Four-time Jeopardy! champion David Sibley won fans over with his online commentary during his recent run on the popular game show. So, it only makes sense that he turned to the internet to explain why a seemingly obvious clue stumped him during his fourth appearance on the show.
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Religion For $1000
When a competitor shows up to a quiz show decked out in clerical garb, it’s reasonable to assume that said competitor knows a thing or two about the Bible. While this may have been true of Rev. Sibley, one question did stump him a bit.
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The Episcopal priest broke out his collar for his fourth day on the show, which he opened with control of the board. He wasted no time by going straight for the Religion category and opting for the $1000 clue: “It’s the ascension heavenward by true Christians both living & dead at Christ’s second coming.”
To the shock of many viewers, Sibley didn’t even buzz in with the answer. His competitor, Moira Smith, was the first to buzz in and correctly responded with, “What is the Rapture?”
Sibley went on to sweep the remaining questions in the category, win the day, and qualify for the Tournament of Champions, but many wondered how a member of the clergy could miss a question about the Bible.
What Is The Rapture?
After delighting fans with his Twitter commentary throughout his run on the show, Sibley turned to Reddit to explain why he was stumped by the biblical question.
“You might notice I didn’t buzz in on what is seemingly a gimme for a priest!” he wrote.
“Here’s the thing—I don’t believe in the rapture. In fact, the majority of Christians don’t actually hold the rapture as a doctrine, and haven’t for most of church history—the literal reading of Revelation is actually a product of the modern era, not the patristic era. As written, I thought the clue’s correct response required “Christians” to mean *all* Christians (or at least all Christians other than tiny splinter groups). By the time I got to what they wanted, it was too late.”
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Sibley went on to praise his competitor for correctly answering the question. “All credit goes to her for *not* overthinking it, and being confident in her knowledge,” he wrote. “She deserved the $1,000. In fact, we joked at the break about how I was probably overthinking it, and it was the hazard of having a theological degree on a question about Christianity.”
The moral of this story is that not even the most trusted experts on a subject are immune to clamming up under the pressure of the Jeopardy! stage. Many are still looking forward to seeing Sibley compete in the Tournament of Champions.