I took a few quizzes tonight, and I generously share the results with you, my Gentle Readers. I’m not sure what they really reveal about me. I worked as an opinion/market research interviewer for four years, and I know how very subtle changes in questions and their interpretation by the respondent can wildly skew results. But if you’re looking for a quick read on where I am theologically (or where you are, if you take the test) this may be helpful for you.
First, I went to QuizFarm and took the “What’s your theological worldview?” test. Here are the results.
You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan. You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God”s grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavily by John Wesley and the Methodists. |
Okay, that being done, I hopped over to take the related, “Which theologian are you?” quiz. Here are the results:
| You scored as Anselm. Anselm is the outstanding theologian of the medieval period. He sees man”s primary problem as having failed to render unto God what we owe him, so God becomes man in Christ and gives God what he is due. You should read “Cur Deus Homo?”
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Finally, I went over to SelectSmart and took the “Christian Denomination Selector” quiz. Once more:
| Rank | Denomination |
| #1 | Seventh-Day Adventist |
| #2 | Assemblies of God (my prediction) |
| #3 | Free Will Baptist |
| #4 | Mennonite Brethren |
| #5 | Methodist/Wesleyan Church |
| #6 | Reformed Baptist |
| #7 | Southern Baptist |
| #8 | Church of Christ |
| #9 | Episcopal/Anglican Church |
| #10 | International Church of Christ |
I’ll leave it to you to decide what all this means. I’m surprised the SDA church showed up in the #1 slot, it didn’t when I took the test on a different day … so perhaps my results would vary depending on how I feel on any given day? Is my faith and doctrine that fickle?
My complaint about this, of course, is that no brief online quiz can adequately “slot” me—or anybody else—into accurate pigeonholes because the test developer will inevitably have blind-spots they cannot control for. For example, where is the Foursquare church or the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) on the denominational list? Where are William J. Seymour or Stanley Horton or Dallas Willard on the theologians list? Where is the “neo-Evangelical” or the “pragmatic-Evangelical” theology represented on the theological list? And why is “Holiness” so far separated from “Pentecostal?” The Pentecostal tradition is strongly influenced by Methodism and Holiness traditions. In fact, why is Pentecostal lumped all together with Charismatic theology? I suspect it’s because the test creator assumed that if I accepted the subsequent-to-salvation experience of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and phonemena like tongues and miracles, I’m no different than any Charismatic? But, truthfully, there are Charismatic strains running through all the orthodox traditions, and there are many Emergent groups with a strong Charismatic bent. And, similarly, there are Emergent theologies coming out of all the major traditions, as well.
And how in the world am I equally Calvinistic and Arminian? Wonder of wonders.
So, no surprise that I have bones to pick with the quizzes. But they’re fun to take and, who knows, maybe I’ll visit a Seventh-Day-Adventist church one day and really, really, like it.
Hello, again. I guess the results are somewhat comical. As for myself, I have never taken any of these quizzes. And I have learned never to believe polls.
Hey, Oengus. You’re right. Comical, yes. Informative? No.
Most aggregate data can be packaged to favor the packager’s viewpoint–even when it’s not conscious.
Regards,
Rich.
As a 33 year “veteran” who was born agan into old-tme “holiness” in ’72 at the age of 30, who watched the changes that Charismatic brought into almost everything out there, and who waked through Scripture and life, itself, to come to his own conclusions concernng a relationsh with Christ, I very much agree and applaud what you say here. Hoping I have found one more lace where even if we disagree, He remains Lord of the conversation. Peace………Jim
Rich –
Just got done taking the quiz. I’m would bet that the Seventh Day Adventist result is due to your response to the T/F question “Sunday is the prefered day of worship.” I’m not sure my wording is exact. I’m thinking you probably answered no — i normally would have as I don’t really care what the name of the week is, we just need to observe the sabbath (or A day of rest). I left that one neutral and my 1st denomination was then the A/G. Kind of fun, but due to my two or three years of writing surveys — I don’t put alot of weight in them.
Your blog has become the first to check daily (Followed closely by Hugh Hewitt). :-)
steve
I wondered that, too, Steve, and I modified my answer. Like you, I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary to worship in an arbitrary day of the week that was arbitrarily set and named by pagan kings. However, I felt there was some slight justification for Sunday being preferred. So, I played with my answers on that one. Didn’t change it. So, there must’ve been something else that I should’ve tweaked.
Thanks for your compliment! Now, if I had the same traffic as a Hugh Hewitt, my Google ads would pay for my hosting costs!
I suggest that you do study your Bible with an open mind and go ahead and visit a Seventh Day Adventist Church. You may be surprised at what you learn.
Did Jesus speak truth or was he a liar? Did the words he say have meaning?
“Pray that your flight be not on the Sabbath day…”
Who said that?
Why would he tell people that statement if the Sabbath day is to mean nothing…
Think, pray, study…
Study to find God’s truths not tainted by human speculations..
What doth the Word of God say?
Love you….
Thanks, Ann, for your contribution, but I’m not really up for a fight about SDA doctrine. As far as I know, the Seventh-Day Adventist church is a fine organization with sound teaching. I can say I’ve never personally met an SDA adherent that I found anything to disagree with. Only problem is, I don’t know any!
However, I don’t feel a strong need to leave my church or my denomination. If I ever do, I may well visit an SDA church to see how things go. I’ve got no beef with Saturday being a day of worship. I’m just not sure you can make a biblical case out of it since our current calendar was not in effect during Christ’s day anyhow.
Regards,
Rich.
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