My favorite things to discuss in life are pretty much all of the ideas surrounding Christianity. Whether it’s the Bible, church, theology, doctrine, religion, textual criticism, tradition, sectarianism, history, etc…. nothing’s off the table. This is largely because I believe that there is nothing more important to our lives than these very kinds of topics. How we view these ideas molds not only our character, but also our understanding of history, our outlook on life, our actions in the present, and our assumptions regarding the future.
Over the past 40-some years, as I have seen the disagreement and division among Christians regarding biblical things, I have approached it with a variety of attitudes. The emotions have been quite diverse: sadness, anger, joy, resentment, pride, frustration, judgment, helplessness, “righteous” indignation, discouragement, “persecution”, motivation, futility, offense, betrayal, incredulity, disgust, haughtiness, disdain, rage, and many others. And that’s over just one biblical issue! So… what to do about it?
That’s where this website comes in. Not to “fix” the problem of theological division. Not to “answer” all of the questions and mend broken fences. I do not believe that the problem lies in a lack of intelligence, or scholarship, or faith, or piety. There are hundreds and thousands of biblical, theological, and faithful heavyweights, spanning thousands of years, who all disagree with one another on some of the most fundamental topics. And it is surely folly to assert that all of these folks are insincere in their search for biblical truth. Indeed, many of them certainly put us to shame with their earnest pursuit of that truth. So it evidently is not a matter of smarts or zeal or faith. Then what is the cause of all of the division?
In a nutshell, I believe it comes down to perspective. That is the one thing that nobody shares with a single other human being. Everyone’s perspective is different from everyone else’s – and on many levels. So I dedicate this site to the pursuit of helping to share a little perspective with those willing to read the posts herein. And I don’t just mean my perspectives, but those of any and all folks who feel so inclined to comment on this site. My aim is to put a finger on many of the root causes of the tension that underlies so much debate, conversation, and fellowship. I will link a post here that provides a fuller explanation of my, um, perspective regarding these perspectives.
I hope you find this approach enlightening and, in some way, fulfilling. But most of all, I hope you find a better understanding of theological things, even if in the smallest manner, by seeing things from a different point of view. You will no doubt notice that, due to my stated objective, most of the topics on this site will be intentionally controversial. Wait a minute… is there a biblical topic that isn’t controversial?
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