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Editorial comparison model · Updated
Transparent comparisons, not a religious diagnosis
This original tool organizes self-reported beliefs alongside simplified accounts of selected Christian teachings. Its categories, question wording, and weights are editorial choices. It is not scientifically validated, approved by the churches represented, or a test of Christian faithfulness.
Ten representative families—not every Christian church
These representative sources affirm the Trinity and the full divinity and humanity of Christ. The introduction explains that scope. There is no separate scored foundations question, and agreement with the covered questions is not a complete account of a person’s faith.
Eastern Orthodox is not a profile of Oriental Orthodox churches. The Pentecostal baseline is the Trinitarian Assemblies of God, not Oneness Pentecostalism. Non-denominational churches have no universal statement of faith and are not assigned one uniform profile. Other families and many teachings are absent.
A family name summarizes a representative teaching document, not every member, parish, jurisdiction, or denomination bearing that label. Local worship, governance, sacramental discipline, and theology can differ. Multiple accepted answer positions below reflect a broad summary or range in this model, not extra credit.
One question bank, two depths of exploration
The quick exploration contains 16 questions: 12 core beliefs and four worship preferences. The full comparison contains 36: all 28 belief questions and eight worship preferences. Both use the same question IDs and options. Continuing from a completed quick exploration keeps those 16 answers and adds the remaining 20 questions.
Nine belief dimensions cover Scripture and tradition, baptism, Communion, grace and salvation, church authority, the Holy Spirit, prayer and devotion, discipleship and peace, and Christian hope. Related follow-up questions share their dimension’s fixed weight instead of increasing its influence simply because more questions were asked.
The worship questions explore service order, Word and Communion, music, congregational expression, setting, the church calendar, shared participation, and prayer ministry. They form a separate personal profile. They do not award points to a tradition or assume that every congregation in a family has one worship style.
Question explanations define unfamiliar terms. “I’m not sure what this means” and “I understand, but I’m still deciding” remain distinct answers, with neither treated as agreement or opposition.
Agreement, coverage, and open questions
Within each covered belief dimension, agreement is the weight of aligned answers divided by the weight of the definite answers used in that comparison. Covered dimensions are combined using the fixed editorial budgets below. Their weighted agreements are divided by the sum of the covered budgets, then displayed as a whole-number percentage in the full result. The quick result emphasizes direction and reasons instead of displaying a percentage.
- Scripture and tradition: 12% of the full dimension budget
- Baptism: 12% of the full dimension budget
- Communion and sacraments: 14% of the full dimension budget
- Grace and salvation: 16% of the full dimension budget
- Church authority: 12% of the full dimension budget
- The Holy Spirit: 10% of the full dimension budget
- Prayer and devotion: 8% of the full dimension budget
- Discipleship and peace: 8% of the full dimension budget
- Christian hope and practice: 8% of the full dimension budget
A documented compatible position earns its question’s full weight. An answer outside the documented positions earns zero; there are no negative points or subjective half-credit. Unknown, undecided, and unanswered beliefs are excluded. If a representative source does not specify a position, that question is excluded from its comparison and recorded as unresolved.
Coverage is distinct from agreement: it records the definite beliefs, covered dimensions, and documented positions available for comparison. A high percentage with limited coverage must be read alongside those counts. Agreement is not a probability of religious identity, a faith score, or an experimentally validated measurement.
The quick result requires at least eight definite answers out of 12 beliefs, across six of the nine dimensions. The full result requires at least 20 out of 28, across seven dimensions. A representative must have documented positions for at least three definite answers across three dimensions, and at least three representatives must qualify before a ranked result is shown. When these requirements are not met, the result keeps the worship profile available and invites answer review.
Why display order and percentages can differ
Each pair of representatives is compared only on definite answers for which both sources have documented positions. Both sides use exactly the same questions and dimension budgets. A pair with fewer than three shared answers or three shared dimensions does not contribute a ranking preference. The weighted agreement differences from qualifying pairs are added to determine the display order; equal totals use documented answer coverage and then a stable ID order.
Each card’s percentage is its own agreement across supported answers. Those underlying sets can differ, so a card with a higher percentage is not automatically displayed first. Pair comparisons prevent a representative from winning simply because its source leaves more questions unspecified.
When comparisons remain close or open
The result keeps another tradition close or open when its shared comparison does not favor the leading representative, an unanswered question has documented differing positions, shared dimensional evidence is too limited, or changing one definite answer on a differing position can reverse or equal their shared comparison. The result lists these candidates and identifies open questions that distinguish the first two. This is an editorial sensitivity check, not a statistical confidence interval or a guarantee of identity.
The Baptist family uses the Southern Baptist baseline unless the answer on finally abandoning faith selects the contrary position, in which case it uses the documented Free Will Baptist representative. This selects a coherent source profile; it does not choose whichever internal profile happens to produce the highest percentage. When that answer is unknown, the Southern Baptist baseline is shown without treating the unknown as assent. The Anglican profile remains the historical Articles baseline; broader Anglican devotional positions are described as a limitation and are not silently merged into it.
Named representatives and their question mappings
Each mapping below identifies documented answer positions and their source locations. A representative with no specified position on a question is recorded as open, rather than assumed to reject it. Separate representatives preserve coherent internal differences; their positions are not combined into a hypothetical family that accepts every answer.
Catholic
Based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Eastern Catholic churches have their own liturgical disciplines; this model does not identify a rite or parish.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
- Q01: When interpretations differ, what is the final standard for Christian teaching?
Documented positions: Scripture and apostolic tradition belong together within the church’s received faith and teaching.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q02: What place should books such as Tobit, Judith, and Wisdom have?
Documented positions: They belong to the church’s received biblical canon.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q03: What authority should the Bishop of Rome have across the whole church?
Documented positions: A universal pastoral and governing office over the whole church.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q04: Which structure should normally carry responsibility for local churches and their leaders?
Documented positions: Bishops oversee churches within a connected church structure.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q05: How should ordained ministry remain continuous with the apostles?
Documented positions: Ordained ministry should be handed on through the historic succession of bishops, faithful to apostolic teaching.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q06: Who should receive baptism?
Documented positions: People who profess faith, and infants nurtured in the faith by their family and church.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q07: What is the main work of baptism?
Documented positions: God works through baptism to give forgiveness and new life; it is more than our public promise.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q08: Which use of water should a church normally recognize as valid baptism?
Documented positions: Immersion, pouring, or sprinkling can be valid.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q09: How would you explain Christ’s presence in Communion?
Documented positions: The substance of bread and wine becomes Christ’s body and blood, while their outward appearances remain. / The bread and wine truly become Christ’s body and blood, without requiring a particular philosophical explanation.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q10: How does Communion relate to Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice?
Documented positions: That completed sacrifice is made present sacramentally, and the church participates in its offering.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q11: How do you understand the church’s sacraments or sacred rites?
Documented positions: Seven sacraments form a defined part of the church’s sacramental life.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q12: Does justification itself include a person’s inward renewal?
Documented positions: Justification includes forgiveness and inward renewal by God’s grace.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q13: How does a person become able to trust Christ?
Documented positions: God’s grace first enables a response, but that grace can be resisted.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q14: Can a person who truly trusts Christ finally abandon faith and lose salvation?
Documented positions: A believer can finally turn away; continued faith and life in grace matter.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q15: Can growth in holiness reach “perfect love” in this life?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q16: How should churches understand tongues, prophecy, and healing gifts today?
Documented positions: Churches should expect the Spirit to continue giving such gifts as he wills, and discern their use.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q17: Can baptism in the Holy Spirit be an empowering experience distinct from conversion?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q18: Must tongues be the initial outward evidence of that Spirit baptism?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q19: Is it a fitting Christian practice to ask departed saints to pray for us?
Documented positions: Yes; it belongs to the communion of saints and does not replace prayer to God.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q20: What place should icons or holy images have in devotion?
Documented positions: They may be venerated in honor of Christ or the saints, while worship is given only to God.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q21: Do you accept purgatory as final purification for those who die in God’s grace?
Documented positions: Yes; I accept that final purification as purgatory.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q22: May Christians participate in war or the use of lethal force?
Documented positions: It can be allowed under strict conditions of legitimate defense or just war, without unconditional support for state violence.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q23: What limits should Christians place on service in government?
Documented positions: Government, judicial, or defensive duties can be accepted under Christian ethics, while refusing unjust orders.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q24: Should Christians keep the seventh-day Sabbath, from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset?
Documented positions: I do not regard seventh-day observance as that Christian obligation; churches usually gather on the Lord’s Day.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q25: What happens between death and the bodily resurrection?
Documented positions: Departed believers are consciously with Christ, awaiting bodily resurrection.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q26: Do you accept Ellen G. White’s ministry as an expression of the prophetic gift?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q27: Do you accept the Adventist teaching that Christ began a final phase of heavenly sanctuary judgment in 1844?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q28: How should a church judge a worship practice not explicitly prescribed in Scripture?
Documented positions: They should be discerned within the church’s received apostolic tradition and liturgical life.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
Eastern Orthodox
Uses the Orthodox Church in America’s educational account. Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions vary in canon and discipline. Oriental Orthodox churches are not a separate profile in this edition.
OCA: The Orthodox Faith
- Q01: When interpretations differ, what is the final standard for Christian teaching?
Documented positions: Scripture and apostolic tradition belong together within the church’s received faith and teaching.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q02: What place should books such as Tobit, Judith, and Wisdom have?
Documented positions: They belong to the church’s received biblical canon.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q03: What authority should the Bishop of Rome have across the whole church?
Documented positions: His historic position can be respected, but not universal jurisdiction over all churches.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q04: Which structure should normally carry responsibility for local churches and their leaders?
Documented positions: Bishops oversee churches within a connected church structure.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q05: How should ordained ministry remain continuous with the apostles?
Documented positions: Ordained ministry should be handed on through the historic succession of bishops, faithful to apostolic teaching.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q06: Who should receive baptism?
Documented positions: People who profess faith, and infants nurtured in the faith by their family and church.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q07: What is the main work of baptism?
Documented positions: God works through baptism to give forgiveness and new life; it is more than our public promise.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q08: Which use of water should a church normally recognize as valid baptism?
Documented positions: Threefold immersion is normal, with other forms allowed in necessity.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q09: How would you explain Christ’s presence in Communion?
Documented positions: The bread and wine truly become Christ’s body and blood, without requiring a particular philosophical explanation.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q10: How does Communion relate to Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice?
Documented positions: That completed sacrifice is made present sacramentally, and the church participates in its offering.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q11: How do you understand the church’s sacraments or sacred rites?
Documented positions: The traditional seven mysteries can be named, but the church’s sacramental life is not exhausted by a fixed list.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q12: Does justification itself include a person’s inward renewal?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q13: How does a person become able to trust Christ?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q14: Can a person who truly trusts Christ finally abandon faith and lose salvation?
Documented positions: A believer can finally turn away; continued faith and life in grace matter.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q15: Can growth in holiness reach “perfect love” in this life?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q16: How should churches understand tongues, prophecy, and healing gifts today?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q17: Can baptism in the Holy Spirit be an empowering experience distinct from conversion?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q18: Must tongues be the initial outward evidence of that Spirit baptism?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q19: Is it a fitting Christian practice to ask departed saints to pray for us?
Documented positions: Yes; it belongs to the communion of saints and does not replace prayer to God.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q20: What place should icons or holy images have in devotion?
Documented positions: They may be venerated in honor of Christ or the saints, while worship is given only to God.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q21: Do you accept purgatory as final purification for those who die in God’s grace?
Documented positions: No; I do not accept that doctrine of purgatory.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q22: May Christians participate in war or the use of lethal force?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q23: What limits should Christians place on service in government?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q24: Should Christians keep the seventh-day Sabbath, from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset?
Documented positions: I do not regard seventh-day observance as that Christian obligation; churches usually gather on the Lord’s Day.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q25: What happens between death and the bodily resurrection?
Documented positions: Departed believers are consciously with Christ, awaiting bodily resurrection.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q26: Do you accept Ellen G. White’s ministry as an expression of the prophetic gift?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q27: Do you accept the Adventist teaching that Christ began a final phase of heavenly sanctuary judgment in 1844?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q28: How should a church judge a worship practice not explicitly prescribed in Scripture?
Documented positions: They should be discerned within the church’s received apostolic tradition and liturgical life.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
Anglican / Episcopal
The Thirty-Nine Articles provide the historic baseline, including their rejection of invocation of saints. Anglo-Catholic and evangelical Anglicans differ on sacramental explanations and devotional practices; this historic profile does not represent all those positions or select a province. The cited baptism rite directly permits immersion and pouring, so the broader three-mode answer is left unspecified.
Anglican historical Articles
- Q01: When interpretations differ, what is the final standard for Christian teaching?
Documented positions: Scripture is the final standard; creeds and traditions must be tested against it.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q02: What place should books such as Tobit, Judith, and Wisdom have?
Documented positions: They can be read for instruction, but do not establish doctrine on their own.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q03: What authority should the Bishop of Rome have across the whole church?
Documented positions: His historic position can be respected, but not universal jurisdiction over all churches.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q04: Which structure should normally carry responsibility for local churches and their leaders?
Documented positions: Bishops oversee churches within a connected church structure.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q05: How should ordained ministry remain continuous with the apostles?
Documented positions: Ordained ministry should be handed on through the historic succession of bishops, faithful to apostolic teaching.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q06: Who should receive baptism?
Documented positions: People who profess faith, and infants nurtured in the faith by their family and church.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q07: What is the main work of baptism?
Documented positions: It is a sign and seal of God’s covenant; the Spirit makes it effective according to God’s promise. / God works through baptism to give forgiveness and new life; it is more than our public promise.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q08: Which use of water should a church normally recognize as valid baptism?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q09: How would you explain Christ’s presence in Communion?
Documented positions: The bread and wine do not become his body and blood; believers truly share in Christ through the Spirit and faith.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q10: How does Communion relate to Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice?
Documented positions: It is thanksgiving, remembrance, and real participation in completed redemption, without a church-offered propitiatory sacrifice.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q11: How do you understand the church’s sacraments or sacred rites?
Documented positions: Baptism and Communion are central; whether another rite counts depends on Christ’s institution and promise of grace.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q12: Does justification itself include a person’s inward renewal?
Documented positions: Justification is God’s declaration that we are righteous through Christ; renewal and good works are its connected fruits.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q13: How does a person become able to trust Christ?
Documented positions: God’s grace first enables a response, but that grace can be resisted.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q14: Can a person who truly trusts Christ finally abandon faith and lose salvation?
Documented positions: A believer can finally turn away; continued faith and life in grace matter.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q15: Can growth in holiness reach “perfect love” in this life?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q16: How should churches understand tongues, prophecy, and healing gifts today?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q17: Can baptism in the Holy Spirit be an empowering experience distinct from conversion?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q18: Must tongues be the initial outward evidence of that Spirit baptism?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q19: Is it a fitting Christian practice to ask departed saints to pray for us?
Documented positions: No; I pray to God and ask living believers for prayer.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q20: What place should icons or holy images have in devotion?
Documented positions: They can teach or remind us, but should not receive devotional veneration.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q21: Do you accept purgatory as final purification for those who die in God’s grace?
Documented positions: No; I do not accept that doctrine of purgatory.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q22: May Christians participate in war or the use of lethal force?
Documented positions: It can be allowed under strict conditions of legitimate defense or just war, without unconditional support for state violence.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q23: What limits should Christians place on service in government?
Documented positions: Government, judicial, or defensive duties can be accepted under Christian ethics, while refusing unjust orders.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q24: Should Christians keep the seventh-day Sabbath, from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset?
Documented positions: I do not regard seventh-day observance as that Christian obligation; churches usually gather on the Lord’s Day.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q25: What happens between death and the bodily resurrection?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q26: Do you accept Ellen G. White’s ministry as an expression of the prophetic gift?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q27: Do you accept the Adventist teaching that Christ began a final phase of heavenly sanctuary judgment in 1844?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q28: How should a church judge a worship practice not explicitly prescribed in Scripture?
Documented positions: Practices may be adopted if they do not contradict Scripture and help the congregation worship.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
Lutheran
Uses confessional teaching explained by the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Lutheran churches differ in governance, Communion discipline, and other practices; this is not a match to every Lutheran body.
LCMS: Doctrine FAQs
- Q01: When interpretations differ, what is the final standard for Christian teaching?
Documented positions: Scripture is the final standard; creeds and traditions must be tested against it.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q02: What place should books such as Tobit, Judith, and Wisdom have?
Documented positions: They are not part of the biblical canon.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q03: What authority should the Bishop of Rome have across the whole church?
Documented positions: His historic position can be respected, but not universal jurisdiction over all churches.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q04: Which structure should normally carry responsibility for local churches and their leaders?
Documented positions: Local congregations or their elders govern autonomously, with voluntary cooperation.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q05: How should ordained ministry remain continuous with the apostles?
Documented positions: Faithfulness to apostolic teaching and a lawful church calling and ordination matter, without requiring a historic chain of bishops.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q06: Who should receive baptism?
Documented positions: People who profess faith, and infants nurtured in the faith by their family and church.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q07: What is the main work of baptism?
Documented positions: God works through baptism to give forgiveness and new life; it is more than our public promise.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q08: Which use of water should a church normally recognize as valid baptism?
Documented positions: Immersion, pouring, or sprinkling can be valid.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q09: How would you explain Christ’s presence in Communion?
Documented positions: The bread and wine remain, and Christ’s true body and blood are also received.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q10: How does Communion relate to Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice?
Documented positions: It is thanksgiving, remembrance, and real participation in completed redemption, without a church-offered propitiatory sacrifice.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q11: How do you understand the church’s sacraments or sacred rites?
Documented positions: Baptism and Communion are central; whether another rite counts depends on Christ’s institution and promise of grace.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q12: Does justification itself include a person’s inward renewal?
Documented positions: Justification is God’s declaration that we are righteous through Christ; renewal and good works are its connected fruits.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q13: How does a person become able to trust Christ?
Documented positions: God’s grace first enables a response, but that grace can be resisted.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q14: Can a person who truly trusts Christ finally abandon faith and lose salvation?
Documented positions: A believer can finally turn away; continued faith and life in grace matter.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q15: Can growth in holiness reach “perfect love” in this life?
Documented positions: I expect lifelong growth, without a distinct state of perfect love in this life.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q16: How should churches understand tongues, prophecy, and healing gifts today?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q17: Can baptism in the Holy Spirit be an empowering experience distinct from conversion?
Documented positions: I connect Spirit baptism with entering Christ’s body; later fillings need not be another separate baptism.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q18: Must tongues be the initial outward evidence of that Spirit baptism?
Documented positions: No; everyone need not speak in tongues to prove that experience.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q19: Is it a fitting Christian practice to ask departed saints to pray for us?
Documented positions: No; I pray to God and ask living believers for prayer.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q20: What place should icons or holy images have in devotion?
Documented positions: They can teach or remind us, but should not receive devotional veneration.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q21: Do you accept purgatory as final purification for those who die in God’s grace?
Documented positions: No; I do not accept that doctrine of purgatory.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q22: May Christians participate in war or the use of lethal force?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q23: What limits should Christians place on service in government?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q24: Should Christians keep the seventh-day Sabbath, from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset?
Documented positions: I do not regard seventh-day observance as that Christian obligation; churches usually gather on the Lord’s Day.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q25: What happens between death and the bodily resurrection?
Documented positions: Departed believers are consciously with Christ, awaiting bodily resurrection.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q26: Do you accept Ellen G. White’s ministry as an expression of the prophetic gift?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q27: Do you accept the Adventist teaching that Christ began a final phase of heavenly sanctuary judgment in 1844?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q28: How should a church judge a worship practice not explicitly prescribed in Scripture?
Documented positions: Practices may be adopted if they do not contradict Scripture and help the congregation worship.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
Reformed / Presbyterian
Uses the Westminster Confession as published by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Not all Reformed or Presbyterian bodies hold every provision in the same way.
Westminster Confession of Faith
- Q01: When interpretations differ, what is the final standard for Christian teaching?
Documented positions: Scripture is the final standard; creeds and traditions must be tested against it.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q02: What place should books such as Tobit, Judith, and Wisdom have?
Documented positions: They are not part of the biblical canon.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q03: What authority should the Bishop of Rome have across the whole church?
Documented positions: His historic position can be respected, but not universal jurisdiction over all churches.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q04: Which structure should normally carry responsibility for local churches and their leaders?
Documented positions: Pastors and elders govern through connected local, regional, and wider assemblies.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q05: How should ordained ministry remain continuous with the apostles?
Documented positions: Faithfulness to apostolic teaching and a lawful church calling and ordination matter, without requiring a historic chain of bishops.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q06: Who should receive baptism?
Documented positions: People who profess faith, and infants nurtured in the faith by their family and church.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q07: What is the main work of baptism?
Documented positions: It is a sign and seal of God’s covenant; the Spirit makes it effective according to God’s promise.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q08: Which use of water should a church normally recognize as valid baptism?
Documented positions: Immersion, pouring, or sprinkling can be valid.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q09: How would you explain Christ’s presence in Communion?
Documented positions: The bread and wine do not become his body and blood; believers truly share in Christ through the Spirit and faith.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q10: How does Communion relate to Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice?
Documented positions: It is thanksgiving, remembrance, and real participation in completed redemption, without a church-offered propitiatory sacrifice.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q11: How do you understand the church’s sacraments or sacred rites?
Documented positions: Baptism and Communion are central; whether another rite counts depends on Christ’s institution and promise of grace.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q12: Does justification itself include a person’s inward renewal?
Documented positions: Justification is God’s declaration that we are righteous through Christ; renewal and good works are its connected fruits.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q13: How does a person become able to trust Christ?
Documented positions: God’s effectual calling certainly brings those he elects to faith.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q14: Can a person who truly trusts Christ finally abandon faith and lose salvation?
Documented positions: God preserves true believers so that they ultimately persevere.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q15: Can growth in holiness reach “perfect love” in this life?
Documented positions: I expect lifelong growth, without a distinct state of perfect love in this life.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q16: How should churches understand tongues, prophecy, and healing gifts today?
Documented positions: God can still work miracles, but some revelatory or sign gifts belong to the apostolic foundation and are not the church’s normal expectation.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q17: Can baptism in the Holy Spirit be an empowering experience distinct from conversion?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q18: Must tongues be the initial outward evidence of that Spirit baptism?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q19: Is it a fitting Christian practice to ask departed saints to pray for us?
Documented positions: No; I pray to God and ask living believers for prayer.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q20: What place should icons or holy images have in devotion?
Documented positions: Such devotional images should be avoided in worship.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q21: Do you accept purgatory as final purification for those who die in God’s grace?
Documented positions: No; I do not accept that doctrine of purgatory.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q22: May Christians participate in war or the use of lethal force?
Documented positions: It can be allowed under strict conditions of legitimate defense or just war, without unconditional support for state violence.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q23: What limits should Christians place on service in government?
Documented positions: Government, judicial, or defensive duties can be accepted under Christian ethics, while refusing unjust orders.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q24: Should Christians keep the seventh-day Sabbath, from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset?
Documented positions: I do not regard seventh-day observance as that Christian obligation; churches usually gather on the Lord’s Day.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q25: What happens between death and the bodily resurrection?
Documented positions: Departed believers are consciously with Christ, awaiting bodily resurrection.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q26: Do you accept Ellen G. White’s ministry as an expression of the prophetic gift?
Documented positions: No; I do not accept that particular prophetic authority.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q27: Do you accept the Adventist teaching that Christ began a final phase of heavenly sanctuary judgment in 1844?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q28: How should a church judge a worship practice not explicitly prescribed in Scripture?
Documented positions: The elements of worship should follow what God institutes in Scripture; practical arrangements are a separate matter.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
Baptist
Uses a Southern Baptist representative and a separately sourced Free Will Baptist representative. Their teachings differ on election and perseverance. The branch shown is identified explicitly; this is not an endorsement of a Baptist organization.
Southern Baptist (BFM)
- Q01: When interpretations differ, what is the final standard for Christian teaching?
Documented positions: Scripture is the final standard; creeds and traditions must be tested against it.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q02: What place should books such as Tobit, Judith, and Wisdom have?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q03: What authority should the Bishop of Rome have across the whole church?
Documented positions: His historic position can be respected, but not universal jurisdiction over all churches.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q04: Which structure should normally carry responsibility for local churches and their leaders?
Documented positions: Local congregations or their elders govern autonomously, with voluntary cooperation.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q05: How should ordained ministry remain continuous with the apostles?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q06: Who should receive baptism?
Documented positions: People who can personally profess Christian faith.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q07: What is the main work of baptism?
Documented positions: It publicly expresses faith, obedience, and commitment to the community of disciples.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q08: Which use of water should a church normally recognize as valid baptism?
Documented positions: Baptism should be by immersion in water.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q09: How would you explain Christ’s presence in Communion?
Documented positions: The bread and wine primarily mark remembrance and proclamation of Christ’s saving death.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q10: How does Communion relate to Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice?
Documented positions: It primarily remembers and proclaims that completed sacrifice.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q11: How do you understand the church’s sacraments or sacred rites?
Documented positions: Baptism and Communion are central; whether another rite counts depends on Christ’s institution and promise of grace.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q12: Does justification itself include a person’s inward renewal?
Documented positions: Justification is God’s declaration that we are righteous through Christ; renewal and good works are its connected fruits.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q13: How does a person become able to trust Christ?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q14: Can a person who truly trusts Christ finally abandon faith and lose salvation?
Documented positions: God preserves true believers so that they ultimately persevere.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q15: Can growth in holiness reach “perfect love” in this life?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q16: How should churches understand tongues, prophecy, and healing gifts today?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q17: Can baptism in the Holy Spirit be an empowering experience distinct from conversion?
Documented positions: I connect Spirit baptism with entering Christ’s body; later fillings need not be another separate baptism.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q18: Must tongues be the initial outward evidence of that Spirit baptism?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q19: Is it a fitting Christian practice to ask departed saints to pray for us?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q20: What place should icons or holy images have in devotion?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q21: Do you accept purgatory as final purification for those who die in God’s grace?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q22: May Christians participate in war or the use of lethal force?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q23: What limits should Christians place on service in government?
Documented positions: Government, judicial, or defensive duties can be accepted under Christian ethics, while refusing unjust orders.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q24: Should Christians keep the seventh-day Sabbath, from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset?
Documented positions: I do not regard seventh-day observance as that Christian obligation; churches usually gather on the Lord’s Day.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q25: What happens between death and the bodily resurrection?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q26: Do you accept Ellen G. White’s ministry as an expression of the prophetic gift?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q27: Do you accept the Adventist teaching that Christ began a final phase of heavenly sanctuary judgment in 1844?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q28: How should a church judge a worship practice not explicitly prescribed in Scripture?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
Free Will Baptist (NAFWB)
- Q01: When interpretations differ, what is the final standard for Christian teaching?
Documented positions: Scripture is the final standard; creeds and traditions must be tested against it.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q02: What place should books such as Tobit, Judith, and Wisdom have?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q03: What authority should the Bishop of Rome have across the whole church?
Documented positions: His historic position can be respected, but not universal jurisdiction over all churches.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q04: Which structure should normally carry responsibility for local churches and their leaders?
Documented positions: Local congregations or their elders govern autonomously, with voluntary cooperation.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q05: How should ordained ministry remain continuous with the apostles?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q06: Who should receive baptism?
Documented positions: People who can personally profess Christian faith.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q07: What is the main work of baptism?
Documented positions: It publicly expresses faith, obedience, and commitment to the community of disciples.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q08: Which use of water should a church normally recognize as valid baptism?
Documented positions: Baptism should be by immersion in water.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q09: How would you explain Christ’s presence in Communion?
Documented positions: The bread and wine primarily mark remembrance and proclamation of Christ’s saving death.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q10: How does Communion relate to Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice?
Documented positions: It primarily remembers and proclaims that completed sacrifice.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q11: How do you understand the church’s sacraments or sacred rites?
Documented positions: Baptism and Communion are central; whether another rite counts depends on Christ’s institution and promise of grace.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q12: Does justification itself include a person’s inward renewal?
Documented positions: Justification is God’s declaration that we are righteous through Christ; renewal and good works are its connected fruits.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q13: How does a person become able to trust Christ?
Documented positions: God’s grace first enables a response, but that grace can be resisted.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q14: Can a person who truly trusts Christ finally abandon faith and lose salvation?
Documented positions: A believer can finally turn away; continued faith and life in grace matter.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q15: Can growth in holiness reach “perfect love” in this life?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q16: How should churches understand tongues, prophecy, and healing gifts today?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q17: Can baptism in the Holy Spirit be an empowering experience distinct from conversion?
Documented positions: I connect Spirit baptism with entering Christ’s body; later fillings need not be another separate baptism.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q18: Must tongues be the initial outward evidence of that Spirit baptism?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q19: Is it a fitting Christian practice to ask departed saints to pray for us?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q20: What place should icons or holy images have in devotion?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q21: Do you accept purgatory as final purification for those who die in God’s grace?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q22: May Christians participate in war or the use of lethal force?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q23: What limits should Christians place on service in government?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q24: Should Christians keep the seventh-day Sabbath, from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset?
Documented positions: I do not regard seventh-day observance as that Christian obligation; churches usually gather on the Lord’s Day.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q25: What happens between death and the bodily resurrection?
Documented positions: Departed believers are consciously with Christ, awaiting bodily resurrection.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q26: Do you accept Ellen G. White’s ministry as an expression of the prophetic gift?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q27: Do you accept the Adventist teaching that Christ began a final phase of heavenly sanctuary judgment in 1844?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q28: How should a church judge a worship practice not explicitly prescribed in Scripture?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
Methodist / Wesleyan
Uses United Methodist articles and explanations of baptism and Wesleyan holiness. Article V treats the additional books as useful for life and manners, not as a basis for doctrine. Its charismatic guidelines allow diverse experiences, so this profile does not prescribe one account of a distinct Spirit baptism. Wesleyan denominations vary on entire sanctification and church organization.
United Methodist (UMC)
- Q01: When interpretations differ, what is the final standard for Christian teaching?
Documented positions: Scripture is the final standard; creeds and traditions must be tested against it.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q02: What place should books such as Tobit, Judith, and Wisdom have?
Documented positions: They can be read for instruction, but do not establish doctrine on their own.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q03: What authority should the Bishop of Rome have across the whole church?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q04: Which structure should normally carry responsibility for local churches and their leaders?
Documented positions: Bishops oversee churches within a connected church structure. / Elected representative bodies and leaders govern at several levels, with local churches belonging to a wider conference structure.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q05: How should ordained ministry remain continuous with the apostles?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q06: Who should receive baptism?
Documented positions: People who profess faith, and infants nurtured in the faith by their family and church.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q07: What is the main work of baptism?
Documented positions: God works through baptism to give forgiveness and new life; it is more than our public promise.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q08: Which use of water should a church normally recognize as valid baptism?
Documented positions: Immersion, pouring, or sprinkling can be valid.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q09: How would you explain Christ’s presence in Communion?
Documented positions: The bread and wine do not become his body and blood; believers truly share in Christ through the Spirit and faith.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q10: How does Communion relate to Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice?
Documented positions: It is thanksgiving, remembrance, and real participation in completed redemption, without a church-offered propitiatory sacrifice.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q11: How do you understand the church’s sacraments or sacred rites?
Documented positions: Baptism and Communion are central; whether another rite counts depends on Christ’s institution and promise of grace.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q12: Does justification itself include a person’s inward renewal?
Documented positions: Justification is God’s declaration that we are righteous through Christ; renewal and good works are its connected fruits.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q13: How does a person become able to trust Christ?
Documented positions: God’s grace first enables a response, but that grace can be resisted.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q14: Can a person who truly trusts Christ finally abandon faith and lose salvation?
Documented positions: A believer can finally turn away; continued faith and life in grace matter.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q15: Can growth in holiness reach “perfect love” in this life?
Documented positions: God can bring a believer to perfect love in this life, with continued growth and human limitations.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q16: How should churches understand tongues, prophecy, and healing gifts today?
Documented positions: Churches should expect the Spirit to continue giving such gifts as he wills, and discern their use.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q17: Can baptism in the Holy Spirit be an empowering experience distinct from conversion?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q18: Must tongues be the initial outward evidence of that Spirit baptism?
Documented positions: No; everyone need not speak in tongues to prove that experience.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q19: Is it a fitting Christian practice to ask departed saints to pray for us?
Documented positions: No; I pray to God and ask living believers for prayer.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q20: What place should icons or holy images have in devotion?
Documented positions: They can teach or remind us, but should not receive devotional veneration.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q21: Do you accept purgatory as final purification for those who die in God’s grace?
Documented positions: No; I do not accept that doctrine of purgatory.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q22: May Christians participate in war or the use of lethal force?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q23: What limits should Christians place on service in government?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q24: Should Christians keep the seventh-day Sabbath, from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q25: What happens between death and the bodily resurrection?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q26: Do you accept Ellen G. White’s ministry as an expression of the prophetic gift?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q27: Do you accept the Adventist teaching that Christ began a final phase of heavenly sanctuary judgment in 1844?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q28: How should a church judge a worship practice not explicitly prescribed in Scripture?
Documented positions: Practices may be adopted if they do not contradict Scripture and help the congregation worship.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
Pentecostal
Uses the Trinitarian Assemblies of God statement. Tongues as initial evidence is characteristic of that representative, not every charismatic church. Oneness Pentecostalism is outside this edition’s scope.
Assemblies of God (AG)
- Q01: When interpretations differ, what is the final standard for Christian teaching?
Documented positions: Scripture is the final standard; creeds and traditions must be tested against it.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q02: What place should books such as Tobit, Judith, and Wisdom have?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q03: What authority should the Bishop of Rome have across the whole church?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q04: Which structure should normally carry responsibility for local churches and their leaders?
Documented positions: Local congregations or their elders govern autonomously, with voluntary cooperation.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q05: How should ordained ministry remain continuous with the apostles?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q06: Who should receive baptism?
Documented positions: People who can personally profess Christian faith.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q07: What is the main work of baptism?
Documented positions: It publicly expresses faith, obedience, and commitment to the community of disciples.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q08: Which use of water should a church normally recognize as valid baptism?
Documented positions: Baptism should be by immersion in water.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q09: How would you explain Christ’s presence in Communion?
Documented positions: The bread and wine primarily mark remembrance and proclamation of Christ’s saving death.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q10: How does Communion relate to Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice?
Documented positions: It primarily remembers and proclaims that completed sacrifice.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q11: How do you understand the church’s sacraments or sacred rites?
Documented positions: Baptism and Communion are central; whether another rite counts depends on Christ’s institution and promise of grace.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q12: Does justification itself include a person’s inward renewal?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q13: How does a person become able to trust Christ?
Documented positions: God’s grace first enables a response, but that grace can be resisted.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q14: Can a person who truly trusts Christ finally abandon faith and lose salvation?
Documented positions: A believer can finally turn away; continued faith and life in grace matter.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q15: Can growth in holiness reach “perfect love” in this life?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q16: How should churches understand tongues, prophecy, and healing gifts today?
Documented positions: Churches should expect the Spirit to continue giving such gifts as he wills, and discern their use.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q17: Can baptism in the Holy Spirit be an empowering experience distinct from conversion?
Documented positions: Yes; it can be a distinct experience of empowerment after coming to faith.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q18: Must tongues be the initial outward evidence of that Spirit baptism?
Documented positions: Yes; tongues are the initial outward evidence of that experience.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q19: Is it a fitting Christian practice to ask departed saints to pray for us?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q20: What place should icons or holy images have in devotion?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q21: Do you accept purgatory as final purification for those who die in God’s grace?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q22: May Christians participate in war or the use of lethal force?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q23: What limits should Christians place on service in government?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q24: Should Christians keep the seventh-day Sabbath, from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q25: What happens between death and the bodily resurrection?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q26: Do you accept Ellen G. White’s ministry as an expression of the prophetic gift?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q27: Do you accept the Adventist teaching that Christ began a final phase of heavenly sanctuary judgment in 1844?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q28: How should a church judge a worship practice not explicitly prescribed in Scripture?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
Anabaptist / Mennonite
Uses the Mennonite Church USA confession. Anabaptist communities vary on baptismal mode and governance; this model is not a profile of every Amish, Brethren, or Mennonite community.
Mennonite Church USA
- Q01: When interpretations differ, what is the final standard for Christian teaching?
Documented positions: Scripture is the final standard; creeds and traditions must be tested against it.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q02: What place should books such as Tobit, Judith, and Wisdom have?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q03: What authority should the Bishop of Rome have across the whole church?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q04: Which structure should normally carry responsibility for local churches and their leaders?
Documented positions: Local congregations or their elders govern autonomously, with voluntary cooperation. / Elected representative bodies and leaders govern at several levels, with local churches belonging to a wider conference structure.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q05: How should ordained ministry remain continuous with the apostles?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q06: Who should receive baptism?
Documented positions: People who can personally profess Christian faith.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q07: What is the main work of baptism?
Documented positions: It publicly expresses faith, obedience, and commitment to the community of disciples.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q08: Which use of water should a church normally recognize as valid baptism?
Documented positions: Immersion, pouring, or sprinkling can be valid.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q09: How would you explain Christ’s presence in Communion?
Documented positions: The bread and wine primarily mark remembrance and proclamation of Christ’s saving death.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q10: How does Communion relate to Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice?
Documented positions: It primarily remembers and proclaims that completed sacrifice.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q11: How do you understand the church’s sacraments or sacred rites?
Documented positions: Baptism and Communion are central; whether another rite counts depends on Christ’s institution and promise of grace.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q12: Does justification itself include a person’s inward renewal?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q13: How does a person become able to trust Christ?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q14: Can a person who truly trusts Christ finally abandon faith and lose salvation?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q15: Can growth in holiness reach “perfect love” in this life?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q16: How should churches understand tongues, prophecy, and healing gifts today?
Documented positions: Churches should expect the Spirit to continue giving such gifts as he wills, and discern their use.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q17: Can baptism in the Holy Spirit be an empowering experience distinct from conversion?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q18: Must tongues be the initial outward evidence of that Spirit baptism?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q19: Is it a fitting Christian practice to ask departed saints to pray for us?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q20: What place should icons or holy images have in devotion?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q21: Do you accept purgatory as final purification for those who die in God’s grace?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q22: May Christians participate in war or the use of lethal force?
Documented positions: Follow Christ in nonviolence, without war or military service, and actively protect, aid, and reconcile through peaceful means.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q23: What limits should Christians place on service in government?
Documented positions: Serve the public, but refuse duties incompatible with Christ’s peace, including responsibility for coercive violence.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q24: Should Christians keep the seventh-day Sabbath, from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q25: What happens between death and the bodily resurrection?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q26: Do you accept Ellen G. White’s ministry as an expression of the prophetic gift?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q27: Do you accept the Adventist teaching that Christ began a final phase of heavenly sanctuary judgment in 1844?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q28: How should a church judge a worship practice not explicitly prescribed in Scripture?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
Seventh-day Adventist
Uses the denomination’s fundamental beliefs. The quiz covers selected teachings only, not all 28 beliefs or the complete practice of an Adventist congregation.
Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Beliefs
- Q01: When interpretations differ, what is the final standard for Christian teaching?
Documented positions: Scripture is the final standard; creeds and traditions must be tested against it.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q02: What place should books such as Tobit, Judith, and Wisdom have?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q03: What authority should the Bishop of Rome have across the whole church?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q04: Which structure should normally carry responsibility for local churches and their leaders?
Documented positions: Elected representative bodies and leaders govern at several levels, with local churches belonging to a wider conference structure.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q05: How should ordained ministry remain continuous with the apostles?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Church authority · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q06: Who should receive baptism?
Documented positions: People who can personally profess Christian faith.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q07: What is the main work of baptism?
Documented positions: It publicly expresses faith, obedience, and commitment to the community of disciples.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q08: Which use of water should a church normally recognize as valid baptism?
Documented positions: Baptism should be by immersion in water.
Dimension: Baptism · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q09: How would you explain Christ’s presence in Communion?
Documented positions: The bread and wine primarily mark remembrance and proclamation of Christ’s saving death.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q10: How does Communion relate to Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice?
Documented positions: It primarily remembers and proclaims that completed sacrifice.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q11: How do you understand the church’s sacraments or sacred rites?
Documented positions: Baptism and Communion are central; whether another rite counts depends on Christ’s institution and promise of grace.
Dimension: Communion and sacraments · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q12: Does justification itself include a person’s inward renewal?
Documented positions: Justification is God’s declaration that we are righteous through Christ; renewal and good works are its connected fruits.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q13: How does a person become able to trust Christ?
Documented positions: God’s grace first enables a response, but that grace can be resisted.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q14: Can a person who truly trusts Christ finally abandon faith and lose salvation?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q15: Can growth in holiness reach “perfect love” in this life?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Grace and salvation · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q16: How should churches understand tongues, prophecy, and healing gifts today?
Documented positions: Churches should expect the Spirit to continue giving such gifts as he wills, and discern their use.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q17: Can baptism in the Holy Spirit be an empowering experience distinct from conversion?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q18: Must tongues be the initial outward evidence of that Spirit baptism?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: The Holy Spirit · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q19: Is it a fitting Christian practice to ask departed saints to pray for us?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q20: What place should icons or holy images have in devotion?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q21: Do you accept purgatory as final purification for those who die in God’s grace?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Prayer and devotion · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q22: May Christians participate in war or the use of lethal force?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q23: What limits should Christians place on service in government?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Discipleship and peace · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q24: Should Christians keep the seventh-day Sabbath, from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset?
Documented positions: Yes; the seventh-day Sabbath should still be kept.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 2
- Q25: What happens between death and the bodily resurrection?
Documented positions: People rest in an unconscious state until resurrection.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q26: Do you accept Ellen G. White’s ministry as an expression of the prophetic gift?
Documented positions: Yes; her writings have recognized prophetic authority, tested by Scripture.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q27: Do you accept the Adventist teaching that Christ began a final phase of heavenly sanctuary judgment in 1844?
Documented positions: Yes; I accept that particular teaching.
Dimension: Christian hope and practice · Question weight within its dimension: 1
- Q28: How should a church judge a worship practice not explicitly prescribed in Scripture?
Not specified by this representative source. Excluded from its agreement score.
Dimension: Scripture and tradition · Question weight within its dimension: 1
Supplementary explanations
- UMC: By Water and the Spirit
- UMC: Wesley and moving on to perfection
- UMC: Appointment-Making
- UMC: The Charismatic Movement
- AG: Assurance of Salvation
- AG: Local Structure
- OCA: Holy Eucharist
- OCA: The Pope and Christian Unity
- OCA: Mary, Prayer, and Death
- OCA-published reflection: Fr. Lawrence Farley, Praying to the Saints
- SDA: Church Manual 2025
- NAFWB: What We Believe
- NAFWB: Treatise (2013 official linked edition)
- LCMS: Congregational Governance
- Church of England: Canons, Section B
- Church of England: Book of Common Prayer, Ordinal Preface
Your answers, browser storage, and public summaries
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Version and editorial responsibility
Model version 2.0.0. Editorial responsibility: BibleGamesHub. No independent named theological reviewer or church endorsement is claimed. This document describes the implemented model and its present limitations; future edits should be recorded with a new version when they change results.
If wording is unclear or a mapping misrepresents a source, contact BibleGamesHub with the question ID, profile name, source, and a proposed correction. This is more useful than treating an imperfect match as a verdict on your beliefs.
For a different reflection question, see the personality assessment methodology or learn how spiritual gifts differ from personality and church affiliation. Return to the Christian Denomination Quiz.