THE BIBLE IN JEOPARDY [T, 11-22-22]

 REFLECTIONS ON FAITH & LIFE FOR THE YEARS OF WINTER

Did Paul write Hebrews, the book in the New Testament by that name? Yes, according to the Jeopardy TV show. No, according to most Biblical scholars.

Don’t we have enough Bible controversies without Ken Jennings creating yet another instance of authorship brouhaha? Of course, Ken was not the one who thought up the question, but he is the face of Jeopardy these days, so he gets the blame. [Yes, I know: In Jeopardy, the answers are the questions, and the questions are the answers.]

It was the Final Jeopardy question in The Tournament of Champions: “Paul’s Letter to Them is the New Testament Epistle with the Most Old Testament Quotations.”

Amy Schneider said “Hebrews.” Sam Buttrey said “Romans.” Andrew He said “Philippians.” Jennings declared that Schneider was correct.

It’s sort of a common-sense sounding question. “Hebrews” sounds more Old Testamenty than Romans or Philippians. And I assume that it must have more OT quotes, by count, than Romans or Philippians, although I have not done such a count myself. The controversy could have been avoided, though, if the Jeopardyians had just said “The letter to them” instead of “Paul’s letter to them.” We know it’s a letter. We don’t know that Paul wrote it. 

Reminds me of when daughter Mary Beth got married at the Suburban Temple in Cleveland. Rabbi Oppenheimer said I could put “anything Methodist” into the service, as long as I didn’t mention “you know who.”

That was tricky, since “you know who” is fairly important in Methodism.

I asked about I Corinthians 13, since Mary Beth wanted a friend to read it in the service. “Oh, that’s not Christian,” the rabbi said. “That’s just part of the culture now.”

So we were okay on that, but how to do a Christian homily and liturgy in a Jewish service? I used the various passages from the New Testament where Jesus—who was a pretty good Bible scholar-- quoted from the Old Testament, although Jesus did not call it that. Worked perfectly. The Jews at the service thought I was quoting the OT, and the Christians thought I was quoting "you know who."

I think Jeopardy’s only escape now from the controversy they have created is to announce that they have hired me as a consultant for future Bible questions.

John Robert McFarland