Michael A. Zigarelli

In this book, Zigarelli attempts to measure Christian character (as loosely defined by the fruit of the Spirit) by using a statistical approach. He then analyzes his data to reveal the developmental trends for different age groups and genders, and attempts to suggest remedies for faltering character. The book comes with a quiz to self-assess your own character. An online version of this quiz is available as well.

Although I found the quiz somewhat helpful, and the insights within the first few chapters to be somewhat enlightening, I question the premise that character can truly be catalogued and recorded through the use of anonymous surveys.

For example, the quiz asks the respondent to rate different statements on a scale of "never true of me" to "always true of me." One such statement is "I turn to God when making choices." If for example, a woman says "always," thinking of the many times that she has turned to God asking for guidance as to which man she should have sexual relations with, but she misses the point that God does not want His children to have sex outside of marriage. This is an extreme example, true, but the statement "I turn to God when making choices" does not necessarily imply that the respondent even attempts to attain godly character to begin with. There are many other questions within the quiz to help safeguard against this kind of discrepancy, but the very anonymity of the survey allows for these type of discrepancies to exist, regardless of the safeguards.

In conclusion, character is difficult to measure in the anonymous masses, but easy to identify in individual people. Character, without accountability to a solid, defined standard, is also too fluid to properly measure.… (altro)