My Personal Observations
by R.E. Slater
I took the quiz below in quick-and-shorthand fashion and then afterwards thought it should be passed along for two reasons. One, it may help the interviewee see where they lean in preferences and dogmas. Two, it may also help in understanding our particular preferences for reading the Bible in the way that we do. When taking the quiz remember that it is not exact, scientific, or rigorous.
For myself, I took it without a lot of thought about it (taking it on-the-fly, as it were) and found several areas of my own personal indifference. With one question I found I had no preference at all. With a half-dozen or so questions I answered "maybe". And in the "agree/disagree" column I would've liked more leeway in the way the question was asked. (Note: It's important to show the scale of your "agreement" or "disagreement" to the stated question).Overall, my background is (Regular) Baptist and Reformed Calvinism. But that revered heritage had always felt forced and contrived to my overall personality and temperament. However, more recently - as in the past dozen years or more - I have steadily been moving away from my inherited faith. Though with a deep appreciation for my education and religious background. But also with a newer mindset and introspective heart that has become broader, and more patient with, my past conservative training. I now find myself more in sympathy with Wesleyans (re God's love and human freewill), the Charismatics (re all things Spirit), and the Anglicans (re their liturgy, symbolism, creedal, and historical church orthodoxies). Though in hindsight, elements of those faiths had always been present even in my earliest youth and faith expressions because they were more in line with who I was and am today. Even so, according to the quiz, I resonate most predominantly with Southern Baptists! Horrors! LOL :)
By way of a short explanation for my predilections, in Wesleyanism I find a more proper balance between the "love of God' and "man's free will" (arminianism v. calvinism). One that admits to God's love in all relational aspects to His creation - even to that of man's being and spirit, his circumstances and events in his life, and the openness of our future towards purposeful redemption.
In Charismatic preference I would not classify myself as a strict practitioner, or definitionists, re tongues, prophecies, and healing, but one who definitely attests to the Holy Spirit's ready activity in the affairs of this world. Especially as the Spirit invokes God's Word and redemptive power. Hence, I view (i) tongues not as "heavenly" but as a means for practical and effectual communication with those different from ourselves. (ii) Prophecy as a forth-telling rather than fore-telling activity (even as it was in both the Old and New Testaments). My reason for saying this is based upon my view of the openness of the future. One that even God cannot know, much less ourselves. But also one that God does inform through His plan of redemption and salvation. And it is in this way that prophecy is more a forth-telling than fore-telling activity. And, (iii) healing more in terms of the spiritual person - and humanity at large in its societies. Especially as it connects Jesus to personal, social, or community behavior and redemptive outcome.
And lastly, I resonate more with the Anglican faith because of its broader implications for doctrine and theology based upon its connectedness to the past orthodoxies of the Christian faith before its split from Rome during the time of the Reformation. More so, the more I study Christianity and the Bible, the more I find myself leaning towards a progressive evangelical faith (or even a post-evangelic Christian faith). And perhaps one that is more conservatively neo-orthodox than it is classically orthodox as I come to understand what these present elements may mean for Christian living, ministry, and witness. As such, I yearn for a more lively, more open-ended faith of God. One that is God-filled rather than man-filled by a religious faith bounded by stricter dogmas and folklore-based teachings. Whose edges are more rounded (if present at all). That is less logical and analytic - and more questioning and at peace with its unknowing. That is more mystical than knowing. And one allowing of doubt and uncertain to reside in the same breath with absolute faith and belief. This is the type of faith that would best define both myself and my God. It is not for everyone because within it must reside a tension and doubt alongside a more surer faith and belief. But it works for me.
And so, in addition to perhaps allowing the reader to determine their own personal religious predilections I thought I should be forthright in my own journaling here at Relevancy22 so that we each know where the other stands. But I should forewarn the reader that my background is eclectic, and that I will consider other beliefs than my own baptistic ones to inform me. To better help me find a line of direction for a common (or "catholic") spiritual communion with the Redeemer God of the universe. A God whom I know as Jesus Christ of the Bible who was the exact expression and very Spirit, Person, and Being, of the Hebraic "unnamed" God YHWH. It is a journey I am willing to share with others who also wish to explore "another side" of their Christian faith than a Vulcanized form of Reformed theology with its expressionless logic and the analytical barrenness. It has its place for some to be sure, but I would rather discard its classical structures while searching within its frame for its more foundational elements expressed in terms of relational, process, and open theology. Peace.
R.E. Slater
R.E. Slater
May 8, 2014
This quizcan might help you find the right denomination
This quiz
http://churchmousec.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/this-quiz-can-help-you-find-the-right-denomination/
The Church Mouse
January 7, 2011
Many of us wonder why we’re dissatisfied with the church we attend. For some, this might be because the clergy displace biblical teachings in favour of more worldly, including political, ones. However, others might be attending church in a denomination which might not suit their theological beliefs.
So, how do we know what denomination might be correct for us? Here’s a 24-question multiple-choice quiz that can help clarify which church might be best for you, the Christian Denomination Selector. It’s free and you don’t need to register or leave an email address in order to discover the results.
Be warned — you might well be surprised at what your answers to these questions tell you! I certainly was.
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URL: http://selectsmart.com/FREE/select.php?client= christiandenom Link: Christian Denomination Selector |
 |  | Southern Baptist (100%) |   | ||
|  | Assemblies of God (94%) | | ||
|  | Episcopal/Anglican Church (94%) | | ||
|  | Methodist/Wesleyan Church (87%) | | ||
|  | Free Will Baptist (85%) | | ||
|  | Mennonite Brethren (85%) | | ||
|  | Reformed Baptist (85%) | | ||
|  | Seventh-Day Adventist (85%) | | ||
|  | Presbyterian Church USA (79%) | | ||
|  | Church of Christ (77%) | | ||
|  | Orthodox Quakerism (77%) | | ||
|  | Presbyterian Church in America/Orthodox Presbyterian Church (70%) | | ||
|  | Reformed Churches (70%) | | ||
|  | Evangelical Lutheran Church (64%) | | ||
|  | International Church of Christ (62%) | | ||
|  | Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (55%) | | ||
|  | United Pentecostal Church (55%) | | ||
|  | Liberal Quakerism (24%) | | ||
|  | Eastern Orthodox Church (16%) | | ||
|  | Mormonism (16%) | | ||
|  | Roman Catholic Church (16%) | | ||
|  | Jehovah's Witness (9%) | | ||
|  | Unity Church (7%) | | ||
|  | Unitarian Universalism (0%) | |