A Quick Word: Reboot

This website/blog is brand new. And, unfortunately, I am an impatient person. Therefore, I originally threw several mile-long posts up in short order to basically get some content on the site. But there was at least some reason to my madness.

I believe the first 9 entries about evil and suffering are most important because this is perhaps the biggest stumbling block to faith, seconded only by hell it seems.

Speaking of hell, I have been astounded how many people just do not want to believe that traditional doctrine of hell. But it should be no surprise, given that we are now in a culture that abhors consequences. So I felt like it was important to provide a perspective on damnation.

So why the whole thing about Josephus? Well, there is a small but vocal group of people that deny Jesus existed at all. I think we'll see this grow for one very important reason. The cancers of relativism and postmodernism have created a society in which people look at you like you're speaking a foreign language when you mention the need for a savior. But the law of Christ is written on the heart of mankind, so people are still going to feel uncomfortable when confronted with man's fallen state and sinful nature. To avoid this discomfort they try to erase Jesus from existence completely. Therefore, the Josephus work is a resource for anyone confronted with the claim that there is no extra-biblical evidence for Christ.

Concerning the law and Sabbath, I've encountered many questions and confusion (and a lot of bad answers) about the law on several forums. I think it's important that people know some of the theological hypotheses about the law and the Sabbath. I've provided my take on the whole issue, but quite honestly, as secondary doctrine, there's room for disagreement. The important thing to keep in mind is that on secondary issues, civil disagreement and discussion is okay. Remember (and I'm sure I'll repeat this ad nauseam over the years), in the essentials, unity; in the non-essentials, liberty; and in all else, charity.

The Crusades rear their ugly head from time-to-time and have even done so recently on national television with all the issues surrounding Muslim immigration and such. The Crusades have gotten a bad rap for hundreds of years; it's time to set the record straight. So again, I hope I have provided a useful resource for anyone who encounters the crusade argument.

Finally, I address the problem of knowledge and morality. Do we have epistemic access to reality? Are values rooted in the prevailing culture, or do they transcend the culture to be grounded in something bigger, something objective?

These were assignments from school, so of course they're heavily academic. Not all posts are going to be that way, so hopefully you have and will continue to stick around to see that most things here will be in a little more everyday language and scope.

In the meantime, I’ve done a reboot of sorts. Therefore, this should become the first post on the site as I delete and begin reworking the others. I’ve decided to break down the longer, more academic posts into smaller installments. I hope this will make my blog more readable in general and make some of the more demanding posts more digestible. And since I am new to all this, I’m certainly open to, and appreciative of, feedback.

I doubt I will post every day, but who knows? I will post as the notion strikes me, so it may be multiple times per day on some occasions, or there may be significant amounts of time between posts.

And by the way, if anyone would like me to speak at their church or other organizational gathering or even do a block of instruction over several days, please feel free to get in touch via either of the links on the home page.

Shalom in Christ,

Bobby