Take the God Test

Which word best describes “your” view of God? Authoritative, Benevolent, Critical, or Distant? (ABCD — see below) Here’s the test that is found in the book we’ve been blogging about, and you will have to go to the book to find the technical discussions; there’s some great details and analysis there. Remember the study showed that nearly everyone thought God was loving, and it was the following set of questions that set Americans apart.

Here’s the rule for the day: We are not entering into conversation about the legitimacy of this test. That’s another day and another discussion. Today we are talking about results.

Did I say I think this book should be read by anyone who wants to know what folks in churches actually believe? One of the only social-scientific sketches of the data about beliefs about God.

We are looking at Paul Froese and Christopher Bader, America’s Four Gods: What We Say about God–and What That Says about Us.

Part 1: God’s Judgment

Question: How well do you feel that each of the following words describes God? [5 is Very well and the scale moves downward to 1 as Not at all]

1. Loving 5 4 3 2 1
2. Critical 5 4 3 2 1
3. Punishing 5 4 3 2 1
4. Severe 5 4 3 2 1
5. Wrathful 5 4 3 2 1

Question: Even if you might not believe in God, based on your personal understanding, what do you think God is like?

6. Angered by human sin 5 4 3 2 1
7. Angered by my sins 5 4 3 2 1

Total your numbers: [this is your Judgment score]

Part 2: God’s Engagement

Question: How well do you feel that each of the following words describes God?

8. Distant 1 2 3 4 5
9. Ever-present 5 4 3 2 1

Question: Even if you might not believe in God, based on your personal understanding, what do you think God is like?

10. Removed from worldly affairs 1 2 3 4 5
11. Removed from my personal affairs 1 2 3 4 5
12. Concerned with the well-being of the world 5 4 3 2 1
13. Concerned with my personal well-being 5 4 3 2 1
14. Directly involved in worldly affairs 5 4 3 2 1
15. Directly involved in my affairs 5 4 3 2 1

Total your score: [this is your Engagement score]

Scoring: This WordPress program doesn’t permit use of columns. So, there are two scales: Judgment and Engaged, separated by ****. So, add your scores for each parts of the quiz above.  What is your number for God’s Judgment (total) and God’s Engagement (total)? If you are between 18 and 30 for God’s Judgment, you are High; if you are between 6 and 17, you are low. On God’s Engagement, if your score is 32-40, you are high; if you are 8-31, you are low. Now find where you are by seeing the four options.You need to find whether are you High or Low for each scale. That’s the key result. Now you can find your combination.

If you are high in Judgment but low in Engagement you are Type C. That clear enough?

Of course, there’s a spectrum: you can be “low Authoritative” or “high Benevolent.”

Judgment  ****  Engaged
High (18-30) **** High (32-40) Type A (Authoritative)
Low (6-17) **** High (32-40) Type B (Benevolent)
High (18-30) ****  Low (8-31) Type C (Critical)
Low (6-17) **** Low (8-31) Type D (Distant)