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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. To what description of the life of the cave-man does Chesterton especially object?

2. What happens when an onlooker tries to envision the church as a member of a throng of superstitions lobbying for believers?

3. What difference does Chesterton assert between the antiquity of Egypt and Babylon on one hand and the antiquity of China on the other?

4. What does Chesterton take as evidence that evolution is flawed as a way to define the origins of man?

5. What importance does Chesterton give to the pace at which things go?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Chesterton describe the religious experience of the Carthaginians?

2. What explanation does Chesterton give for the common themes running through world mythologies?

3. As a way to demonstrate the potential deficiencies in deductive reasoning, Chesterton uses an example of 20th Century initials being carved in a rock. Explain this example and what it is meant to convey.

4. In the beginning of the introduction, Chesterton uses an analogy of a boy leaving his farmland home and looking back on his homeland as he does so. What is he trying to explain or make clear with this analogy?

5. According to Chesterton, how accurate is H. G. Wells's concept of the "Old Man"?

6. How does Troy and the Iliad enter into Chesterton's argument?

7. Explain the phrase from the introduction, "...The moment we are really impartial about it, we know why people are partial to it."

8. What simple truth about mankind does Chesterton deduce from his discussion of the cave drawings? What arguments does he make?

9. Chesterton claims to see the concept of an all powerful God in many pagan religions. Explain his position.

10. To what depiction of the cave-man does Chesterton most object and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Chesterton devotes an entire chapter to describing the Punic war between Carthage and Rome. Write an essay about this war.

Part 1. Give some general background about the time and places involved. What were they like before the war?

Part 2. What are the known facts about this war? Where do we get these facts? Describe the general happenings of the war from a militaristic or strategic standpoint.

Part 3. Incorporating Chesterton's position into your essay, describe what you feel are the more human reasons and experiences that were prevalent in this war. Do you agree with Chesterton's interpretation? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Chesterton spends quite a bit of time disputing the popular scientific theories of his time. Write an essay about the scientific theories on the origins of man.

Part 1. How is new knowledge incorporated into the scientific record? Explain the scientific method.

Part 2. What special difficulties does research into an untestable subject such as prehistory present? What methods have been developed to work around them?

Part 3. What are the current scientific theories regarding the origins of man?

Part 4. How do these theories differ with the ones existent in Chesterton's time? Are his arguments still valid?

Essay Topic 3

Chesterton's arguments that Buddhism is not a religion and does not have ethics, and that the church is unique in its ability to endure social change is thrown into question by Buddhism itself. Write an essay on Buddhism.

Part 1. Write about the historical spread of Buddhism - when and where it was founded, its subsequent existence and spread throughout history, and its various different types.

Part 2. Who was Buddha? Describe the founder of Buddhism and his teachings.

Part 3. Describe the five precepts, or the code of ethics, in Buddhism.

Part 4. Analyze Chesterton's position on Buddhism in light of your research.

(see the answer keys)

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