Q 01/05

Which prime minister read 1 Corinthians 13 at the Westminster Abbey funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales?

A) Tony Blair

B) John Major

C) Gordon Brown

D) Margaret Thatcher

Answer · why

A) Tony Blair

Tony Blair read it in 1997, though Paul wrote this wedding favourite to correct a church where showy gifts such as speaking in tongues had become mark...

Q 02/05

Which event gets its earliest written account in 1 Corinthians 11, with the words 'do this in remembrance of me'?

A) The Transfiguration

B) The Last Supper

C) The Ascension

D) The baptism of Jesus

Answer · why

B) The Last Supper

The Last Supper's oldest written account comes from Paul, who was not at the meal and says he 'received from the Lord' what he passed on.

Q 03/05

Which 1741 oratorio sets lines from 1 Corinthians 15, including 'Behold, I tell you a mystery', in its final part?

A) Bach's Christmas Oratorio

B) Haydn's The Creation

C) Handel's Messiah

D) Mendelssohn's Elijah

Answer · why

C) Handel's Messiah

Handel's Messiah takes most of its final part from this chapter, chosen by librettist Charles Jennens, a devout Anglican out to answer deists who deni...

Q 04/05

Which word does the King James Version use throughout 1 Corinthians 13 where most translations say 'love'?

A) Grace

B) Mercy

C) Kindness

D) Charity

Answer · why

D) Charity

Charity comes from the Vulgate's Latin caritas, probably picked over amor to avoid a sense of earthly passion, though English 'charity' has since narr...

Q 05/05

Whom does 1 Corinthians 15 name first among the people the risen Christ appeared to?

A) John

B) Thomas

C) Peter

D) James

Answer · why

C) Peter

Peter, whom Paul calls Cephas, heads the list, while Mary Magdalene, the first to see the risen Jesus in John's Gospel, goes unmentioned.