Historical Simulation Engine
Fideograph — Testing Theological Models Against Real History

This engine places your authority model inside real historical crises — Arian controversy, papal succession disputes, council conflicts — and asks: under your model, how would this have been resolved?

After you answer, you see what actually happened, how well your model predicts it, and what the gap reveals about your model's structural assumptions.

Step 1 of 2 — Choose your authority model
Episcopal / Catholic
Authority through apostolic succession, councils ratified by Rome
Conciliarist
Councils of bishops hold supreme authority over any single see
Sola Scriptura
Scripture alone is the final arbiter of all doctrinal disputes
Individual Conscience
Each believer judges doctrine through personal reason and faith
Step 2 of 2 — Establish your epistemology
Before you enter the simulation, these three questions establish how you know what is true. Your answers are locked as prior commitments and tested against your scenario answers.
Question 1 of 3
When Scripture and the consensus of the early Church Fathers appear to conflict, which takes precedence?
Question 2 of 3
If a council of bishops issues a doctrinal definition, is that definition binding on all Christians — including those who read Scripture differently?
Question 3 of 3
The Church has been visibly divided on doctrinal questions for centuries. What does this tell you about where doctrinal authority actually resides?

Select a historical crisis

The Historical Crisis
Under your model — how is this resolved?
My confidence in this answer:
⚠ Model tension detected
⛔ Path collapse
!
Cross-scenario contradiction detected

Your model predicts
What actually happened
Logical implication
Primary source testimony
Logical chain
What if your model had been operative?
Advanced scenarios unlocked
Denomination Collapse Map
What individual interpretation produces over time
1
Church, AD 33
2
Bodies by AD 1054
~300
By AD 1900
40,000+
Today
The structural argument
Model under pressure
Your model has failed 2 consecutive scenarios
Would you like to revise your model before continuing?
Model drift analysis
Your answers suggest a different model
Declared model
Pattern suggests
Evidence from your answers
Episcopal / Catholic — apostolic succession + Roman confirmation
Conciliarist — councils supreme over any single see
Sola Scriptura — Scripture as sole doctrinal arbiter
Individual Conscience — personal reason and faith as final judge