View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What important understanding must the student of scripture possess, as stated in Book Two?
(a) He/she must understand that covetousness will disrupt the community.
(b) His/her own depravity and that he loves temporal things too much.
(c) He/she must understand that knowing how to use signs can lead to abusing signs.
(d) His/her self love can interfere with his ability to use his inner eye.

2. What is ironic about the fact that Augustine referred to Tyconius' "Book of Rules" as being useful for the interpretation of Scripture?
(a) Tyconius was a Donatist and much of "On Christian Doctrine" is written to address points of disagreement between Augustine and Donatists.
(b) Augustine eschewed rules that do not originate from Scripture.
(c) Tyconius was a Greek philosopher and Augustine was wary of Greek philosophers.
(d) Tyconius was ruled a heretic for taking liberties in the examination of Scripture.

3. Augustine writes in Book Three that in order to make the type of evaluation of the command given to the intended target, what knowledge must a student of Scripture possess?
(a) Of how God expects his laws to be applied.
(b) Of the history of the event for which God is giving the command.
(c) Of how God used a sign to foretell his command.
(d) Of how God makes his will manifest.

4. If Augustine sets a standard for how to interpret Scriptural characters literally, and he applies the converse of that standard for interpreting Scriptural character's figuratively, how would that standard be articulated?
(a) A figurative interpretation of a holy Scriptural character will be applied to language and speech that defines how a sign is a thing.
(b) A figurative interpretation of a holy Scriptural character will be applied to language and speech that embraces evil and condemns love or kindness.
(c) A figurative interpretation of a holy Scriptural character will be applied to language and speech that embraces evil and condemns love or kindness.
(d) A figurative interpretation of a holy Scriptural character will be applied to language and speech that describes condemnations on the chosen of God.

5. What are the mix of subjects that Augustine emphasizes in his education?
(a) Dietary law, moral law, laws of separation and laws of exclusion.
(b) Mosaic Law, dietary law, Biblical civil law, sacrificial law, and order of the Tabernacle and Temple.
(c) Rhetoric, philosophy, logic, botany, astronomy, languages and history.
(d) The history of the Pentateuch, the laws of prophets, and the writings of the Minor Prophets.

6. What are the two different ways a Scriptural passage can be considered, according to Book Three?
(a) They can be considered figuratively or literally.
(b) They can be considered linguistically or grammatically.
(c) They can be considered culturally or historically.
(d) They can be considered as details of things or details of signs.

7. What is the significance of Augustine recommending mastery of so many fields in Book Two?
(a) Broad knowledge is needed to properly interpret Scripture.
(b) Learning all that God has put before the student through all history helps the student better know the mind of God.
(c) Broad knowledge helps exercise the inner eye.
(d) Attempting to absorb so much information exercises the mind and helps the student find their special gift.

8. Of the areas that Augustine emphasizes, what area receives the most intense focus?
(a) The role of Mosaic Law and Biblical social law in founding Israelite society.
(b) The foundations of Israelite history and the influence of prophecy on the Christian Church.
(c) History, culture and languages of Biblical peoples.
(d) Dietary law and moral law in creating stable, healthy judges, and teachers.

9. What are the primary possessions of the student of Scripture, according to Augustine in Book Two?
(a) Special gifts, things, and signs.
(b) Illuminated truth, the inner eye, and faith.
(c) Love, illuminated truth, and the inner eye.
(d) Faith, hope, and love.

10. Since Augustine regards his disciples as "divinely instituted," what responsibility falls on his students?
(a) They have the duty to discover their "special gift."
(b) They have the duty to apply good social and intellectual practices.
(c) They have the duty to develop their "inner eye."
(d) They have the duty to know the difference between things and signs.

11. According to Augustine, of the different forms through which the grammar types show themselves, which is, by definition, the most difficult to interpret?
(a) The catachresis because of its "misuse or strained use of words, as in a mixed metaphor, occurring either in error or for rhetorical effect."
(b) The riddle because it often requires an answer that was even hidden in the day it was given.
(c) The poem because it relies heavily on metaphor, hyperbole, and enigma.
(d) The sarcasm because it is often undetectable unless the intended tone of the writer is examined.

12. What does Augustine call signs that are only used to express and transmit thoughts?
(a) Signs that are words.
(b) Given signs.
(c) Natural signs.
(d) Signs that are things.

13. How can recommendations Augustine makes from Book Three prevent students from falling into the trap that misleads them?
(a) Augustine devotes much of Book Two to detailing the demands on the serious student of Scripture.
(b) Augustine warns against allowing the increased knowledge of students from developing into pride.
(c) Augustine recommends that students learn the culture, language, and history from the periods that Scripture was written to develop the skill to interpret Scripture intelligently.
(d) Augustine painstakingly differentiates between signs and things to guide students away from misapplying both.

14. What Scriptural passage does Augustine use to remind the reader of "On Christian Doctrine" of the condition that affects holy men?
(a) "And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children that He raised up Jesus."
(b) "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
(c) "'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'"
(d) "Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah, through all his prophets and every seer, saying, 'Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through my servants the prophets.'"

15. What is a major challenge in dealing with the topic addressed in Book Three?
(a) Often figurative language is used to represent both God and angels and this language must be investigated in its original form, not translations.
(b) Understanding the difference between signs given to groups and signs given to individuals can only be achieved after study of the languages in which languages were written.
(c) The meanings of Scriptural phrases that contain ambiguous signs can often be changed with misplaced punctuation.
(d) The sinful nature of the human filter can interfere with the interpretation of Scripture at any stage of investigation.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is an apparent contradiction regarding Augustine's expectation of students to interpretation and an omission from his commentaries in "On Christian Doctrine"?

2. What does Book Three state is the purpose of God or angels using condemning terms?

3. What does Augustine call the types of grammar used through Scripture?

4. What hazard does Augustine state must one keep in check as they learn of the fields pertaining to Scripture?

5. What are the two different ways that God and angels speak in Scripture, as identified in Book Three?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,353 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample