Across families
Oriental Orthodoxy and Orthodox Judaism
Different families with 10 axes in close agreement — the sort of pairing a quiz weighting only the divine axes would never surface. Mean distance across all seventeen axes: 0.14 (0 would be identical).
The Coptic, Armenian, Syriac and Ethiopian churches, separated from the rest of Christendom since 451 over christology. Doctrinally close to Eastern Orthodoxy, with a heavier fasting discipline and a strongly inherited communal identity.
Covenant with a people, worked out in a law that covers ordinary life in detail, under an interpretive authority that is rabbinic rather than priestly. The lowest E3 value in the matrix: belonging here is inherited, not chosen.
Where they agree
A1 Divine reality
Both sit at a divine reality certainly exists — a gap of 0.00.
D2 Centrality of ritual
Both sit at essential and prescribed — a gap of 0.00.
E2 Origin of the cosmos
Both sit at an intentional act — a gap of 0.00.
B1 Source of truth
Both sit at revealed and fixed — a gap of 0.02.
C2 Shape of time
Both sit at one life, then judgment — a gap of 0.03.
A2 Personhood
Both sit at a personal being one can address — a gap of 0.07.
E4 Standing of nature
Both sit at between creation, given for use and animate and itself sacred — a gap of 0.08.
B3 Institutional authority
Both sit at clergy and tradition decide — a gap of 0.08.
A4 Locus
Both sit at between wholly beyond the world and fully present within it — a gap of 0.10.
B2 Reading of sacred text
Both sit at leaning literal and binding and literal and binding respectively — a gap of 0.10.
Where they part company
C3 The human condition
Oriental Orthodoxy: leaning fallen and in need of rescue. Orthodox Judaism: leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound. A gap of 0.45 on an axis running from “fallen and in need of rescue” to “ignorant but fundamentally sound”.
E1 Exclusivity
Oriental Orthodoxy: one true path. Orthodox Judaism: between one true path and many valid paths. A gap of 0.43 on an axis running from “one true path” to “many valid paths”.
All seventeen axes
| Axis | Oriental Orthodoxy | Orthodox Judaism | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Divine reality | a divine reality certainly exists | a divine reality certainly exists | 0.00 |
| A2 Personhood | a personal being one can address | a personal being one can address | 0.07 |
| A3 Plurality | leaning strictly one | strictly one | 0.16 |
| A4 Locus | between wholly beyond the world and fully present within it | between wholly beyond the world and fully present within it | 0.10 |
| B1 Source of truth | revealed and fixed | revealed and fixed | 0.02 |
| B2 Reading of sacred text | leaning literal and binding | literal and binding | 0.10 |
| B3 Institutional authority | clergy and tradition decide | clergy and tradition decide | 0.08 |
| C1 Survival of the self | continues in some form | leaning continues in some form | 0.23 |
| C2 Shape of time | one life, then judgment | one life, then judgment | 0.03 |
| C3 The human condition | leaning fallen and in need of rescue | leaning ignorant but fundamentally sound | 0.45 |
| D1 Mechanism of the ultimate good | leaning given as grace | between given as grace and achieved by effort or insight | 0.28 |
| D2 Centrality of ritual | essential and prescribed | essential and prescribed | 0.00 |
| D3 The body | to be disciplined | between to be disciplined and to be celebrated | 0.23 |
| E1 Exclusivity | one true path | between one true path and many valid paths | 0.43 |
| E2 Origin of the cosmos | an intentional act | an intentional act | 0.00 |
| E3 Locus of belonging | leaning a people, inherited | a people, inherited | 0.14 |
| E4 Standing of nature | between creation, given for use and animate and itself sacred | between creation, given for use and animate and itself sacred | 0.08 |
Positions for Oriental Orthodoxy rest principally on Coptic Orthodox catechetical texts and the Council of Ephesus (431); for Orthodox Judaism, on Tanakh, Mishnah and Shulchan Aruch. Per-cell sources are listed on each tradition’s own page.
The questionnaire places your answers on these same axes and ranks all 65 traditions by how closely they match. Take it.