Purpose of this blog

For over 2000 years, the attempts to explain the truth about God and Jesus Christ, their relationship to humanity, holiness, sin, salvation, Scripture, and the rest has been under discussion, debate, and evolution. In surveying the different beliefs throughout the history of Christianity, from conservative to liberal Christianity, from the early church to the post-modern church, from Catholicism and the Orthodox church (though by no means are they the same) to Protestantism, there have been a wide range of beliefs and ideas. What is true and what isn't? How can we know the truth regarding God, Jesus Christ, and humanity?

This is yet another attempt by another person in order to try to make sense of it all. I don't make claims to the monopoly on the truth, nor do I even claim I have more truth than others. With that said, I do think I have insight, though because I think that does not mean I truly have insight. I have been wrong many times in the past and still to this day I find errors in my thinking.

I want this to be a radical exploration of the faith from the start. I want to rid myself of all the theology that we have amassed over the years and use as a framework to understand the Scriptures, whether the framework is right or not. Not that it is necessarily wrong, but that it allows us to validate the truth in the understanding that we have and rid ourselves of the the false understands we currently have. In the end, it allows us to reconstruct a framework in which to understand Christianity.

I want to say though, this sounds like I do not hold to orthodox beliefs such as the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity, etc. I do in fact hold on to those, but this is an attempt to validate those teachings further by starting fresh from the beginning. To go through what the Early Church Fathers went through. Perhaps we can uncover something that they didn't pick up. Perhaps we can correct an error that tradition has handed to us. Perhaps we can validate everything we have believed up to this point.

However, this is not only an attempt to reinvestigate the ideas that developed early in the church. It is to be an investigation and discussion (if any others every partake of it) of all aspects of Christian theology. And it isn't to be an intellectual exercise either. This is also to look into the more practical aspects of Christianity and how we are to operate our lives. It is to look at our spiritual lives, or to describe in more secular terms, our psychology, and the role God plays in our lives. Furthermore, I am not going to be terribly concerned about the language used. Much of Christian theology has been in contention over wording and that is to fall short of the spirit of the faith. Along with that, many people think theology is boring, or even worse, useless, because they perceive it as a bunch of argument about nothing but fancy words and complicated ideas that are not practical. I want to avoid that and change the perception of that (though I am not deluded as to think I have a great chance of grabbing the attention of many people and changing their minds, though there is always that hope).

In this blog, I will start with a few basic assumptions, though the last couple are more of starting points than they are assumptions that will not be changed.
1) There is absolute truth apart from our perception of it - The way the truth plays out may be a bit differently for different people, but the basic premises are true irregardless of our perceptions, experience, feelings, and beliefs.
2) Christianity is true - This is not to make any statement how valid or invalid other religions are. The aim of this blog is not to be a polemic against other religions. That is not to say that it is to be approving of other religions either. Regarding other religions, the discussion is essentially neutral until evidence is presented otherwise.
3) All Scripture is true - This I do not hold to dogmatically. By that I mean I am not going to force Scripture to be true if something that is there is indeed false. But I start with the assumption that everything contained in the Bible is true in its original purpose and intent of the author (and maybe other ways) unless shown otherwise.
4) The sixty-six books of the Protestant canon is to be the source for Scripture - Now this is definitely much more debatable than the other three within Christianity. However, since this is something I am endeavoring and I have come from a Protestant tradition, I figure the best starting point is from where I am most familiar. Should there be the need to argue for the inclusion of others books (such as the Apocrypha) or the exclusions of others (such as the Pastoral Epistles [Titus, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy], any of the general epistles, or Revelation) as inspired will come should the evidence present itself. But I will start from the point that all sixty-six books in the Protestant canon are all inspired and all that is inspired.

I want to reemphasize that this is not an attempt to deny traditional Christianity. As a matter of fact, I hope to vindicate much of it in the minds of others and myself.

Furthermore, I don't want to seem like I am belittling the idea of tradition. I have a healthy respect for tradition. Tradition is a democracy in allowing the people of the past to voice their opinions (I can not claim this idea to myself but where I first heard it I can not remember).

Also, everything I have written here is an ideal for my approach. However, I recognize the realities is that there will be times that I maintain too much of my Protestant upbringing (though I am not a typical Protestant, as I do label myself as a ProCathOdox, though somewhat as a joke but with some reality behind it).

Finally, I am not a scholar, though I have undertaken some scholastic pursuits and I would not object to being one. Nor am I a pastor, though I believe God has called me to be one. I am, as of the time of this writing, a 22 year old college student who will graduate in May (assuming I fail no classes) and who plans on going to seminary (Asbury seminary to be precise) but when I will make it there I do not yet know. But first and foremost, I am child of God, saved by Jesus Christ, trying to understand God more and become a more humble and holy servant.