Am I walking the western theological fence?
I stumbled accross this "Theological Worldview" Test and tried to take it. I finally did struggle through it and ended up being 86% Roman Catholic - EVEN though I disagreed that the Pope is the head of the Church on Earth. Geez....I didn't know you could be Catholic and deny that - must be an American made test I suppose. (Who is Sven and what the heck is "Neo-Orthodox"?) By the way the correct answer is: Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church on Earth.
Anyway, the test, it seems to me is based wholly on a western approach. I kept answering the questions a certain way, but all the while realizing that my answer was going to be interpretted the wrong way. For instance, we are asked to agree or disagree: "Karl Barth's theology is hugely important."
I cannot even remember WHO Karl Barth is, let alone what sort of theology he espoused. So, how can I answer? I said I disagreed because - it seems to me - some modern protestant guy's (modern by Orthodox standards) theology could NEVER be considered HUGELY important, could it? LOL...but of course for this test, my answer has likely painted me with a theological color that I had not intended.
Numerous other questions kept trying to pin me down into either a western liberal or conservative theologian and that simple will not answer...maybe while I was in the ECUSA this would have worked, but not now. Here's a real nightmare either/or example: "Social action is important, but not as important as saving lost souls" Yikes...ummmm...I pass, thanks. I felt as if I were approaching the test from a completely different context and were it not for the simple statements, such as: "It is right to baptise infants", I'm not sure how they could have ever figured me out - I likely would have been all over the map.
I really stumbled on this one:
"Bishop Spong is an important theologian who should be taken seriously"
Well, yes, but so was Arius. If I agree...what exactly does THAT mean? It would have been easier if the test author would have offered: "Bishop Spong is a heretic."
Anyway, for your entertainment:
What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com |
Comments
It said that I'm 89% neo-orthodox (?) and influenced by Karl Barth and PT Forsyth, whoever they are.
Doubting Thomas
Neo-Orthodoxy
86% Roman Catholic
86% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan
79% Fundamentalist
54% Classical Liberal
50% Emergent/Postmodern
Wow. THat's kind of a word game. Now I can't decide if I'm neo-orthoodx, Roman Catholic or Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan! ;-P The wording from many of those questions is theological catch-phrasing; the author of the quiz is commendably well-versed in his Western theology, at least!
Neo orthodox 82%
Wesleyan 79%
Classical Liberal 46%
Postmodern 43%
Fundamentalist 32%
Reformed Evangelical 25%
Pentecostal 21%
Modern Liberal 11%
Not only is there no category for Eastern Orthodox, there's no category for confessional Lutheran, either. So even from the point of view of "Western" theological/confessional categories, this quiz is pretty flawed.
I'm a little vague on this Karl Barth guy, too. But my (second-hand) understanding is that he was an important 20th-century Calvinist theologian whose principal contribution was to rescue mainstream Protestant theology from the ravages of liberalism, insisting on the supernatural character of Christianity.
I'm pretty sure that the "neo-orthodox" category in the quiz simply translates to "likes Karl Barth".
And if it is Orthodox, why does it need a "neo" ID?
Seems odd to this fellow who decided a long time ago that neo was a bad place to start for theology.
Roman Catholic 86%
Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 79%
Charismatic/Pentecostal 71%
Emergent/Postmodern 50%
Classical Liberal 43%
Modern Liberal 36%
Fundamentalist 29%
Reformed Evangelical 14%
I didn't consider Barth important at all. I think what this shows is in the mind or the quiz author, Orthodoxy isn't far seperated from the RCs
sf