Episode 101 Quiz

Welcome to the quiz for Episode 101: Against the Pagans. See what you remember about the the first half of Augustine’s City of God by clicking “START” below!

1 / 15

Augustine started writing the City of God at about the age of 59, in the year:

2 / 15

In the second half of the episode, we observed that while Augustine engages with many aspects of ancient pagan religion, he hardly says anything about:

3 / 15

In the City of God, Augustine often references this poem as though it’s a chronicle of actual Roman history:

4 / 15

In a discussion of the sheer number of pagan Gods worshipped by Romans, Augustine memorably pauses to make fun of Rome’s many gods of:

5 / 15

The imperfect union of church and state, as well as the rapid decline of the Roman empire in the west were two of the main causes that led Augustine to imagine a single, pure form of Christianity, extracted from the discord of humankind. Another motivation, closer to home, was:

6 / 15

Augustine’s words of comfort to Christians who suffered from theft and even rape and murder during recent barbarian invasions urge them to believe that:

7 / 15

One of the main motivations behind Augustine’s City of God was pagan criticism of Christianity that was evidently popular in the 410s, when Augustine began writing the book. This pagan criticism was that:

8 / 15

Augustine’s take on suicide in the City of God is:

9 / 15

Augustine predominantly concentrates his long criticism of pagan history with which of the places and times listed below?

10 / 15

Augustine frequently references this (1st century BCE) pagan polymath and skeptic of pagan religion throughout the first half of the City of God.

11 / 15

In the City of God, Augustine, unlike this earlier Christian writer whom we heard quoted in the episode, does not unequivocally celebrate the conversion of the first Christian Roman emperor Constantine.

12 / 15

In the City of God, Augustine’s long critique of pagan philosophy goes fairly easy on:

13 / 15

Augustine engages with his North African predecessor Apuleius for a while on the subject of:

14 / 15

The first main historical event discussed in the City of God is:

15 / 15

Which of the following Roman writers does Augustine NOT frequently reference throughout the first half of the City of God?

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