world. According to recent research, the average Bible consumer owns nine different Bibles. But far too many of us Bible consumers lack in basic Bible information.

Let me give you a little quiz that I recently gave at church. See how well you do.

• Name the prostitute who was a distant cousin of Jesus?

• What great New Testament prophet was a cousin of Jesus?

• What does the name “Bethlehem” mean?

• Shepherds came to worship Jesus in Bethlehem or Jerusalem?

• The Wise Men came to worship Jesus in Bethlehem or Nazareth?

• Jesus was born king of what people?

• What two Gospel writers do not mention the birth event of Jesus?

• Joseph (Mary’s husband) could have granted Mary what legal document if he so desired upon learning of her pregnancy?

• The name “Jesus” means what?

• What’s the only book of the New Testament that gives the account of the Wise Men?

• What is a manger?

• Which Judean leader issued the edict to slaughter all males under the age of two in Bethlehem?

Want the answers?

• Rahab was Jesus’ distant cousin working the oldest profession.

• John the Baptist was related to Mary because his mother was Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth.

• Jesus was born in the town known as House of Bread.

• Both the Shepherds and Wise Men worshipped Jesus while he stayed in Bethlehem.

• Jesus was born and proclaimed as King of the Jews.

• Neither Mark or John tell of the Bethlehem birth events.

• Joseph could have given Mary a writ of divorce and told her to take a hike.

• It floors me that many believers do not know that “Jesus” means “God saves.”

• Matthew is the only book that details the visit of the Wise Men and the subsequent massacre of children. But the child Jesus escaped.

• A manger is a feeding trough and a rough one at that. Just think of the baby Jesus laying where all the cattle had slobbered only hours before. Hope Joseph had some 409.

• And of course the old sly fox, Herod, was on the throne in Palestine when he ordered the killing of babies.

So, how did you do? Pass or fail? Most of us think we know more than we do. Learning is the process of learning what we thought we had learned. Give yourself a fabulous gift for 2007 and start reading the Bible and more than that, learning the Bible.

Happy New Year. See you in next year’s paper. I think it will be my 15th year at coming into your homes with a religious thought or two.