Question
The next three questions refer to the following source. "If the [Catholic clergy], so long paid and honored for abusing the human species, ordered us today to believe that ... the world is immovable on its foundations, ... that the tides are not a natural effect of gravitation, that the rainbow is not formed by the refraction and the reflection of rays of light, and so on, and if they based their [arguments] on passages poorly understood from the Holy Bible, how would educated men regard these commands? And if they used force and persecution to enforce their insolent stupidity, would the term 'wild beasts' seem too extreme [to describe them]? " ... This little globe of ours, which is no more than a point, rolls, together with many other globes, in that immensity of space in which we are lost. Man, who is an animal about five feet high, is certainly a very inconsiderable part of the creation; but one of those hardly visible beings says to another of the same kind who inhabits another spot on the globe: 'Listen to me, for the God of all these worlds has enlightened me. There are about nine hundred millions of us little insects who inhabit the earth, but my ant-hill alone is cherished by God who holds all the rest in horror for all eternity; those who live with me upon my spot will alone be happy, and all the rest eternally wretched.' ... What madman could have made so ridiculous a speech?" D. Some of them rejected religious belief altogether and turned to atheism. 6. Voltaire's mockery of the notion of one true religion in the second paragraph of the passage is most directly influenced by which of the following? A. Protestant challenges to the Catholic Church's claim on monopoly on religious truth B. Ideas of legal equality and individual rights espoused by political theorists such as Locke and Rousseau C. Newtonian ideas of a deterministic and mechanistic universe ruled by mathematical laws D. Europeans' deeper awareness of the world's cultural diversity, gained through scientific exploration and travelers' accounts 7. Compared with Luther's sixteenth-century critique of the Roman Catholic Church, Voltaire's critique in the first paragraph of the passage is A. more focused on the corruption of the Catholic clergy. B. more focused on challenging specific points of Catholic doctrine. C. less reliant on using Scripture to challenge Catholic tradition. D. less militant and more open to the possibility of reconciliation
Answers
GPT-4o mini
6. Voltaire's mockery of the notion of one true religion in the second paragraph of the passage is most directly influenced by which of the following?
**D. Europeans' deeper awareness of the world's cultural diversity, gained through scientific exploration and travelers' accounts.**
This option reflects Voltaire's critique of the idea that one specific religion holds the absolute truth over others, especially in light of the growing knowledge of different cultures and beliefs due to exploration.
7. Compared with Luther's sixteenth-century critique of the Roman Catholic Church, Voltaire's critique in the first paragraph of the passage is
**C. less reliant on using Scripture to challenge Catholic tradition.**
Voltaire's critique focuses more on reason and the absurdities he perceives in the claims made by the clergy, while Luther's critiques were more scriptural in nature and focused on specific doctrines.
**D. Europeans' deeper awareness of the world's cultural diversity, gained through scientific exploration and travelers' accounts.**
This option reflects Voltaire's critique of the idea that one specific religion holds the absolute truth over others, especially in light of the growing knowledge of different cultures and beliefs due to exploration.
7. Compared with Luther's sixteenth-century critique of the Roman Catholic Church, Voltaire's critique in the first paragraph of the passage is
**C. less reliant on using Scripture to challenge Catholic tradition.**
Voltaire's critique focuses more on reason and the absurdities he perceives in the claims made by the clergy, while Luther's critiques were more scriptural in nature and focused on specific doctrines.