Is It The Plot Of A Movie Or The Bible?
- by Jessica
- – on
- in Movies and TV
This quiz tests your knowledge of the Bible. It reveals pretty scandalous parallels between the parables of the Old and New Testaments and some movie you would watch on a Friday evening. Ultimately this quiz will outline some of the crazy stories you didn't quite "get" when when you were going to Sunday school. If you were raised in a religious household (or even if you weren't) you should glance over the scriptures just for entertainment value. Biblical gossip can be the juiciest gossip.
The quiz also shows how pervasive Judeo-Christian symbolism is our worldview. The truth is that Biblical tradition has been widely read for thousands of years. It's leaked into these many cultures and impacted their way of life not to mention the fiction and storytelling produced from these societies. Directors and authors draw on this wealth of Biblical themes, including, but not limited to: salvation, grace, vengeance, divine intent. Look into some of the popular culture offered today with this in mind, you'll be surprised how easily you can draw narrative parallels.
Pro tip: if the plot sounds familiar but has a moral twist, odds are it may have been in the Bible first.
Can you tell whether these things happened in some movie or in the Bible?
The Earth floods and only a few survive
The earth was filled with violence and evil. A greater force decided it was time for a cathartic flood to wash away the evils that were so deeply rooted. Only a few faithful men were allowed to survive. For them, instructions were given to build a great ark and to take the sacred and clean animals upon it so they may be preserved for the next world. The men did as the instructions asked and soon the world was flooded, raining for forty days and forty nights.
A young man must destroy this object from the fires where it was forged
The future of this one object will the determine the fate of the world. The object is an incarnation of evil and was made by a supreme being looking to rule the world. After a great battle the object had been lost for centuries until it fell into the unassuming hands. An elder intervenes and convinces this person it is not his quest to take. Instead, the finder's nephew must destroy the object before its power overwhelms and corrupts him.
A woman is turned into a pillar of salt when she disobeys someone's warning
An almighty power has spoken of smiting two cities for the lack of righteous people. Two messengers came to warn a man and his family that he must leave before the the cities fall. The man welcomed the messengers into his house and protected them when a mob appeared outside. The next day he and his family left the city. They were warned to not stop or look back anywhere in the valley. However, his wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt.
An evil force binds himself to a baby to keep his soul from fading
A dark and evil force stalks the night but no one knows where it will strike. Everyone who has risen against this force has died because he is all-powerful. This force enters a household of three to smite all those in his way. However, a mother's love saves her child. This sacrifice of the mother destroys the evil force. It provides the child with a sort of immunity from his touch. Though the child will mourn his parents he will be safe.
A family is torn apart by the disappearance of a baby
A family is living in the wilderness and rely on their own crop for sustenance. They have four children and a baby to help them along until one day the baby disappears. The parents know the baby has disappeared into the wood but it is deemed too dangerous to go out looking for him. The mother blames the eldest sister who was caring for the child during the disappearance. The family loses faith and begin to turn on each other as the situation becomes more dangerous.
Frogs, gnats, plagues, hail, and death descend on a land
A tribal leader sought to free his people from the enslavement of King. However the King was stubborn and thought this would weaken his kingdom, he refused to bend to the leader's wishes. The leader had faith his mission would succeed as several pests and plagues raided the kingdom to get the King to bend to the leader's will. But the King was uncompromising until the last plague was sent, a plague that took away his firstborn son. This plague affected all of the King's people and he had no choice but to bend to the leader's will.
An innocent son became involved in his father's unsavoury business
A patriarch does not want his youngest son to become involved in the unsavoury matters he has to deal with daily. The two elder sons help the patriarch but it is insisted that the youngest stay pure. However when rival clans attack the strongest son and their father, the patriarch, the young son sees no choice but to step in to help his family. So the youngest chosen son is corrupted and eventually takes his father's place as the patriarch.
A woman dressed up as a man inspires an impoverished writer
A passionate woman dresses up as a man to try out for a performance. She impresses the writer but flees the scene because she fears being discovered. The writer finds out his impressive actor is in fact a woman who is betrothed to another man. However she agrees to participate in the play because of her love for the material and her newfound love for the playwright. After being discovered, the woman will sail to a far away land with her assigned husband.
A young boy prevailed in combat against a giant
A giant challenges the warriors of another camp to a duel. He proposes instead of having their armies fight each other, the winner of the dual will be the conquerer of the nations. The young hero who won this fight was not even a soldier, he was just visiting his brothers on the battlefield. But he became filled with faith and strength and knew he should challenge the giant. His fellow army tried to prepare him for battle but the youth resisted saying he would fight the giant just as he was.
People worshiped an idolatrous golden calf and were punished by death
A great leader was taking along time to deliberate on the rules that would govern his people. His people got restless and instead listened to a charismatic young man amongst them that got them to pool their gold and precious metals to make an idol in the shape of a calf to thank in the meantime. However when the great leader descended from his mount and saw the calf he chastised the charismatic man and his followers for so quickly turning away from their original mission.
Someone turned water into wine
This man and his mother were attending a marriage and enjoying a great feast until the host ran out of wine. The man instructed the servants to fill the jars with water and take them to the master of the ceremonies. The master of the ceremonies then tasted it thinking it was the groom's wine. He remarked it is typical for events to present the choice wine first and the cheap wine second. But this was the best wine served all evening.
A woman is separated from her family to be sold into slavery. She eventually kills her master
This woman's family has been torn from her when they were trying to flee an oppressive regime. Now she lives in another family's household and is used only for reproductive purposes. An authoritative group called the Aunts take care of her "tier" of women. She is paired with another man in hopes of making a child for the couple she is assigned to. She is unsure whether her daughter is still alive but tries to escape this bizarre repressive order.
A young prince must usurp his uncle and take his rightful throne
A young and trusting prince listens to his uncle scar without knowing his uncle lusts after the throne. His conniving uncle sets a trap where the young prince is in danger and his brother, the King, must risk his own life to save the young prince. The old king dies completing this heroic act and the young prince flees because he thinks he alone is at fault for his father's death. The prince's uncle takes the throne. After this the kingdom falls into disarray and the young prince must return to gain his rightful place on the throne.
A child proves himself to be innocent, honest, and kindest among 4 other nasty children
This young boy is living in poverty but is given the chance of a lifetime when he wins an exclusive opportunity. However the boy states he was thinking of making the selfless choice to sell the opportunity and give the money to his family. A grandfather convinces him against this effort. When the boy and the grandfather go to experience this opportunity they meet a great man who has been estranged from his father. The boy and his grandfather give this man hope he can repair his own family.
A man parted the sea to save his people from an evil ruler
This great leader had saved his tribe from hundreds of years of slavery. He was leading them away from the nation that enslaved them when the king of that nation changed his mind. The king of that nation chased after the fleeing flock on chariots and pinned them against the sea. The great leader lifted up his staff and pointed it over the water. The sea divided and the leader was able to lead his people through on the dry sea floor.
A King plans to marry a woman and then frame her death on another kingdom to start a war
A woman reluctantly agrees to marry this rich King because her true love has disappeared. However when she is on her way to meet him she is captured by three outlaws who want to sell her to the King. Instead her true love comes to find her and defeats all of the outlaws singlehandedly. She reunites with her true love until the King and his troops capture them. She then agrees to marry the King if he lets her true love go. The outlaws come to reap vengeance upon the King.
A King threatens to cut a living baby in half
Two prostitutes in this kingdom share a home and have just given birth. One child was smothered during the night. Both women lay claim to the living child but no one is there to give witness. Instead, the two women take this matter and the child to the King. Pretending the child were an object, the King rationally suggests that they cut the living child in half-- that way the women could each have part of him. Wisdom guided the King to this decision as he knew the true mother would forfeit her initial claim.
A man infiltrates the dreams of others and plant thoughts
Two men enter and manipulate dreams to extract information from their targets. However when someone commissions them to do the inverse, to plant an idea, this proves a more difficult task. What the men are attempting to is a subtle manipulation of free will. The only way to escape these dream worlds and come back to reality is to allow yourself to die. Those who infiltrate dreams need to trust their partners and have faith they will indeed wake up.
A man was given a prophecy from a burning bush
A man followed a new path in the mountains in search of a lost sheep. He came across the bizarre sight of a bush that was on fire but was not consumed by flames. The man was intrigued, he looked to investigate further and then heard his name called from the bush. At first wary, he then heard the bush pronounce the name of sacred ancestors. After this he was sure that he was being contacted by an otherworldly force and he listened.
A group undertakes a quest to find the Holy Grail
A man's father is captured by evil forces. The forces want to use his father's expertise knowledge of scripture to recover a lost item. The young man sets out to find his father but gets captured himself. The evil forces use he and his father against one another to leverage the family into helping them get past the booby taps to the object. Eventually one of the evil men hurts the father fatally so the son must fetch the object to save his father.
A clansman's sons demand for everyone within a city to be mutilated
This patriarch's only daughter is stolen by a neighbouring tribe when his sons are out in the fields. This tribe proposes a truce: they want to keep her and draw up a peace treaty. The leader of the tribe states the family can ask anything for a bridal price. The patriarch's sons asks for all men in the neighbouring village to be circumcised. Three days after the village men have done this they are still sore. The patriarch's sons enter the village and retrieve their sister without resistance.
A man is asked to sacrifice his son as proof of loyalty
A divine power requests this man sacrifice his son as proof of loyalty. The man prepares to take his son to a nearby mountain and do as he is told. He and his sons cut the wood and transported it to the place requested. His son asked where the lamb was for offering and the father replied that it would be provided (as a power had provided he and his wife with a son). With complete faith the father was ready to slaughter his son but a divine presence intervened.
A man looks after his boss's lover. She falls ill and he must cure her
A boss is out of town and one man, an old acquaintance, is asked to take the boss's girlfriend out and make sure she has a good time. However, this acquaintance wants to make sure he does not overstep set boundaries with the boss's girlfriend. Rumour is that the last man who did was hurt badly. Although the boss's girlfriend is extremely attractive the acquaintance almost ends the date scandal-free. Except then the boss's girlfriend almost overdoses and the acquaintance has to save her life.
The shouts of men and the sound of trumpets cause a city's walls to fall
A man approached a city that had been barricaded off from the outside world. Since the city was locked no one came out and no one came in. Instead of attacking the city straight on this man set up camp outside and prepared for a longer campaign. He marches around the city with armed men for six days. On the seventh day the men carried trumpets of rams' horns. After the trumpets sounded the men gave a shout and the walls of the city fell.
A single man must find a mate before he is turned into an animal
A man's wife left him for another man and he is forced to enter a group home where he will live with other single people. He must find another romantic partner by the end of the deadline or be turned into an animal. His friends are "finding love" to protect themselves from this fate. However, when this man tries to find a partner in a heartless woman she ends up killing his brother. Instead of marrying her he runs away into the woods.
Tongues of fire descend on a group and they are able to speak in all languages
This group were enjoying a feast day together. Winds are blustering and a void opened up to pour tongues of fire onto each in the group. After this they were able to communicate in any language. When the group later approached a crowd to speak and mingle with them the crowd was amazed. They thought they knew the group as a specific people and thought they should only speak this language. However from this time forward this group was able to communicate to all.
An alien weapon turns people into dust in a full-scale war
A disjointed family is drawn together when higher powers threaten their existence. Before this the children spent time between each of their parents. A full-scale apocalyptic war commences and the father sees evidence of the destruction to come. He seeks out his young children and decides to bunker down with them until the situation subsides. However the father takes his children to be with their mother when he realizes this is only the beginning of the end of the world.
To unite a nation a leader must bring his people together through popular sport
A famed leader will finally represent a people who have been repressed throughout history. However instead of punishing those who persecuted him or seeking retribution, he sought to bring the country together. The wise leader knew he could not unite his nation over political or economic issues, so instead he enlisted the help of a popular youth from the other group to help him make peace. The wise leader and the youth tried to unite the country through popular sport.
Three men come from a far away land to honour the birth of a famous child
A star indicates to three wise men in far away lands that a prophetic child will be born. They travel from this distance to witness the birth of the child. They shower the child and family in luxurious gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. A mighty regional King has heard that this child might threaten his reign and so he sends an order to kill all of the children in the city under a certain age. Luckily the child's father has taken him to another land before this purge begins.
A man and a woman are both sexually tempted to cheat and be unfaithful to each other
A couple discover that they have separate attractions and are jealous of the erotic attention their partner gets. Neither know if they want to remain faithful. This revelation threatens to disrupt their family as they have a young daughter. The man gets invited to a wild orgy, goes, but is unsure what he is doing there. After that night he learns that one of the woman he met there died. He reconciles with his wife and they realize that they are still sexually attracted to one another.
A man assumes moral responsibility and violently acts to bring justice to this town
A lonely young man takes on a sociable profession to cope with his chronic insomnia. His thoughts stray from his everyday surroundings and he often finds himself frustrated by the injustices he sees. He fantasizes about imposing his own moral order on the world. Then, he does. Eventually the municipal authorities catch up with him because though he was following a moral order of sorts, the actions he took were illegal. His guilt is absolved when he receives thank you letters from the people who he helped.
All humans shared one language and built a great tower but they were then dispersed when they became too arrogant
The entire world had one language. As people moved to settle they decided to build a tower of brick, so high and strong they would no longer need divine guidance. The people banded together and were a great force thanks to their common tongue. However a greater force was displeased by their human arrogance. This greater force dispersed the people around the world and gave them separate tongues so they would not band together so easily. After this there is a multitude of languages.
A King sends his soldier back with his own death sentence
A great King is overwhelmed with lust when he sees a woman bathing on one of the city rooftops. He learns she is the wife of one of his soldiers. The King sends for her, sleeps with her, and she falls with child. The King calls the soldier home from war under the pretence of consultation and tells him to go home to rest. But the soldier refuses. When his fellow brothers are on the battlefield, he prefers to sleep at the King's gates. The King sends the soldier back carrying his own death sentence.
A stone table breaks and someone rises from the dead
A dark power takes claim to an innocent who fell into her trap. Ever since being tricked this naive boy is labeled a traitor. The boy eventually realizes his mistake and repents. The king of good makes a deal for this naive boy's life and agrees to sacrifice himself in the boy's stead. The king raises from the dead due to a magic that confirms an innocent will be resurrected if he is killed in the place of a traitor.
A younger son is blessed by his father in his older brother's stead
One day twins were born to this couple and the second brother came out holding the older brother's heel. The eldest son was a hunter and his father's favourite while the younger son a reader and his mother's favourite. When their father could no longer see the patriarch told the elder twin to bring him game so that he may be bless him as his son. However the younger son was urged by his mother to go in his twin's place. The younger son did and was blessed first.