Hermeneutics and Jane Austen
Hi all. Sorry for the silence around here and how I've completely ignored most comments and email this week. I've just felt really crappy and have had to limit my "stare at computer screen" time. So blogging today is just a couple of fun quizzes.
This first one deserves much more commentary than this, but I'll post it anyway. Scot McKnight's Hermeneutics Quiz from Leadership Journal is finally available online. Basically the point of the quiz is to see if one is conservative, moderate, or progressive in how one interprets and applies the Bible. I scored an 85, placing me (surprise, surprise) in the progressive category. There were of course questions on the quiz for which I didn't agree with any of the answers, but quizzes designed to categorize aren't given to nuance. It was a good reminder of what biases we bring to our interpretation of scripture and of the huge affect those a priori assumptions have on what we promote as biblical doctrine and truth. Anyway, take the quiz, it's fun.
And on a much lighter note -
No big surprise there either. But I do have a confession to make – literature fan/major that I am I have never actually read a Jane Austen book. I've tried, I really have, but I just can't get into them. So my only knowledge of Austen and her characters is from the movies. But I do love Emma Thompson and think the scene of her crying at the end of Sense and Sensibility is one of the best film moments ever.
julieclawson(at)gmail(dot)com 
On the Hermeutics, I scored a 45 (thoroughly conservative) – hey, there's one in every crowd.
On the Austen quiz, I turned out to be Elinor Dashwood.
Thanks for sharing your score. I got an 87, and all of the commenters were shocked at their scores way out in the 60s and 70s, and so I just kinda sneaked away.
I came out at 80 and suspect that my husband will come out more moderate or perhaps even (gasp!) conservative. Should make for interesting discussion.
I also am Elinor Dashwood, apparently, and also an Austen virgin, despite beginning an English major and being a voracious reader. And I can't even remember the movies!
hehehe … I scored a 76 on that test, but was surely not going to announce it over amongst the crowd at JC. I'm much more comfortable amongst the progressives over here
…
I found some of the questions a little mystifying and difficult to answer. But I'm not uncomfortable with the score overall … so that's okay.
"You are Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are practical, circumspect, and discreet. Though you are tremendously sensible and allow your head to rule, you have a deep, emotional side that few people often see."
and
Score 72
Evaluation You scored between 66 and 100, meaning you're a progressive on The Hermeneutics Scale.
I didn't like some of the choices for answers. None of them seemed to fit. Ah, well, not bad for a former died-in-the-wool Baptist.
59
I too was surprised at how few higher scores there were in the crowd over at JC. what I found amusing though was that even someone who answered "5" to every question would be considered conservative in some circles (and someone who answered "1" to every question would be progressive in others). But it was still fun.
I got a 79… though a lot of the questions didn't have any answers I liked, so I ended up choosing a lot of "in betweens" to reflect that.
And I agree with some of the comments on the other site about the definitions of "conservative" and "progressive". Why should reading scripture in light of history and culture and context be considered "progressive"? (Not that I have any problem being called "progressive".)
i hate reading jane austin, i just want to give all her heroines a good kicking and pull the rod out of all her heros backsides – oh well at least the BBC adaptions are good!
oh and i'm a progessive as well, lol.
i wonder if there is any correlation between the two..??
70 and Fanny Price.
I definitely hear what people are saying about a liberal in some circles being considered a conservative in others. Welcome to my life.
Not at all sure what to make of Fanny Price, though.
67 (progressive, but barely) and Elinor Dashwood.
Same objections to the questions and answers on the hermeneutics quiz, and agree with the observations about liberals in some circles being conservatives in others, and vice versa.