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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Metaxas report to be the meaning of the officials at Flossenburg telling the prisoners being transferred from Buchenwald that the camp was "too full" to receive them?
(a) The camp had been converted to a receiving center for refugees fleeing allied bombing.
(b) That those prisoners were not marked for death as the only purpose for Flossenburg was to execute prisoners.
(c) That they were backlogged on executions and they would have to wait in another location until they could be "processed".
(d) The winding down of the war meant the Germans were not wasting resources and time on political executions.

2. What international event prevented a conspiracy from declaring Hitler insane and removing him from office, according to Metaxas?
(a) The resignation of General Ludwig von Beck.
(b) Neville Chamberlain appearing in Munich to negotiate the peaceful German occupation of Czechoslovakia?
(c) The Krystallnacht.
(d) The Anschluss of Austria.

3. According to Metaxas, why did the Gestapo take Bonhoeffer for execution?
(a) The Gestapo had found a record of Nazi atrocities that was being kept by Hans von Dohnanyi that had identified Bonhoeffer as a co-conspirator against Hitler.
(b) No strong reason exists in the historical record.
(c) Hitler wanted to take one last action against Christianity.
(d) He was taken by mistake.

4. What question does Metaxas raise with regard to Bonhoeffer's interest in taking a trip to India to visit Ghandi?
(a) "Why was it that a pagan could find the courage to stand on the Sermon on the Mount, but those trained in it did not know how to apply it?"
(b) "Was God bringing judgment on Christian nations by leaving them to evil and preparing to move on pagan nations that freely practiced His principles?"
(c) "What was the significance that nations with no Christian heritage were more able to stand on Christian principles of peace and love than were those nations who had been trained in them for centuries?"
(d) "Was it possible that...Christ was operating among non-Christians in a way that could force the church to action?"

5. Which of the following does Metaxas not report to have been arrested on the same day as Bonhoeffer?
(a) Christine Bonhoeffer.
(b) Joseph Muller.
(c) Hans Dohnanyi.
(d) General Ludwig Beck

6. What does Metaxas claim to have inspired Bonhoeffer and his fellow prisoners to hang on through their imprisonment in Buchenwald?
(a) The knowledge that any moment might bring their liberation or their deaths.
(b) The hymns that Bonhoeffer gently sang.
(c) The presence of Bonhoeffer's quiet courage.
(d) The willingness of all the prisoners to cooperate to try to find their way of escape.

7. Why did Bonhoeffer recommend that Bethge keep up daily meditations on scripture even while he traveled according to Metaxas?
(a) Because Bonhoeffer wanted to feel the sense of connection with Bethge, even though he was in prison.
(b) Because Bonhoeffer believed that self-discipline was the most important part of being a pastor.
(c) Because doing so gives one a sense of grounding, continuity, and clarity.
(d) Because Bonhoeffer didn't want prison to be a limit on his pastoral advise.

8. What did Bonhoeffer claim to be the two main questions that young theologians brought to him in a letter to Karl Barth that was cited by Metaxas?
(a) How do I minister the Gospel under the opposition of the government? How do I protect my flock from the government?
(b) How do I learn to pray? How do I learn to read the Bible?
(c) Should we strive to work within the government to change those practices that are immoral? Aren't we as Christians to humbly submit to the governing authority?
(d) What should be our view toward the Jews? Aren't we to honor the government since it was ordained by God?

9. How does Metaxas explain Bonhoeffer's view of the relationship of the church to the world?
(a) The church was to activate itself to fight against what was evil in the eyes of God.
(b) The church was to speak into the world and to be a voice in the world, so it had an obligation to speak out against things that did not affect it directly.
(c) The church had to be as wise as serpents but as gentle as doves.
(d) The church was called to obedient even unto death.

10. Who in the conspiracy against Hitler does Metaxas suggest was arrested before Bonhoeffer?
(a) Wilhelm Schmidhuber.
(b) Joseph Muller.
(c) Hans Dohnanyi.
(d) Hans Oster.

11. How was Bonhoeffer defined by an ordainant from Finkewalde Seminary quoted by Metaxas?
(a) Bonhoeffer was either fool-hardy or the bravest man I ever knew."
(b) "For Bonhoeffer there was no compromise when it came to living out biblical truth."
(c) Bonhoeffer was, "...a lightning rod for controversy and his persistent defiance of the government had him and his friends in constant turmoil."
(d) Bonhoeffer was, "...a man who believes in what he thinks and does what he believes in."

12. What reservations does Metaxas claim Maria's sister and her husband had regarding Bonhoeffer?
(a) His involvement with the Abwehr.
(b) His role in the conspiracy against Hitler.
(c) His age.
(d) His role as a pastor for an underground church.

13. Where did Bonhoeffer first meet Eberhard Bethge, according to Metaxas?
(a) On the peninsula of Zingst.
(b) During one of the many social engagements at his parents home.
(c) In Berlin upon his return from England.
(d) During a conference with leaders of the Confessing Church.

14. What does Metaxas identify as the major difference between the ecumenical movement and Bonhoeffer with regard to WWII?
(a) The ecumenical movement was pacifist, but Bonhoeffer was not.
(b) The ecumenical movement believed Hitler could be negotiated with, but Bonhoeffer did not.
(c) The ecumenical movement discouraged people from joining the military, but Bonhoeffer did not feel so empowered.
(d) The ecumenical movement sought to end the war, but Bonhoeffer decided that Hitler had to be assassinated.

15. How did the commissar order revitalize the conspiracy to overthrow Hitler?
(a) Many generals considered the order to be an unreasonable violation of the rules of warfare.
(b) The generals felt that prisoners of war were their responsibility and could be used in productive supporting roles for their soldiers.
(c) Many generals felt Soviet commissars could be used to find more important tactical information.
(d) The generals felt that adding an SS commissar to their entourage would slow down their progress.

Short Answer Questions

1. What event does Metaxas claim that Bonhoeffer saw Psalms 74 as being a direct communication from God regarding the situation in Germany?

2. Why does Metaxas claim that Bonhoeffer's sister Sabine and her husband, Gerhard Leibholz, choose to flee Germany when they did?

3. What seeming contradiction of Bonhoeffer's was amplified by the war, according to Metaxas?

4. Why did Colonel Claus von Sauffenberg join the conspiracy to assassinate Hitler, according to Metaxas?

5. How does Metaxas claim that Operation Flash got it's name?

(see the answer keys)

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