I Know I Saw That Somewhere Trivia Quiz

Answer: Baptist

John the Baptist, sometimes called John the Baptizer*, was the cousin of Jesus of Nazareth. According to the New Testament, John was the forerunner to the Messiah (Jesus). He preached repentance from sin and baptized people in the river by immersion. He even baptized Jesus!

Baptists are Christians who get their name from the fact that they baptize believers (older children and adults) by immersion. Baptists believe strongly that only those who make a conscious declaration of faith in Jesus Christ should be baptized. Baptists believe in the age of accountability, which means that babies and young children who die automatically go to Heaven. The belief is that yes, they are born sinners, but they don't understand the concepts of sin and forgiveness or the gospel, so God gives them grace. How old is old enough to believe in Jesus and be baptized? Not all Baptists agree, with some accepting children around 8 years-old, while others believe that children should be at least 12 (this seems to be the cut-off for the age of accountability).

There are sub-groups of Baptists, such as General Baptists, Particular Baptists, Southern Baptists, and several others, and they each have their own views on issues like dispensationalism vs. covenant theology, and free will vs. predestination/irresistible grace, etc. Most Baptists are complementarian, which means that they only ordain men for leadership roles.

Baptist churches apparently grew out of the Puritans, especially John Smyth, who disagreed with the Church of England. However, some Baptists believe that their faith is ancient and don't agree with the label of "Protestant". They simply consider their beliefs and actions to be that of the original Christians.

Baptists are different from anabaptists, which the Amish are an example of. However, Baptists, anabaptists, and many other evangelicals, such as Pentecostals and non-denominational Christians, all practice believer's baptism. They cite Acts 8:12, which states that men and women accepted Jesus, were baptized, and joined the church, as proof that the first Christians practiced believer's baptism. That said, Baptists insist upon immersion. Some other denominations are open to sprinkling or pouring even for believer's baptism.

*John and Jesus were Jewish by both religion and ethnicity. While it is unclear what sect of Judaism they followed (yes, there have been distinct sects of Judaism, but not nearly as many as denominations of Christianity!) some suggest that they were Essenes.

Answer: Pentecostal

Many Christians believe that the Christian church began at Pentecost in Acts 2. Since God made a covenant with the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the books of Genesis and Exodus, the vast majority of the Bible was about the nation of Israel and surrounding nations, often Israel's enemies (exceptions include characters like Adam and Noah who lived prior to Abraham). Even in Acts 2, the church was overwhelmingly Jewish at the time. In fact, they were celebrating Shavuot or the Feast of Weeks when the Holy Spirit fell upon them. Pentecost is essentially the Christian version of Shavuot. In the Old Testament, believers weren't permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but in the New Testament, they are.

The Pentecostal movement is called such because they believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which they consider to be the baptism by fire that John the Baptist mentioned (John said that he baptized with water, but one would come later to baptize with fire). Many Pentecostals argue that there is a distinction between being indwelt by the Spirit, which is a requirement for salvation, and being baptized or filled with the Spirit, which often results in speaking in tongues. In this view, tongues or other works don't save and Christians from other denominations can still be brothers and sisters in Christ. Pentecostals and charismatics believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit (tongues, divine healing, prophecy, etc.) haven't ceased but continue in today's church.

While Pentecostals believe that the New Testament church was Pentecostal (there are verses that speak about tongues and prophecy even in Paul's letters that they use as arguments) the modern Pentecostal movement is largely a result of the Azusa Street Revival of 1906-1915.

Pentecostals tend to be dispensationalists and egalitarians. Most Pentecostals are trinitarians, which other Protestants and Catholics are as well. There is a very controversial offshoot called Oneness Pentecostalism or Jesus Only, which teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three manifestations of one person instead of three persons of the Godhead.

Answer: Bethel

According to Genesis 35, Bethel (which means "house of God") was originally called Luz and was in the land of Canaan, which then became the land of Israel. It was in Bethel that God changed Jacob's name to "Israel" and promised to give the land to his descendants. Scholars identify the modern Palestinian Beitin with Bethel. Bethel was left uninhabited for centuries after the Crusades (the Israelites/Jews went into diaspora and were persecuted) until the Ottoman/Turkish Empire period when settlers from the nearby Burqa established Beitin.

Bethel Church is a non-denominational charismatic megachurch in Redding, California. It was originally founded in the 1950s by Robert Doherty as part of the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal sub-group, but in 2005, it decided to break from the Pentecostal denomination. Bill Johnson has been the leader of it since 1996. Some people use "Pentecostal" and "charismatic" interchangeably, but technically charismatics are those outside of the Pentecostal denomination but believe in the ongoing gifts of the Holy Spirit (tongues, prophecy, etc.). There have even been charismatic Baptists and Catholics.

Answer: Nazarenes

Christianity began as a "heretical" sect of Judaism in the first century AD. The first Christians were called Nazarenes because Jesus came from Nazareth. (He was born in Bethlehem but raised in Nazareth).

While they were called "Nazarenes" in Jerusalem, Antioch in Greece called them "Christians" (Acts 11).

The Apostle Paul, whom the Jews called the ringleader of the sect, spread Christianity throughout the world. In Romans 11:13, he calls himself the Apostle to the Gentiles. This implies that while the other Apostles, such as Peter, did preach to Gentiles to an extent (indeed, Christ told them to go into the world in Mark 16) they were more responsible for preaching to Jews. The Apostle James, Jesus' brother, wrote his letter to the twelve tribes of Israel and had his own followers of Messianic Jews (Acts 21). The Apostle Paul wrote much of the New Testament.

The Church of the Nazarene (members go by Nazarenes) is a denomination that grew out of Methodism in the 19th century in North America. One of the founders was Phineas F. Bresee. Of course, Methodism goes back to John Wesley in 18th century Europe. Interestingly, the original title of the Nazarene Church was "the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene" but after the rise of the Pentecostal movement, the title became problematic and so the "Pentecostal" was dropped.

Nazarenes practice both believer's and infant baptism. Unlike Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, and Presbyterians, Nazarenes don't view infant baptism necessary for washing away original sin. They view the baptism type as an individual church member's choice: Immersion, sprinkling, and pouring are all considered acceptable forms of baptism. The Nazarene Church is egalitarian, which means that they ordain both men and women for leadership roles.

Answer: Vineyard

"Now the owner of the vineyard said, 'What am I to do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.' But when the vine-growers saw him, they discussed with one another, saying, 'This is the heir; let's kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.' And so they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and put these vine-growers to death, and will give the vineyard to others.' However, when they heard this, they said, 'May it never happen!' But Jesus looked at them and said, 'Then what is this statement that has been written:
'A stone which the builders rejected,
This has become the chief cornerstone'?" (Luke 20, 13-17, NASB).

The parable means that God took the kingdom away from the ones who killed His son and gave it to others. Those who teach replacement theology (amillennialism/postmillennialism) believe that God took the kingdom away from Israel and gave it to the church. Dispensationalist premillennialists believe that He took it away from those specific Jews and will give it to a future generation of Jews.

The Vineyard was originally connected to Calvary Chapel. One of the founders was John Wimber, who planted a Calvary Chapel in Anaheim, California, in 1977. Wimber's charismatic beliefs conflicted with the Calvary Chapel leaders and in 1982, Wimber changed the name to Vineyard. Today there are Vineyard churches all over the world.

Answer: Presbytery

"Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery" (1 Timothy 4:14, KJV).

The Presbyterian Church calls itself such because it uses a presbyteral government, which means that elders are above congregations. It grew out of the Protestant Reformation and the Church of Scotland. While John Calvin wasn't a direct founder, he did greatly influence it. The Presybytian denomination teaches Reformed theology, also called Calvinism, which claims that salvation is based upon irresistible grace--God has an "elect" that He chooses to save.

Congregationalists, some Baptists, and certain other Christians also believe in Calvinism. However, other Baptists and many other various Christians believe in free will (not necessarily strict Arminianism, but closer to that than Calvinism).

The Presbyterian Church practices infant baptism. They will also baptize adults who were never baptized as babies.

Answer: Churches of Christ

Obviously, when the Apostle Paul wrote those words, he was referring to all of the Christian churches that he knew about. The Apostle founded many churches himself.

The Church of Christ (they actually refer to themselves as the Churches of Christ if more than one congregation is being spoken about) claims to be non-denominational, but it is like a denomination. They have some beliefs that other evangelical Christians don't share. One belief is that believer's baptism by immersion is required for salvation. Baptists, Pentecostals, and most others who practice believer's baptism don't believe that baptism is required for salvation. Instead, most consider baptism to be symbolic of new life through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit--something that Christians should do but isn't needed. Generally speaking, evangelical (which the Church of Christ ironically falls under) Christians believe that salvation is by faith and grace alone; works like baptism, speaking in tongues, etc. don't save people. The Church of Christ also forbids instruments in their worship services and insist that singing must be done acapella. Most other Christians allow instruments in their services.

The Church of Christ emerged from the Restoration movement of the 19th century in the United States. Some leaders included Barton W. Stone and Alexander Campbell. The members of the Church of Christ prefer to be called "disciples of Christ" or just "Christians". They believe that Christianity has strayed too much from the New Testament church and that multiple denominations aren't of God.

Answer: Evangelists

While the word "evangelical" isn't in the Bible, the related word "evangelist" is. The same word is used in most translations of Ephesians 4:11.

The verse is about the five-fold ministry of the body of Christ, the Christian church. Pentecostals and charismatics especially love this verse since it mentions prophets and apostles. But the body of Christ consists of all genuinely saved, born-again Christians worldwide (I believe that God knows who they are), regardless of which denomination they identify as.

An evangelist is someone who preaches the gospel to non-Christians. A street preacher is an example of this. A pastor is a leader over a local church. A pastor is a shepherd over his (or her, if egalitarian) flock. A teacher is someone who, well, teaches theology or the Bible to others. Teachers can teach outside of the Sunday worship service, just as evangelists can evangelize out of it. A prophet is someone who speaks the oral word of God and can sometimes predict the future. An apostle is someone sent by God--what exactly this means is debated. I have heard it said that apostles are those who establish churches. Can someone be more than one of these roles at the same time? Yes, they certainly can. Some pastors are also evangelists, for example.

The Evangelical Free denomination is of the Radical Pietist movement. Radical Pietists separated from the Lutheran denomination because they believe that Christians don't need a hierarchy and can rely on the Holy Spirit for personal guidance. The American Evangelical Free Church was founded in 1950 by merging the Swedish Evangelical Free and the Norwegian- Danish Evangelical Free churches. The Radical Pietist movement goes back to 17th century Europe. By the way, the "free" refers to their congregational government. When I was younger, the name confused me. I thought they were "free" like "sugar free" or "fat free" and it made no sense to me, lol.

The Evangelical Free denomination generally practices believer's baptism by immersion. Certain congregations might practice infant baptism too.

Evangelicals in general are Christians who believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God, seek a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and who believe in sharing the "good news" or gospel. Many Protestants are evangelicals. Evangelicals tend to be more conservative, while mainline Protestants can be more liberal.

Answer: Congregation

Note that the New American Standard translation uses "congregation" but some other translations say "multitude", "assembly", or other such variant. However, some other translations use "congregation" as well, such as the Revised Standard Version. While the word "church" is often used to refer to the whole body of believers worldwide (or, in some cases, unfortunately, a building used for worship) "congregation" refers to a particular group of believers, such as the members of a local church. "Church" and "congregation" can be used synonymously, but it depends upon the context. In this quiz, I also use "Church" and "denomination" interchangeably.

Congregationalism is a denomination that teaches Reformed (Calvinistic) theology and has congregational government. Robert Browne, Henry Barrowe, and John Greenwood founded it. It branched out of the Puritan Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries. The Puritans wanted to reform the Anglican (Church of England) because they viewed it as too Catholic-like. Interestingly, though, Congregationalism continues to practice infant baptism.

Outside of this denomination, other groups use congregational government, which means that a local church congregation is independent and autonomous. For example, Baptist churches are congregational. This type of government is distinct from episcopal, which means that there is a hierarchy of bishops over the churches. The Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, the Anglican Church, and a few others use this type. Then there is the presbyteral government, which means that a group of elected elders are over a congregation. The Presbyterian Church uses this.

Answer: Seventh Day

According to Genesis 2, God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day, which became the Sabbath. The Sabbath is Saturday.

Most Christians worship on Sunday, the first day of the week. This is because the New Testament states that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb on the first day of the week, after the Sabbath, and discovered that Jesus resurrected. Seventh Day Adventists disagree with other Christian denominations. They believe that they need to observe the Sabbath, and they also follow Jewish dietary laws. Seventh Day Adventists also believe in annihilationism, which is the idea that unbelievers don't suffer eternally in Hell but are merely destroyed.

One of the founders was Ellen G. White, who established it in 1863 in the United States. The Seventh Day Adventist Church believes in the Trinity, which is considered a foundational and primary doctrine of the Christian faith. While some groups, such as Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Oneness Pentecostals reject the Trinity, the Trinity is the one thing that Catholics and the vast majority of Protestants agree on.