Just Call me a Barthist

According to this unusually thoughtful, well-done theology survey, I am placed in the same school of thought as Karl Barth. Who would have thunk? Yeah, I thought so, and you probably did too. Notice it is virtually a dead heat between Neo-Orthodoxy (Lewis, Barth) and Reformed Evangelicalism (Calvin, Edwards), which of course fits with being Barthian. I'm not sure how Wesleyanism came in third when I gave good, solid Calvinist answers to a number of questions, but I don't really mind that. Notice that Fundamentalism scores much lower, as do the various forms of liberalism.

It is interesting to find myself being labeled neo-orthodox in a poll today, since I was just talking about my affinity with the neo-orthodox thinkers in my application for SCF, which I almost finished last night.

Not surprisingly, Catholicism is also low on my profile, which I point out as probably correct, since I answered in the negative on the authority of the pope, the authority of the ecumenical councils, the centrality of Mary and the key of communion to worship (but, let my Catholic friends rest assured, I'm fairly certain that it was only those four questions that determined my Catholicity and therefore one should not read so much into the fact that my liberal and Catholic scores came out the same). Had it been listed, I might have come out with a fairly good Eastern Orthodox score, given that my answers pointed to Christocentrism and I did not answer completely iconoclastically.

Thanks go to Christopher

I Don't Know About That...

This web poll says I am a fundamentalist and that I believe that science has brought on corruption of society. Oddly enough, I answered favorably to virtually every question about science, save for the one that evolution has helped us become more spiritual (as a whole, I think regardless of one's position concerning evolutionary theory, it is hard to assert that it has made the world more spiritual). I took the quiz twice, actually; the first time it said I was a “cultural creative” (which it reported as being “spiritual, but not religious”). I went back through because I realized I'd marked a few wrong, and also tried to read their questions a bit more closely.

As a whole, I think the poll is flawed. While I've been accused of being a fundamentalist, I generally do not fit well in true fundamentalist circles. I've come to the conclusion I am not a fundamentalist at all. I'm certainly not a post-modernist though, I'm more of about anything than a po-mo. I tend to see post-modernism as the enemy of rational thought — scientific, religious and philosophical. I do probably fit somewhat into the Romanticists, though.

I think the big problem here is that the quiz had questions such as whether religious texts should be taken symbolically, wherein the meaning is somewhat ambiguous. Sure, they are filled with symbols and even literal parts can have a secondary interpretation that is symbolic. On the other hand, I suspected what the author meant was “scriptures should be read only as mythological truths,” to which I had to answer in disagreement. In truth, then, despite this poll's support for varying levels of agreeing and disagreeing on statements, it really is rather polar. When I answered that statement as being somewhat true, I was a cultural creative; when I answered it as false, I was a fundamentalist. There is no middle ground in the poll, which is too bad, because it could have been interesting.

I'm not a polar person. I agree with fundamentalists on many things, but I reject the anti-intellectualism that I am seeing in the fundamentalist movement presently. For that matter, not only anti-intellectual, but just generally anti-all-kinds-of-things attitude, from Harry Potter to the Da Vinci Code. I find myself attracted most closely to the neo-Orthodox theologians such as C.S. Lewis, and more recently, Karl Barth (from what I've read of him thus far). I neither reject rationality nor revelation, but believe that both will ultimately be true. Seek truth knowing that there can be no conflict between God and truth.

Plenty of Political Profiling

Found via Christopher:

I'm not fond of the term ethics for the second to last break down; it seems that what it terms “ethics” are not necessarily what I would term ethics, and some things I would term ethical fall in other categories. I mean, aren't ethics related to social issues, personal responsibility and so on? None the less, I think the “overall” score is about where I usually land on such linear quizzes (I like the more complex 2D profiles better, since liberal and conservative are such broad terms by themselves and become a lot more useful when you add a libertarian/authoritarian vertical axis to the standard right/left metric). Moreover, it does show that I'm on the fence in some categories, which would certainly be true. Feel free to post your results below.

Generally, I Don't Say "Coke," do Y'all?

That's right; contrary to what the title of this post might imply, I speak general American English with a tinge of Yankeeisms and with relatively little Dixie or Upper Midwestern influence. Oddly, having grown up in the Midwest, I speak 0% Midwestern, according to this test. I'm not sure how scientific it is, although I do know I purposely do avoid some regional slang, so maybe that's the reason it comes out this way.

How about y'all (and, in case you are wondering, I cannot remember the last time I said “y'all”)?

Hat tip goes to Christopher.

Should I Apply to Become a Fool?

You scored as Verbal/Linguistic. You have highly developed auditory skills, enjoy reading and writing and telling stories, and are good at getting your point across. You learn best by saying and hearing words. People like you include poets, authors, speakers, attorneys, politicians, lecturers and teachers. Verbal/Linguistic 86% Interpersonal 75% Intrapersonal 71% Visual/Spatial 54% Musical/Rhythmic 46% Logical/Mathematical 36% Bodily/Kinesthetic 18% The Rogers Indicator of Multiple Intelligences created with QuizFarm.com

Found via Christopher.

Here Shall He See Gross Fools as He

I took the “What Mood Are You In?” quiz after seeing it over on Michael's blog. It told me that I am in a “decent mood.”

You aren't turning cartwheels, but you're having a pretty good day. Some ups, some downs, but overall you're coming out ahead.
And who knows? Tomorrow could be even better!

I guess that is appropriate enough. Personally, I was feeling rather like the following instead:

More, I pr'ythee, more. I can suck melancholy out of a song, as a weasel sucks eggs. More, I pr'ythee, more.

I'm too short on time right now to work up some challenge questions, although I should. 5 pts. if you can identify that quote. Of course, feel free to post what mood the quiz says of you, below, as well.

Not an Ageless Quiz

Found via Michael.

A Nice, Cheerful Topic

I found this most cheerful of questionnaires over at Michael's blog.

Cheer yourself up by answering below.

No Apologies Necessary

This seemed to be a well thought out quiz. I found it via Eduardo. I'm pretty happy with the comparison to C.S. Lewis.

You scored as Classical Apologist. You are a classical apologist! Marshaling arguments first based on competing worldviews, you can show reasons to believe in the Christian faith. You have learned much from C. S. Lewis, Norman Geisler, and Peter Kreeft.

I Hear Ya

Post your results below (remember that HTML won't post in the comments, so just post the text of your answer).