This GCSE RE quiz takes a look at modern life. Christianity is an established religion with a track-record of virtually 2,000 years, but very much a 'living' faith in the hearts and souls of its believers ~ and one with plenty to offer in modern life.
In terms of social and technical history, this world of ours (and God's, so Christians and others believe) has changed vastly within the last few percent of the timescale of the Christian era. Two centuries ago Europe was trying to recover from the Napoleonic Wars; the Industrial Revolution was barely into its stride; railways had still to be invented, let alone motor cars, powered flight nor telecommunications and the Internet. Yet reckoning at 3 or 4 human generations per century, that isn't vastly far ago.
On the world stage, but with personal impact on most of us individuals who share it, within the lifetime of your own grandparents (say, post-WW2) we have seen the twin demise of colonies and communism, the reality of long-haul air travel, the application of computers to life and communications, the ready availability and consequences of ‘recreational drugs’ and chemical contraception … and, no doubt, many other related or unrelated innovations that have raised lifestyle questions for people of faith. Plentiful commentators will seek to persuade you, for instance, that conventional churchgoing and any traditional view of marriage (as a heterosexual, monogamous and lifelong commitment) are doomed to terminal decline, whether or not these are supposedly connected.
Amid all this, the stark realities of early-Christian life, as addressed in Paul’s letters, may seem remote and simplistic. But as long as people are living and working, raising families, laughing and crying etc., a code of ethics ~ precepts and practices by which to conduct one’s life ~ still surely have a valuable place. This quiz will open up some of the joys and challenges of the Christian faith in daily living in its early 3rd millennium.
Please note that several specific topics (such as Suffering, and Other Faiths) are covered in separate quizzes.
Many Christians may meanwhile have felt distaste when a convicted criminal won a large National Lottery prize, on a ticket he had presumably bought over-the-counter before he went into jail (and whether or not with 'clean' money).