Thanks to Micah for the link to New Pantagruel, an ezine for people who are sick of ezines. We had been lamenting the demise of Regeneration Quarterly and commiserating about how there are no smart Christian magazines, except Books and Culture. Micah stumbled on New Pantagruel.
I was reading Jack Heller's excellent article and followed one of his links to WorldviewWeekend.com. The site is butt-ass ugly and features writings by a coterie of the Christian Right "thinkers" and professors—names like David Jeremiah and Norman Geisler, if that helps. They have a link for a worldview test. This is the same test Jack Heller writes about.
I took it. I am not a Christian, or at least I don't have a Christian worldview as defined by the cabal of pseudo-philosphers at Worldview Weekend. I scored 59 out of 170 on their scale. I'm damn near the devil it would appear. Take the test and let me know how you do.
59? I scored a 22 which makes me a Socialist in their book (I am not). To be fair, though, there were questions I answered just because I knew what they were looking for and didn't feel like cooperating.
Posted by: Streak | August 10, 2004 at 09:38 AM
Hmm.
"Your classification is: Socialist Worldview Thinker
Your score is: 40 points of 170 possible, 23%"
I got a higher(?) score than streak, huh? I wouldn't know how to interpret that. I did try to honestly answer all the questions, which means in their eyes I totally contradicted myself any number of times.
It's difficult for these poor guys when the "truth" is nuanced.
Posted by: marty | August 10, 2004 at 09:54 AM
I took the test in an unreconstructed militant Jesuit frame of mind and scored quite well. They simply forgot to screen for papists and other militant theocrats who are simply not on their side.
Posted by: Fr. Jape | August 10, 2004 at 10:31 AM
i only got six points. but, i wasn't really giving it my all....so i am a Socialist Worldview Thinker. i guess that might be exciting...i don't really know
Posted by: brooke | August 10, 2004 at 10:52 AM
27 of 170.
Who was writing those questions!?
I, like Streak, didn't feel like cooperating on some questions. I am now a Socialist Worldview Thinker. I'm glad they cleared that up for me. Excuse me as I go and socalize.
Posted by: jason | August 10, 2004 at 01:37 PM
I got a 29 (17%). I tried to be as honest as I could about it, but I had to leave "No Opinion" on quite a few questions.
These questions really piss me off. I've had seveal discussions lately with "conservative christians" who are blindly following the GOP. They won't discuss any issues with me because everything is a matter of morality and their choice is "obviously the moral choice" and they've "prayed about it." Oh, as if praying can substitute for thinking?
I'm really sick and tired of christains playing politics with their so-called beliefs. There are so many questions on that test which were more political than religious. And I'm expect to agree or disagree "Strongly" on every issue. Those who've taken the test can see that every "Correct Answer" was either "Strongly Agree" or "Strongly Disagree." What if you think its just not a big deal?
Oh, and I see another problem with this test. Take, for example, this question:
>Family, church and state are institutions ordained by God.
That's really three questions rolled into one. What if you disagree with one of those (family church or state)? That doesn't mean you disagree with all of them.
All in all, this test lacks nuance. There are so many little things that can change how you respond to these questions.
Posted by: Ryan | August 10, 2004 at 03:56 PM
Thank you for the kind remarks on my article. I would ask Ryan, above, not to give up on finding the kind of thinking he is looking for among Christians. God bless. --Heller
Posted by: Jack | August 11, 2004 at 05:06 PM
I scored 49. Suprised Greg?
I, like a lot of you, did't feel like rolling over on those "homer" questions. I agree that some of that stuff is just fluff. I also found a lot of those questions contradictive and typically hard-lined radical religiously right winged. Although my theology and politics leans that way, I'm starting to wonder why.
Posted by: Scott | August 12, 2004 at 02:56 PM
Scott,
No, I'm not surprised. I tell people all the time that I'm more conservative than they realize. It's just that no one believes me.
Posted by: greg | August 12, 2004 at 03:57 PM
I scored -88.
Posted by: Carlos | August 13, 2004 at 04:27 PM
Just to make it clear: I got MINUS 88.
Posted by: Carlos | August 13, 2004 at 04:30 PM
I just had a chance to find out how bad (how good?) a Xian I am per the fundamentalist fringe's evaluation: I scored a -2 (sorry, mom), which mean I am one of those frightening leftist secularists. It never ceases to amaze me how so many people (not just the fanatics who come up with these types of inquisitions--er, surveys) think that to be a Xian is to profess a belief in certain creeds/doctrines. Depraved secularist that I am, I find that being a Xian is a matter of how one lives one's life: walking in love with others and doing all that one can to usher in the Basileia. Oh, well--so much for loving my enemies and seeing my neighbor in all humans; it turns out that being a Xian is largely a matter of supporting capitalism and recognizing the gravest dangers yet to face America: gay marriage and evolutionary biology.
One final thought: according to the creators of this inane test, if there is no god, then there is no reason to be moral. Does that not speak volumes about these people's own morality (or lack thereof)? They seem to prove Voltaire right: some people are moral only because they truly fear that God is watching them.
Posted by: Travis | August 15, 2004 at 07:34 PM
I scored a 65/170, or 37%; also a Secular Humanist Worldview Thinker. I was suprised. I really tried to cooperatively and thoughtfully answer them too - I thought my score would have been higher than that. I am so depressed now. I'm a failed overachiever. ha ha
Posted by: Lorrie | August 16, 2004 at 08:58 AM
In response to Travis:
I don't think it's a lack of morality. It's morality according to their own set of values and standards. It's just like denominationalism which sucks. They're saying that your view doesn't match up with the way they interpret the bible. Which is, in case we all haven't noticed, the way we feel about our own opinions. I scored 49, and I'm about as conservative a person as you'll find here. Wierd? No, it's just the results of hard lined, radical conservatism gone crazy. Like I said before, my theological and political views tend to lean that way, but I'm starting to wonder why.
Posted by: Scott | August 16, 2004 at 03:00 PM