With Bible Trivia, it's All What You Noah

Where did God give the Hebrews the Ten Commandments?  What was Adam’s job in the Garden of Eden?  What weapons did David bring to his battle with Goliath?  If you’re a fan of Jeopardy or the game “Trivial Pursuit”, you might know the answers to these questions.  If not…read on.

My church, UCC Norwell, has been following an “Alpha to Omega” curriculum this year.  Promoted as “all the stories in the bible you should know”, the study began in September with the Creation and has worked its way through the bible since.  Many of the stories were familiar to me, including Noah and the Flood, Jonah and the Whale and the raising of Lazarus.  Other stories were new to me, such as the circumstances surrounding David and Bathsheba (adultery!) and the devotion of Ruth to her mother-in-law, Naomi (“whither though goest, I will go”).

This has been a three-pronged study for me.  I’ve helped teach these stories each week to the kids in Sunday school.  Our minister incorporates the story into his sermon, and the youth group leader recaps the stories during Sunday night youth group.

The culmination of this yearlong study was Friday’s ultimate showdown: a night of bible trivia with prizes awarded to the team with the most correct answers.  Church members split themselves into teams that included church council, the choir, Mission and Outreach, the Deacons, the middle school kids, (who dubbed themselves The Holy Ghosts), a high school team and several others.  I rallied my fellow Sunday school teachers to band together.   In the days leading up to the event, I reviewed all of the stories from the past year, writing down obscure facts that might possibly be covered. (Did you know Noah was more than 600 years old when the flood occurred?)

For fun I decided to rope my husband into joining our team.  Though not a churchgoer, he’s one of those people who know a little bit about a lot of subjects.  His puns also make for good comic relief in tense moments, and I take any opportunity I can to get him inside a church.  A teammate brought her Jewish husband, rationalizing that he had a great knowledge of the Old Testament.

Excitement was crackling in the air that as the teams enjoyed their pre-game appetizers, a kind of scripture carb-load before the game.  The high school team leaned back in their chairs, supremely confident in their ability to sweep the event, while the middle schoolers prepared by loading up on brownies and Mountain Dew.  A hush fell across the crowd as the game began.

The rules were simple: 30 multiple-choice questions, 15 per round, with an intermission in between rounds.  No bibles, notes or electronic devices allowed on the tables during the rounds.  Can you imagine being caught cheating at bible trivia?  Each question and its four possible answers were projected on a large screen.  After conferring, each team had to circle their corresponding answer on a slip of paper, which a runner then carried to the scorekeepers.  Once the slips were collected, the answer would be revealed, to various cheers and groans.

Some answers were easy while others were worded nebulously, prompting some to challenge answers.  For example, the answer to, “How did Solomon get his wisdom?” was “From God” but could have also been “He asked for it”. (FYI, he asked God for it).  Concessions were made for a few of these questions.  My favorite moments involved my agnostic husband, bible in hand, charging up to the minister to question the legitimacy of a particular answer.  My friend’s husband did indeed know many of the Old Testament answers and quite a few of the New Testament ones as well.  While I hoped that The Holy Ghosts would emerge victorious, I couldn’t completely squash my competitive nature.  Could the teacher’s take the win?

By evening’s end, after much laughter, cheering, some good-natured arguing and fun, the results were in: a first-place tie between my team of teachers and their students, The Holy Ghosts.  The fellowship hall erupted in cheers for the victors as the once-confident high school team slumped in their seats.  The winning teams were awarded purple“A2Ω” t-shirts while the team with the lowest score (the Deacons), were awarded the booby prize of “My First Bible” picture books.

It felt great seeing the kids revel in their victory, which reflected back on those of us who taught them.  But mostly it was just a fun way to wrap up our yearlong study.  And for those of you who are curious, the answers are: Mt Horeb; to tend the garden; and a slingshot with five stones.