Who am I? Why this blog?

At the beginning of this endeavor, I figure it’s worth saying something about who I am, and why I am undertaking this effort.

First of all, this blog will be about various subjects related to the Bible, translations, and especially a form of presuppositional apologetics I call a Gospel-based Apologetics. A quick search of Wikipedia will show that the various forms of Christian apologetics are many and various. However, in my ministry, I have found that the simplest and most effective way of approaching the apologetical subjects has been to start with the four Gospels. Many people today like to start with the beginning, “In the beginning, God created…” And while that approach is good in its way, it still starts with assumptions that rely on the Gospels to be understood. So, since the Gospels end up being so important to understanding Christianity in the first place, why not start there and make that the focal point?

One thing I would like to point out. One does not need to start out from a point of faith. I believe that faith is an output—one potential result, and is not necessarily a starting point. I am perfectly fine with the reader starting from the point of skepticism so long as he has one all-important attitude—an attitude of honest inquiry. By “honest”, I do not mean “objective”. None of us are truly objective. True objectivity requires absolute knowledge, which none of us possesses. Therefore, there is always a mixture, and various levels of subjectivity involved in every rational argument and every line of logic. On the other hand, if one can admit one’s subjectivity, and the fact that one does not, nor can know everything, and that one is here to learn—then we have a starting point. To put it in other words, humility and teachability are what make up an honest attitude.

And that brings me to the one question that is probably topmost in your mind. Who am I? and what credentials or authority do I have as a writer? Well, quite frankly, none. But I don’t want you to think of me as a teacher, or some authority that will show you the way. No. That is not who I am. Yes, I have studied the Bible in college, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree. But that was almost 30 years ago. And yes, I have been in the ministry for those thirty-odd years since. During that time, I have diligently studied the Bible and read what I have been able, but none of that is what I want you to focus on. Instead, I want you to think of me as a fellow traveler on the same road.

The truth is, a large part of why I’ve undertaken writing this blog is for my own sake—to put things down in writing, and to run by others for a sort of “peer review”. That is my intention. So, welcome, and I pray that we may learn something together.