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| US-50, Twin Bridges, California |
My wife is my best friend and the love of my life. The children I have are my privilege and I am doing the best I know (learning as I go) to be faithful in this responsibility - teaching them what "delighting in the instruction of the LORD" (Psalm 1) means.
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| Rachel and I on our 15th anniversary. |
the piano.
Reading, studying and writing (usually about theology, biblical scholarship or historical sketches) are some of my greatest passions.
The Hebraic worldview, its language and the Ancient Near Eastern contexts of the Hebrew Scriptures are particularly compelling.
I can't help asking questions and dislike safe answers contrived for merely making difficult ones disappear.
I’ve gotten into trouble for it, but I find probing and exploring areas some traditions classify as "off limits" to be deliciously addicting...
I highly revere the Bible which drives my desire for people to see it for what it is, not for what some traditions have claimed it is.
"Sometimes Biblical scholars are accused of attacking the Bible, or of attacking 'believers,' or both. But the truth is that most Biblical scholars love the Bible, and are defending it from the distortion, misrepresentations, and lies that are committed by people who praise the Bible, but either don't know or ignore what it actually says." James McGrath, from his blog, Religion Prof.
"Sometimes Biblical scholars are accused of attacking the Bible, or of attacking 'believers,' or both. But the truth is that most Biblical scholars love the Bible, and are defending it from the distortion, misrepresentations, and lies that are committed by people who praise the Bible, but either don't know or ignore what it actually says." James McGrath, from his blog, Religion Prof.
The Bible tells the story of God and his people, but you will find upon further investigation that there is more to that story than first meets the eye, it is often times very messy and ruthless (except for the book of Ruth).
It is earthy and communicates from the vantage points of people trying to live out their faith in a world with real and difficult problems, not unlike ours.
It's an ancient compilation of writing from another time and another world, and to pretend it is not is to ignore the facts. There are cures for cognitive dissonance.
At times it's awkward, uncomfortable and unimaginable. Some of its stories, themes and motifs are strange, while at the same time unbelievable and even morally reprehensible.
Tough questions, and often conclusions are not damaging to my faith but rather strengthen it.
Bruce Metzger - at the end of an interview with Lee Strobel in “The Case for Christ” -brilliantly summarized:
"So,' I started to say, 'scholarship has not diluted your faith-' He jumped in before I could finish my sentence. 'On the contrary,' he stressed, 'it has built it. I've asked questions all my life, I've dug into the text, I've studied this thoroughly, and today I know with confidence that my trust in Jesus has been well placed.' He paused while his eyes surveyed my face. Then he added, for emphasis, 'Very well placed.'"
He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then He gave you manna to eat, which you and your fathers had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”
