Am I a modern day Gnostic? (Quiz)

[ELoWolfe]

April D DeConick created this quiz October 26, 2009. I read about it from a Mormon discussion board thread which asked if Mormonism was Gnostic. The individual who linked the quiz was a Mormon who seemed to agree that it was, with a caveat, of course.

I thought it was a fun "quiz," even if it seems more pop-culture than an in-depth look at your beliefs. But it could create a talking point. If you want, post your score and what points you earned.


what is your theology? (choose all that apply to you and add up the points)

1=I view ‘God’ in transtheistic terms, as something ‘beyond’ or ‘other than’ the traditional God or gods
1=I view ‘God’ as neither OR both male and female
1=I think the divine is within me and/or it is my true/real/authentic self
1=I think ‘God’ is something to be experienced directly and immediately
1=I think that I am (partially) responsible for my redemption/enlightenment via my engagement in religious teachings and practices
0=traditional theology is fine for me OR none of these represents my theology

what is your self-identity? (chose one and add the points to your subtotal)

1=I am a gnostic Jew/gnostic Christian/gnostic Muslim/etc.
2=I am a Jewish Gnostic/Christian Gnostic/Muslim Gnostic/etc.
3=I am a Gnostic
0=I am a Jew/Christian/Muslim/etc. OR none of these apply to me

Consider your relationship to the traditional religions (chose one and add the points to your subtotal)

1=my traditional religion needs additional ‘spiritual’ OR esoteric teachings and practices
2=my traditional religion needs to be protested/reformed into a community that is more ‘spiritual’/esoteric
3=my traditional religion is beyond repair; we need to start over and form a more ‘spiritual’/esoteric community as the authentic expression of my traditional religion
4=I (want to) attend a Gnostic community that understands itself to be distinct from the traditional religions
0=my traditional religion is fine for me OR none of these describe my relationship to traditional religions

what do you think about traditional scriptures? (chose one and add the points to your subtotal)

1=scriptures need reinterpretation that involves (some) transgressive/subversive rereading
2=in addition to transgressive rereading, old scriptures need to be supplemented with new scriptures
3=we need to discard the old scriptures and replace them with new scriptures
0=traditional scriptures and traditional interpretation are fine for me OR none of these

POINT TOTALS:

0-4=not a gnostic
5-7=lodge gnostic
8-10=reform gnostic
11-13=separatist gnostic
14-15=new religion gnostic

 

[ELoWolfe]

what is your theology? (choose all that apply to you and add up the points)

1=I view ‘God’ in transtheistic terms, as something ‘beyond’ or ‘other than’ the traditional God or gods
1=I view ‘God’ as neither OR both male and female
1=I think the divine is within me and/or it is my true/real/authentic self
1=I think ‘God’ is something to be experienced directly and immediately

what is your self-identity? (chose one and add the points to your subtotal)

1=I am a gnostic Jew/gnostic Christian/gnostic Muslim/etc.

Consider your relationship to the traditional religions (chose one and add the points to your subtotal)

3=my traditional religion is beyond repair; we need to start over and form a more ‘spiritual’/esoteric community as the authentic expression of my traditional religion

what do you think about traditional scriptures? (chose one and add the points to your subtotal)

3=we need to discard the old scriptures and replace them with new scriptures


POINT TOTALS:

11=separatist gnostic

 

[Rick O'Shez]

I only scored 1 I'm afraid.

 

[te_lanus]

what is your theology? (choose all that apply to you and add up the points)


0= none of these represents my theology

what is your self-identity? (chose one and add the points to your subtotal)

3=I am a Gnostic

Consider your relationship to the traditional religions (chose one and add the points to your subtotal)


3=my traditional religion is beyond repair; we need to start over and form a more ‘spiritual’/esoteric community as the authentic expression of my traditional religion

what do you think about traditional scriptures? (chose one and add the points to your subtotal)

2=in addition to transgressive rereading, old scriptures need to be supplemented with "new" scriptures


POINT TOTALS:



8-10=reform gnostic

So me seem to be a Reform Gnostic

ooh this seem to be the same just "phrazed" differently:
1=I am a gnostic Jew/gnostic Christian/gnostic Muslim/etc.
2=I am a Jewish Gnostic/Christian Gnostic/Muslim Gnostic/etc.

 

[ELoWolfe]

te_lanus, that is an important distinction I have and may ultimately fall down to rhetoric, but it is a distinction I feel is important.

There is a separation of adjective and noun. I suppose it depends on how the individual sees themselves. But I also think it depends on the ideas that the individual would allow into their own system of faith.

For example, a gnostic Christian would allow some Gnostic ideas and scripture to be included in their scripture, but their system is altogether Christian in nature. The believe in the Christ, but not of Buddha or Mohammed. A gnostic Jew would remove Christ from it. The system in place already is how they feel comfortable. Church, Synagogue, Mosque. Just with gnostic ideas.

Meanwhile, a Christian Gnostic may not feel comfortable in the locale of worship, but uses the inspiration from the adjective faith to shape their spirituality without being limited by it. They profess Christ, but they don't have a problem with Buddhist ideas, Islamic ideas or other ideas. Their inspiration comes from, but is not limited to, their chosen system of faith to shape their faith.

The singular "Gnostic" would be the most all-encompassing. There is no singular source of revelation that shapes the individual's faith in any solid direction.

It may ultimately seem silly, but it is an important distinction to make because each of the groups are using the same spiritual language but get caught up in the right words to use. Then, there is also the "No-true Scots" but in this sense "No-true Gnostic" fallacy. That if someone does something different than the individual, they're not a true Gnostic. The problem with this is that there isn't a true gnosis. There is how we achieve gnosis, and what is true for me will be true for some, and not true for others. What is true for you will be true for some, and not for others. And that very well could include me.

Take this post from a different forum I had recently seen.

Gnosis, knowledge of God, is based on personal spiritual experience. Paul had this but he made the supreme mistake that all the Abrahamic religious leaders did which is trying to cram their personal religious experience of God down everyone else's throats. No true Gnostic would do this; he or she would know better but not Paul. He's got his gospel and if you don't believe Paul's gospel, according to Paul, you're condemned to hell. Paul's not a Gnostic. True gnosis can only be One to one, nothing in between.

This is ironic because as it stands, from an academic view, there was no Gnosticism until after Paul (or until Paul). That is akin to saying that "no true Christian" would question their leaders, so Jesus wasn't a Christian! You could argue whether or not the eventual leader of a faith was or was not a member of that faith, but to say that weren't a member of the faith because of some development or understanding after them is just foolish.

This is how I see it.

 

[Vishvavajra]

From a Christian perspective, I guess I'd be a "reform Gnostic." I'm not sure of the degree to which mainstream Christianity can be reformed at this point, but it would at least be nice for people to recognize that a "Gnostic" reading is legitimate rather than just a heresy. (Actually, I'd say it's the superior, genuine reading, but that's a whole other discussion.)

From the perspective of Buddhism which is my main practice most of the time, I don't think it's in need of Gnostic reform, since it's pretty much there to begin with. In fact, it's via Buddhism that I came to understand the Gnostic viewpoint and saw the potential for wisdom in the Christian tradition (which is sadly obscured under the weight of exoteric doctrine).

 

[Salek Atesh]

Somehow scored 7.

Anyways... kinda weird that what you call yourself weighs more on this quiz then your personal beliefs