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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What position does Chesterton take in the chapter "The Riddles of the Gospel"?

2. Which of the following does Chesterton say of the separation of philosophy and religion?

3. According to Chesterton, how much of the church as ever been threatened by extinction?

4. What does Chesterton say Europe would look like if it had continued in paganism?

5. According to Chesterton, how was the purity of the Church preserved?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Chesterton mean or reference when he says that on Good Friday the best things in the world were at their worst?

2. Explain Chesterton's view on the role of the mother in the Christmas story.

3. How does Chesterton connect Christ's intellectual ability to his claim of divinity?

4. What importance does Chesterton assign to the "Merry Peasant"?

5. How does Chesterton refute the common idea to label Christ as a man who was a great philosopher, or a social reformer, or a healer?

6. Explain how Chesterton comes to the conclusion that Christ was an intellectually apt and astute man?

7. According to Chesterton, how do Hector and Achilles compare when looked at historically?

8. Explain the logic behind Chesterton's statement, "If the ecclesiastical and dogmatic system is as old as the Pentecost then it is as old as Christmas."

9. Describe the Europe that Chesterton says would exist if the world still lived in paganism.

10. Explain Chesterton's statement, "I do not believe that mythology must begin with eroticism. But I do believe that mythology must end in it." To what was he referring?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the chapter titled "War of Gods and Demons", Chesterton states that the struggle for Christianity would have been very different if the Carthaginians had won the Punic wars. In the next chapter he creates a psychological profile of what Rome was like when Christianity arrived. Set the psychological stage for the coming of Christ, as Chesterton did for Rome, for the arrival of Christ if Rome had lost the Punic wars. Write an essay about what might have been different.

Part 1. Describe the civilizations of Carthage and Rome.

Part 2. Summarize the war and the major players and events in it.

Part 3. What if Rome had fallen and became a colony of Carthage? What would have changed in society?

Part 4. How do you think these changes might have affected the arrival of Christianity? What would have been different?

Essay Topic 2

In the chapter titled "The Witness of the Heretics" Chesterton talks about Mary Baker Eddy and Christian Science. Write an essay about Christian Science and its founder.

Part 1. Write a short biography of Mary Baker Eddy and what led her to create Christian Science.

Part 2. Provide details about the beginning of Christian Science, including its inception and founding ideologies.

Part 3. How widely is Christian Science practiced today? Explain the spread and evolution of Christian Science.

Essay Topic 3

Chesterton thoroughly analyzes the meanings behind the nativity of Christ. Pick another scene from religion, life, or literature and do the same with it.

Part 1. Explain the scene and where it came from.

Part 2. What elements are full of meaning? What do they signify or mean?

Part 3. You must have chosen this scene because it has some particular impact or beauty. Why did you choose it? Why is it important to you?

(see the answer keys)

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