blog quizzes as a valid source of statistical analysis: probably a flawed approach

Back when I was in college and first began chronicling my life online, the big fad on Xanga was online quizzes. They varied in great abundance: What mythological creature are you? What Homestar Runner character would be your best friend? What shade of green matches the tone of your spectral aura? And so on and so forth...

One of the more intriguing quizzes I took was one examining your theological worldview. It was surprisingly thorough and academic, probably composed by some frustrated Calvinist in an attempt to expose heretics. (Wow, that was a rude thing for me to write. Sorry!)

Anyway, you can find my results from back in the day at this blog post, linked a second time for your convenience. But after I stumbled across this old post, I thought it would be interesting to take it again and see if, and how, my leanings have changed. So here's the results from taking the quiz yesterday: You Scored as Emergent/Postmodern You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this. Emergent/Postmodern 96% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 82% Roman Catholic 64% Neo orthodox 61% Classical Liberal 61% Modern Liberal 54% Charismatic/Pentecostal 36% Reformed Evangelical 21% Fundamentalist 0%

Let's examine the interesting trends. First of all, here's the comparison breakdown, from 2006 to 2013:

- Emergent - 89% to 96% - 7% increase
- Wesleyan - 82% to 82% - no change
- Neo Orthodox - 61% to 61% - no change
- Classical Liberal - 46% to 61% - 15% increase
- Roman Catholic - 36% to 64% - 28% increase
- Modern Liberal - 36% to 54% - 18% increase
- Charismatic - 36% to 36% - no change
- Reformed - 21% to 21% - no change
- Fundamentalist - 14% to 0% - 14% decrease

So, what does this mean? Well, here's a few thoughts:

- Overall, the order of things more or less stayed the same, with the one exception being the biggest surprise (for me) of the list: my apparent dramatic increase in Roman Catholic leanings, bumping it two places higher in the queue. I'm not really sure where this supposed Catholicizing of my views came from; I don't feel any "more Catholic" in my doctrine or practice. I'm not really sure what to say other than it surprised me.

- I also increased in both liberal categories; perhaps I've spent too much time in California? (...sarcasm.) I guess I have moved a bit left-of-center in my beliefs, but I'm still a bit surprised to see my numbers that high in both Classical and Modern categories.

- I still think "Emergent" is a bit of a false category, but then again, that's a really "Emergent" thing to write.

- ...and my fundamentalist score dropped to a solid zero. I'm honestly not surprised one bit, and I think the fact that every other category either stayed the same or grew is relevant here.

- Seeing as I'm now pastoring a United Methodist Church, the high Wesleyan score is definitely appropriate.


Well, there's my best attempt to quantify my theological worldview. I'm sure it will continue to evolve as I grow in my walk with Christ, but the categories and stances on the minor issues will always be beside the point.