Monday, June 27, 2005

What's Your Theological Worldview?

Here's a fun quiz: http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=43870

Like all quizes, this one is maddening, and I'm not even sure what some of the categories mean. Neo-orthodox? Modern liberal vs. classical liberal? Whatever. It's also somewhat enlightening.

For what it's worth, here are my results:

You scored as Emergent/Postmodern.

You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this.

Emergent/Postmodern -- 82%
Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan -- 79%
Neo orthodox -- 61%
Charismatic/Pentecostal -- 50%
Roman Catholic -- 50%
Classical Liberal -- 39%
Reformed Evangelical -- 36%
Fundamentalist -- 29%
Modern Liberal -- 25%

These results don't particularly surprise me, since they somewhat describe the nature of my church. Ironically, I don't really feel alienated from older forms of church. I grew up as a Roman Catholic, spent many years in the Presbyterian Church of the USA, and came this close (holds thumb and forefinger up only a short distance apart) from converting to the Eastern Orthodox Church a few years back. I have great love for and respect for church history, and have a real problem with Christians who want to make it up as they go. But I certainly agree that no one knows the whole truth about God (even me :-)), that learning best takes place in dialogue with one another, and that the Church should make an effort to understand and relate to the culture in which it is living. Guilty, guilty, guilty.

5 comments:

John McCollum said...

Yeah. I have no idea what Evangelical Holiness Wesleyan means. But I is one.

Anonymous said...

i suppose i'm suspicious of a survey that has the statement "bishop spong is an important theologian." is bishop spong so well known that such a statement even makes sense?

my top 3 were the same as yours andy but in reverse order (neoorthodox on top.) i greatly admire the neoorthodox theologians, especially jaques ellul. anyone interested in political or economic theory should read his works many of which are online at http://www.jesusradicals.com/library/ellul.php

Anonymous said...

Is, what John is....

Andy Whitman said...

Fred, I'm somewhat familiar with Jacques Ellul. I read "The Meaning of the City" many years back, and found it slow going (my brain hurt!) but very worthwhile. I'll need to check out more of his books.

I passed this survey on to some friends on another mailing list. They're a wildly diverse group of Christians -- Vineyardites and Vineyardettes, Eastern Orthodox, Presbyterian, Lutheran, non-denominational "don't put yer steeking labels on me" folks, Catholics, Baptists. Interestingly, the Evangelical Holiness result came up as #1 or #2 for all of them. And it was a close #2 for me. And "Modern Liberal" was at the bottom of the list for all of them, as it was for me. I'm not sure what a Modern Liberal is, or how it differs from a Classical Liberal, but I apparently don't hang out with either one.

Anonymous said...

oh my. modern liberal was #4- 57% for me. maybe i'm not a real christian.

fundamentalist was my bottom with 14%

Shelby Spong is a modern liberal and believes that God should not be thought of as a person. (I don't agree with that)