(no subject)

[sistermagpie]

I had to post this quiz:



Usually these kinds of quizzes never include animals I would ever consider my totem to be, but look what I got:

You scored as Crow. You are the Crow. You are able to discover your own character and help others find themselves as well. You are very creative in the field you are in and tend to be the intelligent one of the bunch. </td> Crow 83% Dragon 83% Fox 83% Horse 75% Deer 67% Eagle 67% Salmon 67% Stag 67% Bear 50% Bull 42% Ram 33% Wolf 17% Dog 17% Snake 0% Which animal totem best suits you? created with QuizFarm.com

Close cousin of the magpie. Finally a good totem quiz. And isn't he gorgeous?:-)

I still needed a three-way tie-breaker question--dragon and fox are pretty cool too. When I first read the result I thought it said "cow."



If you remember I mentioned that friend of mine I was sponsoring to become Catholic? Well, I'm now officially a godmother. The ceremony went really well and we partied afterwards-hurrah. I gave her a Mary medal she was luckily too clueless to have figured out I was buying for her even when I pestered her for details about exactly what kind she wanted when she mentioned buying one for herself once she was baptized. She's always very easy to put one over on, that way.

Last night she took the religion quiz and got this:

You scored as Christianity. Your views are most similar to those of Christianity. Do more research on Christianity and possibly consider being baptized and accepting Jesus, if you aren't already Christian. Christianity is the second of the Abrahamic faiths; it follows Judaism and is followed by Islam. It differs in its belief of Jesus, as not a prophet nor historical figure, but as God in human form. The Holy Trinity is the concept that God takes three forms: the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Ghost (sometimes called Holy Spirit). Jesus taught the idea of instead of seeking revenge, one should love his or her neighbors and enemies. Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross to save humankind and forgive people's sins. </td> Christianity 75% agnosticism 58% atheism 50% Hinduism 50% Islam 42% Buddhism 38% Satanism 33% Paganism 25% Judaism 25% Which religion is the right one for you? (new version) created with QuizFarm.com

Pretty good for somebody only Christian two days! Okay, I did have to remind her that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit really are one god but the trinity is just tricky if it's new (oddly, she said the Protestants in her RCIA class seemed to have as much trouble with it as she did--maybe there's more emphasis on it in a different way in Catholicism?). We were sort of the opposite on a lot of things we answered on this test, and she was particularly surprised we had very different views on evil (she thinks of it as existing as an independent thing and I don't). When I did the text I came out Buddhist/Pagan leaning Buddhist after a tiebreaker. She's very not-a-Buddhist. In fact, when she read the statement "All life is suffering" she assumed that "must be a Protestant thing." I explained "suffering" in Buddhism isn't what she thought of as suffering, really. She's just much more of a cling-to-life-with-both-hands type person, though not in an afraid-of-death way. When I did my 10-day Vipassana retreat (All meditating! All day! All the time!) I remember her telling me she really didn't think it was a good idea for me to go to anything that encouraged me to be more detached. So she wound up with Christianity #1--I think it was one of my lowest answers.

The odd thing about this, particularly concerning evil, was last night she also told me how she came to decide to really join the Catholic church after ten years of thinking it would be cool and "channel 13-ing it" (meaning like when you watch Public Television but don't pledge or become a member). One of the people who came to her baptism was this guy, C, whom I had met once before when we went out to dinner. Turns out that dinner was when she decided to do this because she had brought up the question of evil and liked the answer that C and I gave about it, having both been raised Catholic. P sees evil as being much stronger than good because there's so much of it in the world it's a wonder any good at all can exist. We both said the Christian view was that good was always stronger than evil because God was good. Evil was just a perversion of good, and the devil himself was just a creation of God's so could never be more powerful. She really liked that idea, and that's what made her seriously consider joining the church.

Ironically, her oddball neighbor who also goes to the church has apparently been telling everybody she was the one that got her in there. Oh well. Anyway, that's maybe why P was surprised to hear that I answered most of the "evil" questions on the test differently than she did, believing there was no evil, only people. But I do still believe in the basic idea C and I said to her at dinner that night. I might not think of it in terms of God being more powerful than the Devil, or good and evil as independent forces, but I do think that good is just inherently stronger than evil. A relationship formed on things we think of as bad just isn't as strong, it seems to me, nor a person who bases their decision on things like that. Evil overlords have a devil of a time trying to keep people in order. You might be powerful, but you'd still be unstable, I think. It's like a tower where the "good" tower might not be as high, but the foundations would be more solid. The "bad" tower would be higher, but unstable, and liable to topple over any second, probably with the help of several people inside it. That's just how it seems to me, instinctively.

I don't really think of myself as knowing very much about many religions, but P seemed to think I knew an awful lot more than she did. Actually, I could have minored in religion in college. I did study it a lot. I just don't feel like I "get" too many religions. Like Islam, no matter how many times I tried to study it, still just went right over my head.

Comments

[sleeplessmarea.livejournal.com]

Congrats on scoring as a crow. Very very intelligent birds, and tenacious also, both very positive characteristics imho.

I like your tower analogy respecting evil and good. It satisfies that part of me that likes to play with abstractions in the same way that Tolkiens explanation of how Melkor/Sauron etc. cannot actually CREATE anything, but merely pervert that which is already created. And a perverted creation can never be as solid or as strong as the other.

But put me down as someone who believes as evil (and good for that matter!) as things that are independant of humans and others (if any!) rather than merely a dysfunctional aspect of those beings. But I do reject the concept of the evil as a personality; a traditional "devil" (whether horned n' tailed or otherwise). Instead, I think of evil as more a destination that we're potentially always either either heading toward or away from. And that one way we can measures the progress of our journey thru life is to see how far we are from it.

What I think makes this reality interesting is that seeing evil and good this way makes a position of "neutrality" - which I define as any attempt to sit on the fence between poles and not pick a side - as pretty much meaningless and perhaps even impossible. Say even you could actually find the exact middle and stay squarely inside that; the where" you stood wouldn't count so much as the direction you chose to face and move toward. And there wouldn't be a way to avoid that.

I'm sure that my "system" isn't unique, but then again I've never heard evil/good/etc. explained this way. (hmmmm....)

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I think evil definitely exists--I mean, there are things in the world for which we came up with the world for. So even if you assume it's the result of people being people, there's something bad there that needs to be addressed! I figure, sometimes you're going to find yourself in a position where what you see as evil and what the other person sees as evil are the opposite things...but that doesn't mean you're going to say, "Oh well, we can't agree, so I guess it doesn't matter." Like you said, holding a position of neutrality, at some point, is just pointless. Or worse, it's just a passive way of supporting something that's wrong.

I like the idea of it as a potential destination--that definitely makes sense to me.

[samaranth.livejournal.com]

You scored as Deer. You are the Deer. You tend to be very gentle with other animals of your domain and are also considered the innocent one, which is a good thing. You tend to be able to perceive more than others, which is a handy skill.

Which animal totem best suits you?
created with QuizFarm.com</table>

Deer 75%
Dog 67%
Ram/Bear/Salmon 58%
Bull/Eagle/Fox 50%
Snake/Crow/Wolf 42%
Stag/Horse/Dragon 33%

Doe a deer, eh.

I would have elected for a dragon (cool!) or a cat (if there was one on offer). I’m not sure what to make of this, although I do sometimes feel a bit like I’m standing stunned by the headlights. Yours is very, very spot on…and the picture is lovely too. :-)

And congratulations on your Godmother-hood! (And to P on achieving her goal.)

I have also taken the religion quiz, and came out as an atheist. I was in a pretty dark and negative mood the day I did it, so the results might be different if I took it again.

I have been lurking around the discussion in your LJ about the humanity of evil. M (ex Catholic) often asks me how I (child with both a Catholic and a Protestant background, lucky me) can believe there are evil things in the world, when I don’t have a firm belief in God. That’s generally where my ‘I’m an aetheist’ stance falls down, because I do have a lurking belief in (fear of) evil spirits. But more practically, I believe that all people are to some degree ‘bad’, as well as being to some degree ‘good’. Sometimes the proportions are out of line, or uncontrolled, for whatever reason. Those people with a greater share of evil are the ones capable of horrific cruelty. But the ones where ‘good’ is dominant, those people are the ones who can move mountains. (BTW, I also like the analogy you have drawn to illustrate the instability of evil.) This is a very simplistic explanation, which skirts around the actual definitions of ‘good’ and ‘evil’. Many who would claim to be good do the most evil, I have found. Some mean to do good, but the effect is not. And so on and so forth. (Perhaps rather than babble on here, I should go away and try and sort my thoughts out properly. : rolls eyes at self : )

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I have a lurking belief in evil spirits too--I think that's one of those things you can't ever get out of your head having been raised Catholic. I remember talking with a friend of mine about the movie Amadeus where Salieri throws a cross into the fire and we both said we were certain some demon was going to fly out or something. These things die hard!

I'm surprised your husband would think a belief in evil meant you should also believe in God. I mean, there's lots of ways to arrange the universe that can include this kind of thing without a belief in God. But then, sometimes people seem to have an idea that an atheist only believes in a certain set of things--like they don't believe in ghosts or UFOs or bigfoot or possession. They can believe in all of those things and still be an atheist.

[petitesoeur.livejournal.com]

</td> Bear 100% Horse 100% Eagle 83% Bull 83% Crow 83% Dragon 83% Ram 75% Salmon 75% Wolf 67% Dog 58% Fox 50% Stag 50% Snake 33% Deer 25% Which animal totem best suits you? created with QuizFarm.com

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

100% bear and horse! Did your tie-breaker put you on bear? What does the bear signify? And why doesn't it surprise me that despite your size your totem would be that--no member of the press would disagree with it, I'm sure.

tie-breaker:

[petitesoeur.livejournal.com]

You are the Horse. You are powerful and fast. You value your freedom and like to keep yourself busy whenever possible.

[ackonrad.livejournal.com]

You scored as Ram. You are the Ram. You often live in reality but turn it into your imagination at every turn. New beginnings are a favorite for you. You rule the mountains as a mejestic being. </td> Ram 92% Salmon 83% Eagle 75% Dragon 75% Crow 75% Wolf 75% Dog 58% Horse 58% Bull 50% Snake 50% Bear 42% Fox 42% Stag 42% Deer 42% Which animal totem best suits you? created with QuizFarm.com

I actually had to check the word 'ram' up in the dictionary. So much for my excellent English skills.

I like this result, though. :))

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Hee! Well, you can be fluent in a language and just not have come upon a particular word before. But rams are cool! I love the way they describe it as that combination of reality and imagination--makes me think of the way those animals play when their young.

[slinkhard.livejournal.com]

You scored as Satanism. Your beliefs most closely resemble those of Satanism! Before you scream, do a bit of research on it. To be a Satanist, you don't actually have to believe in Satan. Satanism generally focuses upon the spiritual advancement of the self, rather than upon submission to a deity or a set of moral codes. Do some research if you immediately think of the satanic cult stereotype. Your beliefs may also resemble those of earth-based religions such as paganism. </td> agnosticism 67% Satanism 67% Buddhism 58% Paganism 58% Christianity 54% atheism 54% Hinduism 50% Islam 50% Judaism 38% Which religion is the right one for you? (new version) created with QuizFarm.com

Hahahahaha.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

LOL! The other guy we went to dinner with that night--C? He came out a Satanist too! I know so many Satanists!

Of course in your case it doesn't really count. You only like Satan because of your bad boy fixation. Plus he's often played by hawt actors in the movies.

[slinkhard.livejournal.com]

Birds of a feather flock together...!

Isn't that just life, though? God, obviously (who plays God, anyway, in comparison? Alanis Morrisette? Morgan Freeman? I think I will stick with Satanism, thanks! ;) creates this perfect universe, but who does every girl fall in love with? The Devil. It's bad boy syndrome, isn't it? It's very depressing.

[morgan-d.livejournal.com]

Fox - 75%
Crow - 75%
(Ended up as a Fox after an extra question.)

Agnosticism - 92%
(I was a Catholic in my childhood, but my Christiniaty score was only 38%. Satanism and Buddhism, both 71%.)

I get what you mean by evil being a perversion of good. And I do like the towers image. But I guess I don't believe in capital-E Evil and, more importantly, I don't believe in capital-G Good. I suppose I see conduct codes, more than anything, and people assuming different stands regarding those codes.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

That's a good way of putting it--I mean, I believe that there are things that people do, and we have come up with the worlds "good" and "evil" to describe how we judge them. It's the capital letters that turn it into something else for me, that I don't really believe in. But I could see how my friend, who seems to believe in Good and Evil with capital letters, found the Christian view of them more comforting than the one she had herself. More often than not it seems like those terms just become a way of not dealing with the real problem. If it's just "evil" there's nothing you can do about it but destroy it.

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

I always seem to end up with 4-way ties in these silly quizzes. Usually fairly high scoring 4-ways. This one was Crow/Bull/Dragon/Fox. With the tie-breaker landing as Fox. Of course this was followed by another 4-way of I don't remember just what. And then a *third* 4-way. Scored lowest on Wolf (33%) and next lowest on Dog (45%)

It would have been nice if the quiz builder had allowed a chance to see all the possible results, but they didn't think of adding that.

Didn't take the religion quiz.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I always like it when they show the possible results. If one answer is interesting, you want to see the others. What's the "meaning" of fox, for instance?

When I was doing the quiz with my friend I realized one thing we did differently is I rarely put my answers as absolutely agreeing or disagreeing. I'm usually in the middle, leaning to one side. She was always agree, disagree, or smack in the middle. She'd probably get less tying scores that way.

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

I don't really recall the meaning. The tie-breaker was being willing to wait for what one wants.

I suspect my high scores and tendency to tie these things is due to rarely moving off from the center selection. Few of those statements are really "me" y'know?

[http://users.livejournal.com/_rp_zeal_/]

I rarely put my answers as absolutely agreeing or disagreeing

Me too! Big believer of contingency theory. Seldom see things that I absolutely agree or disagree with... I figure that was probably why I landed on my Squib status with one of the Hogwarts sorting test.

After all these years I still don't have a very certain view on good vs evil but I know I don't like the capital G & E idea though. Especially the capital G, it's just so depressing. Though I've somehow always associated evil with insanity *shrugs*

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

LOL--I was a squib too. But then, that quiz seemed to have very different ideas than I did about what the houses meant.

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

I think that was the one where i scored 98% on all four of them.