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My Background
I was born and raised in church, mostly contemporary ones of various shades (Wesleyan, Church of God, non-denom). As of six years ago I started attending a Reformed Presbyterian (EPC) church. I generally subscribe to the Westminster Confession, although I definitely don't consider myself a true 5-point Calvinist. I believe that grace can be resisted to one's own damnation, but I also believe in a God who did and still does "hold out his hands to an obstinate people." (Isa. 65:2) I've been on an amazing journey during the last ten years; I've learned about the world, about myself, and above all, about the infinitely-detailed plans of an almighty and all-knowing God. I have very often fallen short of the Biblical precepts for a "good Christian life," and my advice (as much as any human's) should be taken with many large grains of salt. If you test my words against scripture (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV), my hope is that you will find them in agreement. Anyone who knows me understands that I come from a family with many strongly-held convictions. Sometimes I let that desire to be "right" get the better of me, but ultimately that's not what winning looks like. I study Linguistics because I believe that "the power of life and death is in the tongue" (Prov. 18:21), and I believe in a God who spoke the universe into existence (John 1:1). He gave mankind a unique faculty for language, and he also confused our speech (Gen. 11) so that we would be perpetually divided. My goal as a person who interpreted Arabic and Somali is now to interpret Liberal and Conservative speech patterns (which one could argue are separate languages), so that dialogue may prevent killing before it's too late. |
About the Blog
In the days of wooden sailing ships, a crew's ability to navigate by celestial objects was critical. Calculations had to be exactly precise, or else the ship could find after several days of travel that they had veered miles off course. Our life of faith is no different; making sure you are perfectly aligned to God's Word and his intended path for your life is a daily discipline. My goal is simply to impart some "navigational soundings" that I've taken over the years, many of them by crashing my ship into sharp, pointy rocks. Grant me to attain this haven and be done with sailing, and may the gales of thy mercy blow me safely into harbour. I also talk a lot about politics. The Gospel is both Imminent and Transcendent, meaning it should be applied to our daily situations, but also held much, much higher than any temporal, man-made system of thought. You should definitely allow your religious beliefs to influence the way you live, to include how you vote. That being said, don't ever be so conceited as to think that your particular interpretation of a text is the only possible one (that's how ISIS got started). Be humble and compassionate, otherwise the harlots and the publicans may go into the kingdom of God before you. (Mat. 21:31) |