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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Chesterton names four standards by which people try to establish the ideals of equality and inequality. What is his opinion of the fourth standard?
(a) It is ridiculous.
(b) Its roots are in paganism.
(c) It is the only sensible one.
(d) It is the only one fitting to Christianity.

2. In Chesterton's thoughts, Christianity came to assert passionately what idea?
(a) Man's salvation will come only when Christ returns.
(b) Man must look inward for salvation.
(c) Man must look to the Old Testament for salvation.
(d) Man must look outward for salvation.

3. According to Chesterton, most things are allied with oppression. What is the one area where he sees a line past which oppression has no effect?
(a) Politics.
(b) Religion.
(c) Orthodoxy.
(d) Love.

4. What people, in their interactions with women, does Chesterton call stupid?
(a) Those who think women's loyalty is a fault.
(b) Those who think women's loyalty stems from blindness to a man's fault.
(c) Those who abuse a woman's loyalty by constantly testing it.
(d) Those who take women for granted.

5. What reason does Chesterton give for the idea that love craves personality?
(a) Love desires human quirks, including problems.
(b) Love desires a human object.
(c) Love desires difference and division.
(d) Love desire reciprocation.

6. Why, in the abstract, does Chesterton disapprove of long, complicated words?
(a) Few people know what they mean.
(b) They do not require thinking.
(c) They hinder understanding.
(d) They are difficult to read and pronounce.

7. How does Chesterton contrast pantheism and action?
(a) Pantheism looks only at the world; action looks also at the supernatural.
(b) Pantheism says one thing is as good as another; action chooses one thing as best.
(c) Pantheism is completely inactive and therefore opposes action.
(d) Pantheism entails all possibilities; action is exclusive in its choice.

8. What problem did Christianity solve which Paganism could not?
(a) A personal God.
(b) Balance.
(c) Salvation.
(d) Forgiveness.

9. Chesterton notes a startling difference between Christian and Buddhist art. What is this difference?
(a) Whether the scene is set indoors or outdoors.
(b) Whether the people's eyes are open or shut.
(c) Whether the colors are bright or dim.
(d) Whether the people are predominantly young or old.

10. In the Christian's view, why does a man's soul provide enough outlet for both the optimist and the pessimist?
(a) He now has reason to claim brotherhood with Christ.
(b) He is exalted as God's creation and humbled as a sinner.
(c) He has hope for a heavenly future but fear for an earthly one.
(d) Both passions are allowed free reign.

11. What is the thesis of Mrs. Besant's book?
(a) God is distant from the world and man must struggle on alone.
(b) All religions are the same, and their church is the universal self.
(c) Each religion has the same basic tenets but a different God figure.
(d) Man's largest desire is unity with all of humanity.

12. At the beginning of Chapter VIII, the Romance of Orthodoxy, what does Chesterton name as the cause for busyness in modern society?
(a) Laziness.
(b) Fast-paced life.
(c) Stress.
(d) Bustle.

13. What does Chesterton call "the most difficult and interesting part of the mental process" that he reached? (Chesterton 2000, pg. 247)
(a) The fact that love and hate must soften each other.
(b) The problem of dealing with human passions.
(c) The problem of balance which is presented in the world.
(d) The fact that love and hate must burn equally strong.

14. What definition does Chesterton find BEST for optimist and pessimist?
(a) An optimist sees the world as the best it can be, while the pessimist sees the world as the worst it can be.
(b) An optimist thinks everything right but the pessimist, while the pessimist thinks everything wrong but himself.
(c) An optimist looks after your eyes, while a pessimist looks after your feet.
(d) An optimist has nothing but hope, while the pessimist has everything but hope.

15. In determining his criteria for progress, what does Chesterton discover?
(a) Christianity arrived there first.
(b) Buddhism shed some light on his questions.
(c) Christianity could not answer any of his questions.
(d) Christianity could lead him to the answers.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the single true charge that Chesterton found against Christianity?

2. Why does Chesterton call suicide the greatest sin?

3. According to Chesterton, what mindset, paralleling patriotism, leads to reform?

4. What does Chesterton call the worst religion of all?

5. What is the evil of the pessimist? (Chesterton 2000, pg. 226)

(see the answer keys)

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