Repost: Ace this quiz
An exercise in theological education
Wow, friends: Church Blogmatics now has 5000 subscribers. All I can say is thank you.
In honor of that milestone, I’m resharing the first post I wrote for Church Blogmatics at Substack, from January 2023.
I like to think I write really fun exams.
Give this one a try
Gentle reader,
My pedagogical philosophy is not lacking an emphasis on content acquisition, but getting that content into our minds is not where the real fun is, and it’s not what counts most as a successful outcome of education.
We need the content in order to do the really fun, fruitful stuff.
Consider the following questions, bringing whatever you know about the content of theology and refusing any agony about what you don’t know.
Pick one answer to each question. I hope it’s obvious that all the answers are “right.”
Don’t linger; go with your gut.
Then, after the multiple choice, we can get to the fun part.
Which reality most confirms your faith in God?
A) Cats
B) Music
C) Feasts
D) Pied beauty
Which doctrine most urges you to prayer?
A) Pneumatology
B) The Trinity
C) Eschatology
D) Creation
Which small group do you sign up for?
A) Lectio divina led by Augustine
B) Prayer walks with Macrina
C) Analysis of critical exegesis with Martin Luther
D) The Ignatian exercises led by Julian of Norwich
Which image of the kingdom most excites your sense of vocation?
A) Wedding feast: multiple courses
B) Thriving city: jeweled gates
C) Zoological park: no fences between wolves, lambs, leopards, kids, lions, fatlings, and toddlers
D) Global worship service: music, Word, and sacrament all centered on the Lamb
Which of these effects of sin do you need to explore more deeply and notice more thoroughly?
A) Stoppering of reason and crippling of imagination
B) Roadblocks to justice and incentives to violence
C) Infection of the powers: institutions, governments, systems
D) Thorns on roses and analogues to those thorns in all creation
Which theological grouping would bear fruit you want to eat?
A) Neighborhood communities, theologies of food, doctrine of the fall
B) Lay directed prayer meetings, theologies of the body, doctrine of redemption
C) Denominational gatherings, theologies of procedure, pneumatology
D) Private meditation, theologies of vocation, eschatology
Which healthy cross-fertilization does the global church need ASAP?
A) Wesleyan-Baptist
B) Roman Catholic-Pentecostal
C) Orthodox-Lutheran
D) Reformed-Anabaptist
John Constable, Cloud Study: Stormy Sunset, 1821-1822
Now, here’s the real fun.
Share your answers – with me, with friends, with co-laborers for the kingdom.
But don’t just share your answers; share the why.
And be curious. Ask others about their answers and their whys.
Share the good theological and biblical warrants that lead you to choose A) over B). Share the parts of your story that resonate with your gut choices here. And, best of all, share imaginings of and hopes for the kind of good fruit that could grow from this sort of theological examination.
Prayers, dear ones, for fruitful theological education. For good seeds to bear good fruits in your lives and communities. For our theological imaginations to grow legs and berries and melons and root vegetables and communal realities that point to the good kingdom of the good Father, Son, and Spirit. Amen.
Grace and peace,
BFJ
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Well, I wasn't around when you first posted this, it seems fun, so I'll play.
Which reality most confirms your faith in God?
D) Pied beauty- how I see Jesus love people unique to them. The way he loves my disabled son versus the way he loves my practical husband. The way he blesses ministries differently, all for the goal of advancing His Father's Kingdom here on earth. He speaks to my friend through cardinals, my other fried through rainbows, and to me through provision.
Which doctrine most urges you to prayer?
D) Creation- God's creation calls to me. I learned this as a senior in high school at a summer camp I went to. Lonely and scared, He met me there. My prayers are most earnest when said outside, eyes opened, taking in creation—it compels me to pray. I'm not sure I "understood the brief" for this question, but this is what I have ;-).
Which small group do you sign up for?
B) Prayer walks with Macrina- See above.
Which image of the kingdom most excites your sense of vocation?
C) Zoological park: no fences between wolves, lambs, leopards, kids, lions, fatlings, and toddlers.
I discussed this with my husband today— my work increasingly takes me into other faith denominations. Even if we don't see eye to eye theologically, I am experiencing peace and a "sharpening" by being around other believers—people that I would have written off 20 years ago. The fact that I can now meet them on common ground and love them without judgment is a blessing. I am happy to be serving with them in God's kingdom on earth.
Which of these effects of sin do you need to explore more deeply and notice more thoroughly?
B) Roadblocks to justice and incentives to violence
I had never had the time to consider any of this before. My brain had no space, but I am excited to learn more about this space.
Which theological grouping would bear fruit you want to eat?
A) Neighborhood communities, theologies of food, doctrine of the fall
I love people and community, which is why my MDiv is in hospital Chaplaincy. I also love how different cultures gather around food. I love how communal and "handsy" eating is in different cultures. When I think about the marriage supper of the Lamb, I picture us gathering around Jesus like that. Maybe we are eating real food, maybe not, but we're together and having conversations that only good "handsy" food can bring about. I am not quite sure where the doctrine of the fall comes into play; I'll have to give that more thought :-)
Which healthy cross-fertilization does the global church need ASAP?
What do we need ASAP?
D) Reformed-Anabaptist
I once was called a heretic for saying I see both in scripture, and I was comfortable not choosing. People get frustrated with me for that. Oh well. I've heard Reformists call Anabaptists heretics and vice verse. Yucky. So sick of it. Let's unite, people; we're ripping each other to shreds.