Magnificat Discussion Questions

Magnificat Discussion Questions

QUESTION 1

1. According to Luther on p. 99 of the Magnificat commentary, the “spirit” of a person, his or her “holy of holies,” is where God lives, in the dark.

   
   True
   
   False
   

QUESTION 2

1. The chapter on Communal Change notes that Luther asserted that people are saved (they receive “justification” before God) by the performance of holy works and rituals.

   
   True
   
   False
   

QUESTION 3

1. According to the Ring chapter on Communal Change, Luther upheld the practice of mandatory celibacy for priests, as manifesting a higher form of holiness than ordinary family life does.

   
   True
   
   False
   

QUESTION 4

1. In his commentary on the Magnificat, Luther asserts that God pays particular attention to those who are furthest “below” on Earth: in fact, “the farther you are below, the better God sees you.”

   
   True
   
   False
   

QUESTION 5

1. The chapter on Communal Change notes that jihad is one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

   
   True
   
   False
   

QUESTION 6

1. Both Catholics and Lutherans are Christians.

   
   True
   
   False
   

QUESTION 7

1. On p. 101 of Luther’s Magnificat commentary, he asserts that faith gives comfort to those of low degree and those facing despair or death, and it makes those of high degree fear God and stop being complacent in their abuses of power.

   
   True
   
   False
   

QUESTION 8

1. As the chapter on Communal Change notes, the early Jewish followers of Jesus who believed he was the Messiah thereby severed their ties to Judaism.

   
   True
   
   False
   

QUESTION 9

1. As noted in the chapter on Communal Change, Jesus’s earliest followers included women as well as men.

   
   True
   
   False
   

QUESTION 10

1. As the chapter on Communal Change asserts, scholars attribute the success of early Islam both to the prophetic gifts of Muhammad himself and to the effectiveness of his message in helping create order, meaning, and morality in a chaotic world.

   
   True
   
   False
   

QUESTION 11

1. Luther notes in his commentary on the Magnificat that Mary was chosen to become the mother of Christ because she was a noblewoman of high estate.

   
   True
   
   False
   

QUESTION 12

1. As the chapter on Communal Change notes, Luther’s goal in pursuing reform was to try to split the Church.

   
   True
   
   False
   

QUESTION 13

1. In the Magnificat commentary, Luther asserts that we see in Mary what faith is, namely a sweet and joyful experience of the goodness of God.

   
   True
   
   False
   

QUESTION 14

1. The Ring chapter on Communal Change notes that the first convert to Islam is considered to be the Prophet Muhammad’s sister Medina.
   

   
   True
   
   False