Heresy Anyone?

Dang! I'm a heretic! I imagine many of ya'll guessed that already. I found this quiz on reverend mommy's blog. This was the result the first time I took it.

You scored as Pelagianism. You are a Pelagian. You reject ideas about man's fallen human nature and believe that as a result we are able to fully obey God. You are the first Briton to contribute significantly to Christian thought, but you're still excommunicated in 417. Chalcedon compliant 75% Pelagianism 75% Socinianism 58% Monarchianism 58% Monophysitism 42% Adoptionist 33% Arianism 25% Apollanarian 25% Docetism 25% Donatism 25% Albigensianism 25% Modalism 25% Gnosticism 25% Nestorianism 25% Are you a heretic? created with QuizFarm.com

That is Pelagius to the left. He was described (by his enemies) as "large in size and slow of gait." I don't want to be that. So I tried again, just to prove that I knew the "straight words" (ortho-doxy). Nirvana! I am Chalcedon compliant. Always nice to be compliant.

You scored as Chalcedon compliant. You are Chalcedon compliant. Congratulations, you're not a heretic. You believe that Jesus is truly God and truly man and like us in every respect, apart from sin. Officially approved in 451. Chalcedon compliant 75% Adoptionist 42% Nestorianism 42% Monophysitism 42% Monarchianism 42% Docetism 25% Arianism 25% Apollanarian 25% Donatism 25% Gnosticism 25% Socinianism 25% Albigensianism 25% Modalism 25% Pelagianism 25% Are you a heretic? created with QuizFarm.com

Then I tried it a third time. This time I decided to be absolutely honest. I wouldn't play any mytho-theological games. I decided not to agree with any statement with which I truly did not agree. As I was taking this quiz, I realized how little I care about this fifth century speculative mumbo jumbo. Give me the parables of Jesus!

You scored as Pelagianism. You are a Pelagian. You reject ideas about man's fallen human nature and believe that as a result we are able to fully obey God. You are the first Briton to contribute significantly to Christian thought, but you're still excommunicated in 417. Pelagianism 75% Monarchianism 58% Nestorianism 42% Socinianism 42% Docetism 25% Arianism 25% Donatism 25% Adoptionist 25% Apollanarian 25% Monophysitism 25% Chalcedon compliant 25% Albigensianism 25% Modalism 25% Gnosticism 25% Are you a heretic? created with QuizFarm.com

Pelagius. I thought he got a bum rap. Here is a little bit about him. I like this sentence in this particular biography: "He firmly believed in the individual--his free will and his ability to better himself as a spiritual being." The description goes on to say:

"....Pelagius is remembered for trying to free mankind from the guilt of Adam. He and his followers remind us once again that in the early history of the Church there were dissenters. "The great German theologian Karl Barth a few years ago described British Christianity as "incurably Pelagian." The rugged individualism of the Celtic monk, his conviction that each person is free to choose between good and evil. And his insistence that faith must be practical as well as spiritual remain hallmarks of Christians in Britain. An the British imagination has remained rooted in nature, witnessed by the pastoral poetry and landscape panting in which Britain excels, indeed that peculiar British obsession with gardening is Celtic in origin. Visitors to the British Isles are often shocked at how few people attend church each Sunday. Yet to the Britons, church-goers as well as absentees, the primary test of faith is not religious observance, but daily behavour towards our neighbours—and towards one’s pets, livestock and plants."

Pelagius battled it out with Augustine and lost. Augustine made a big deal out of original sin that was the result of Adam's fall and that there isn't a smidgen of good in us. Pelagius had a more practical view I think. Now that we know that Adam and Eve are mythical characters anyway, perhaps some of the ideas of Pelagius could be revisited?

Don't let me influence you! Take the quiz yourself and see how you do!


But, remember, they burn heretics.