Contact: Chuck Stetson, Bible Literacy Project, 212-750-2933

FRONT ROYAL, VA, Sept. 9 /Standard Newswire/ -- Bible Literacy Project, publisher of the acclaimed public school Bible textbook "The Bible and Its Influence," has released a new Bible Literacy Quiz to demonstrate how widespread Biblical references are in our culture. This fall, the textbook is being taught in 337 schools in 43 states, including more than 50 in Texas.

"In national surveys, both high school English teachers and English professors at leading universities said almost unanimously that students must know the Bible to understand English literature. Our research also found that students need basic biblical literacy to even understand the daily newspaper -- much less to study history, music, art and culture," said Chuck Stetson, Chairman of the Board of the Bible Literacy Project.

The importance of academic study of the Bible was recently underscored by USA Today contributor William R. Mattox's August 17 column, "Teach the Bible? Of Course." The column quoted Barbara Newman, Northwestern University professor of English, Religion and Classics, who said, "Students who want to do serious study of Western civilization need to know the Bible. They need to know the Bible, even if they do not believe the Bible." In February, the United Kingdom's Poet Laureate, atheist Andrew Motion, joined the call for public school education about the Bible, saying he had struggled to teach Milton's "Paradise Lost" to undergraduates because they had no concept of the fall of man.

Below is an eight-question quiz. How do you fare in understanding the world around you? For more questions, visit http://quiz.bibleliteracy.org.

1. On the evening before he was assassinated, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke these words: "I've been to the mountaintop....And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land." To what place does the Promised Land refer?
A. Atlanta, Georgia.
B. Washington, D.C.
C. The "new world," or North America.
D. A land flowing with milk and honey.

2. A sign at the gas pump gives payment instructions: "Insert first-born child here." To what Biblical story is this an allusion?
A. Plagues inflicted on the Pharaoh of Egypt.
B. The crucifixion of Jesus.
C. The stoning of St. Paul.
D. Eli's instructions when Hannah dedicated her son to the Lord.

3. Erik Brady called basketball star Marcus Vick a "Prodigal son" ("USA Today," 9/19/05). Why might someone be called a prodigal son?
A. He is extremely bright and brings honor to his father.
B. He did something regrettable and brought shame to the family.
C. He hosted a big family gathering, celebrating victory over evil or over a formidable opponent.
D. He parted the Red Sea.

4. A national nonprofit, nonsectarian organization that provides hot, nutritious meals is named Loaves and Fishes. The name is a reference to ...
A. Psalm 23, "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies."
B. The Lord's Supper, a traditional meal of "broken" bread, wine, and fish.
C. The meal the Good Samaritan offered to the victim of hoodlums.
D. Five loaves and two fish that fed 5,000 people.

5. Which law giver is sculpted on the peak of the eastern entrance of the U.S. Supreme Court Building?
A. Jesus.
B. Abraham.
C. Moses.
D. George Washington.

6."U.S. News & World Report" reported: "King Solomon had it easy.... he never would have dreamed of the complexities that face modern family court judges, or the rise in the number of stepparents, unrelated guardians, unmarried couples, gay parents, and surrogate moms..." (1/17/00, page 46). What famous dispute is the magazine article referencing?
A. Dividing the land of the Medes and Persians.
B. Sibling quibbling of twins Jacob and Esau over their father's inheritance.
C. Two mothers disagreeing about a newborn.
D. Dividing the Jewish Kingdom into Israel and Judah.

7. The bronze monument outside the United Nations Building, New York City, is titled "Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares." This is an allusion to ...
A. Words of the prophet Isaiah.
B. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.
C. Jesus' parable of the mustard seed.
D. Jesus' parable of the seed sown (1) near the path, (2) on rocky soil, (3) among thistles, and (4) on good soil.

8. To what does the title of John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" allude?
A. Fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
B. God's judgment (wrath) on those who follow the ways of the devil.
C. Years of famine which prompted the Israelites to migrate to Egypt where they were enslaved by Pharaoh.
D. The new (at the time) breakfast sensation named Froot Loops.

Answer Key: 1:D, 2:A, 3:B, 4:D, 5:C, 6:C, 7:A, 8:B.

Bible Literacy Project is a division of Essentials in Education, an educational publisher. Its web sites are www.bibleliteracy.org and www.essentialsineducation.org.