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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Book One.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Augustine encourage his critics to remember in the Preface?
(a) To be wary of falling into the trap of heresy.
(b) To practice the rhetorical skills he embraces to make criticism more effective.
(c) To remember experiencing learning for themselves.
(d) To patiently contemplate his points before they make a judgment.

2. What is the nature of the second important distinction Augustine identifies in Book One?
(a) Christian love can be found within pagans, but pagan love is antithetical to Christian love.
(b) A sign is always a thing, but not all things are signs.
(c) Everything that is enjoyed is used, but not everything that is used is enjoyed.
(d) Encouragement is an exhortation, but not every exhortation is an encouragement.

3. What is an important distinction that Augustine teaches students to understand through three Books of "On Christian Doctrine?
(a) The difference between "things" and "signs."
(b) The difference between "special gifts" and talents.
(c) The difference between sins of omission and original sin.
(d) The difference between original sin and human nature.

4. What is the doctrine that Augustine claims critics of human teaching defend?
(a) That God will communicate through tongues.
(b) That God will communicate through signs and symbols.
(c) That God will communicate through the in dwelling of the Holy Spirit.
(d) That God will communicate the meaning of Scripture through "special gifts."

5. In approaching this distinction, what is Augustine's first focus in Book One?
(a) On original sin.
(b) On things as things.
(c) On "special gifts."
(d) On sins of omission.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Augustine consider to be the ultimate thing to be enjoyed?

2. What is Augustine's perception of God's dispensation of "special gifts" of interpreting Scripture?

3. What does Augustine claim to be the central law of love and the message of Christianity?

4. What was the first type of criticism Augustine suggests his work "On Christian Doctrine" would face?

5. What is the main difference between the system of learning that Augustine advocates and that advocated by the critics he focuses on in the Preface?

(see the answer key)

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