I came across Steven Harris’ “Theological Worldview Quiz.” Harris is a 24-year-old theology student in the U.K. who writes a popular blog called Theology and Biblical Studies. There is certainly nothing authoritative about Harris’ quiz. However, the quiz has generated a lot of buzz and more than 70,000 people have taken it online. If nothing else, the quiz has provoked some interesting theological discussions on several blogsites. I found the quiz surprisingly accurate in pegging me. Here are my 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.”
| Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan | 89% |
| Fundamentalist | 89% |
| Neo orthodox | 75% |
| Emergent/Postmodern | 64% |
| Reformed Evangelical | 50% |
| Classical Liberal | 43% |
| Charismatic/Pentecostal | 29% |
| Roman Catholic | 18% |
| Modern Liberal | 18% |
That sounds about right. I certainly am not liberal (theologically), Catholic or Pentecostal — so that much is correct. Listing me at 50% Reformed Evangelical is pretty funny, and surprisingly on target. I have often said that when I am in Romans I am a Calvinist and when I am in Hebrews I am Arminian. In other words, I see a strong Biblical basis for both theological systems. I do not claim to be a theologian, nor am I a dogmatist, so I do not anguish over my inability to reconcile the two points of view. Perhaps the best way to put it is that I lean toward Calvinism with my head (Romans 9 is pretty clear) and toward Arminianism with my heart (“limited atonement” is pretty hard to warm up to).
Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan? I would never have thought of describing myself that way, but it’s pretty accurate. I am certainly an evangelical. And I admire the non-Pentecostal holiness denominations (Nazarene, Wesleyan, etc.), which teach the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, emphasizing His interior work saving and sanctifying us, rather than the outer manifestations (charismatic/Pentecostal gifts). I believe in progressive sanctification rather than entire sanctification and Christian perfection, but why nitpick?
Years ago, Norma and I attended a Nazarene church for several months, and it was one of the best church experiences I have had. A small congregation of about 50 Nazarenes in Enid, Okla., mostly senior adults, led by a 72-year-old pastor. If I was to ever believe in the doctrine of Christian perfection, that older brother would be evidence. I ultimately had to leave that church because of my commitment to non-denominationalism. Thus, my reservations were ecclesiological, not theological.
As I’m sure you noticed, the quiz has me tied between Evangelical Holiness and Fundamentalist. So, despite my claim in “Why I Am No Longer a Christian Fundamentalist,” Harris’ quiz says otherwise. I don’t take much issue with that either. As I state in my article, I believe in the fundamental doctrines those first Christian fundamentalists preached, I just take issue with all of the excess baggage fundamentalists have added to the list in the last 80 years. So, if you added me to your prayer list after the “Not a Fundamentalist” article, maybe there’s still hope for me.
I don’t know what to make of the 64% emergent/postmodern score. I’m not too impressed so far with what little I know about the emergent movement. I certainly stand opposed to what appears to be relativism in the emergent ranks. But this quiz otherwise has me just about right, so maybe there are some flickering candles and bongo drums in my future.
Want to take the quiz? Here it is: What’s Your Theological Worldview? It only takes 5-10 minutes. You might also want to have a look around Harris’ interesting theology blog.
Rod Heggy, I issue a public challenge for you to take the quiz and reveal the results on this blog. Same for the rest of you: take the quiz and report your results in the comments field of this article.
