Poverty and Discipleship

Open Ended

A Poor Man's Prayer ( From "1500 Inspirational Quotes and Illustrations" )

I was hungry and you formed a humanities club and you discussed my hunger. Thank you.

I was imprisoned and you crept off quietly to your chapel in the cellar to pray for my release.

I was naked and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance.

I was sick and you knelt and thanked God for your health.

I was homeless and you preached to me of the spiritual shelter of the love of God.

I was lonely and you left me alone to pray for me.

You seem so holy; so close to God.

But I’m still very hungry and lonely and cold.

So where have your prayers gone? What have they done? What does it profit a man to page through his book of prayers when the rest of the world is crying for help.

Kindly share your refllection on this.

Multiple Choice

3.1. Jesus initially followed John the Baptist’s example and baptized people in the Jordan River.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.2. There is clear evidence in the New Testament that Jesus continued to baptize people after leaving the Jordan and the desert.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.3. Jesus believed that baptizing people was the only way to save Israel.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.4. Jesus’ main focus was on seeking out, helping, and serving the poor, sinners, and sick, rather than baptizing.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.5. The people Jesus focused on are referred to in the gospels by terms such as the poor, the blind, the lame, sinners, and the lost sheep of Israel.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.6. The Pharisees referred to the same marginalized groups Jesus focused on as sinners or the rabble who know nothing of the law.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.7. Today, some might refer to the marginalized groups Jesus helped as the lower classes or the oppressed.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.8. The primary suffering of the poor in Jesus’ time was hunger and starvation.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.9. In Middle Eastern culture, prestige and honor are more important than food or life itself.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.10. The truly poor, who depend entirely on others, are considered at the bottom of the social ladder and are often regarded as hardly human.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.11. The term “poor” in biblical context can include all oppressed and dependent people, as well as those who rely on God's mercy.

• TRUE

• FALSE

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3.12. Sinners in Jesus’ time were considered a distinct social class, including professions like prostitutes, tax collectors, robbers, and gamblers.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.13. Tax collectors were trusted and regarded as honest by the society in Jesus’ time.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.14. The uneducated in Jesus’ time were often regarded as incapable of virtue and piety by even the most enlightened Pharisees.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.15. Repentance and purification could easily make a prostitute or sinner “clean” again without any cost or difficulty.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.16. For sinners, their suffering was mainly in the form of frustration, guilt, and anxiety about divine punishment.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.17. The poor and oppressed in Jesus’ time were more prone to disease primarily because of their physical living conditions.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.18. In the worldview of the Jewish and pagan Orientals, spirits—either good or evil—could inhabit a person during their lifetime, affecting their behavior.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.19. Unusual behaviors such as convulsions, foaming at the mouth, or throwing oneself into fire were understood as signs of possession by an evil spirit in Jesus’ time.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.20. Diseases that appear outwardly on the skin, like sores or rashes, were considered to be caused by evil spirits in the ancient world.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.21. Many illnesses and misfortunes were believed to be punishments from God for personal or ancestral sins.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.22. The link between sin and suffering was always correctly understood, with people fully aware that sin could be committed unknowingly or by mistake.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.23. Superstition was common among the poor and uneducated in Jesus’ time, with many relying on witchdoctors and diviners to identify the source of their afflictions.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.24. The poor and oppressed in Jesus’ time had civil rights and were often trusted with public offices.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.25. Jesus, despite coming from the middle class, chose to identify with the outcasts of society out of compassion.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

3.26. The Greek word “splagchnizomai,” translated as “moved with compassion,” literally refers to a gut reaction or an emotion that wells up from within the entrails.

• TRUE

• FALSE