After a question about The Lord’s Prayer left three contestants stumped on Tuesday’s (June 13) Jeopardy!, it’s brought a long-time debate back to light: Does the show have too many Bible-related questions?
While even the non-religious found Tuesday’s question (“Our Father, which art in heaven, [this] be thy name.”) easy, Jeopardy! has seen a number of Christianity and Bible questions in recent years, which viewers have started to notice more and more.
“There was just a bible question on Jeopardy that I knew the answer to, and none of the contestants did, and I feel the need to warn everyone that this may be a sign of the impending apocalypse,” tweeted one viewer on Tuesday night.
There was just a bible question on Jeopardy that I knew the answer to, and none of the contestants did, and I feel the need to warn everyone that this may be a sign of the impending apocalypse.
— Jolene (@obscurityknocks) June 13, 2023
But are there too many Bible questions in general? Some fans think so.
“[Jeopardy!] writers seem to know everything about the christian bible. Have you noticed almost every show these days has some #Jeopardy question or entire catagory about the christian bible? What’s with that?” tweeted one viewer last month.
“So tired of your Christian religion questions,” wrote another. “Too much Christian Bible. And the “Sufferings of Jesus” category was Sunday school stuff, it’s not part of a general education (your erroneous defense of all this).”
I don’t know. Ask @jeopardy. Their writers seem to know everything about the christian bible. Have you noticed almost every show these days has some #Jeopardy question or entire catagory about the christian bible? What’s with that?
— ATLGal (@AnnainAtlanta) May 20, 2023
@Jeopardy so tired of your Christian religion questions. Too much Christian Bible. And the “Sufferings of Jesus” category was Sunday school stuff, it’s not part of a general education (your erroneous defense of all this).
— Judith (@sqkywheel) May 13, 2023
The topic even became a discussion on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum, with one user saying, “Christianity/biblical categories get too much space.”
“Know two things going on Jeopardy: the Bible and Shakespeare,” quipped another viewer.
“While not my fave either, the Bible and religion are legit categories. I agree though, it seems like they get more than their fair share of clues,” added another.
Others had explanations for why Jeopardy! includes so much Bible-related trivia, with one fan writing, “I had a teacher tell me once that to truly consider yourself well-read (by US standards) you need to be passingly familiar with Greek mythology, Shakespeare and the Bible. Between those three, you can find almost every archetype that Western stories are built on.”
They added, “I think Jeopardy comes from a “Bible as Literature” place instead of a Christianity place.”
Others agreed, with one person stating, “I’m not religious but think it’s undeniable that the Bible had an absolutely enormous impact on Western civilization, architecture, literature, art and politics. Yes it’s featured more, but it’s also had a greater influence.”
“People should think of bible categories more as literature knowledge than religious. It’s no different than a contestant studying famous french novels,” said another.
What do you think? Does Jeopardy! have too many Bible-related questions? Let us know in the comments.
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