Let me state up front that I am a Christian, comfortable and secure in my beliefs.  Even though I was raised as a Christian (as a member of the United Methodist Church), I haven’t always been so sure about what I was taught.  Like many people, I had my doubts, first during my high school and college years, and again following the sudden and unexpected death of my father in 2001.

Fact vs. Fairy Tale

However, after 2001, I embarked on a personal quest to learn as much as I could, pro and con, about my faith.  Were the things I had been taught the truth?  Were those teachings well-supported by history and grounded in rational thought?  Or were they basically “fairy tales” to be mined for tidbits of wisdom, but little else?  It was that quest that settled it for me once and for all.  I’m still learning new things every day, but now consider my beliefs to be unshakeable, grounded in logic and rational thought, and well-supported by reliable historical records.

That brings us to the question:  Why create this blog?  Well, Christians are taught to share their faith…to tell others the good news so that they can also benefit from it.  Like many Christians, I am lousy at doing that, at least face-to-face.  However, I can write.  So, this blog is my mechanism for sharing the good news.

This Blog is For You

There are many people in my life that do not embrace the Christian faith.  Most of them are atheists and agnostics, and they are some of my favorite people!  They are some of the kindest, funniest, most generous people I know.  Some of them have never heard well-articulated arguments in favor of Christianity and have instead been exposed only to arguments on the other side of the ledger (the vast majority of which are unsupported mischaracterizations, but how would my friends know?).  Others are still seeking some truth to fill the very human need to believe in something bigger than themselves.  I care very much for these friends of mine, and it is for them that this blog was created.

This blog was also created for other open-minded people, no matter who or where they are, that might be seeking information on this topic.  It is my hope that, in some small way, this blog can help someone…anyone…make the decision to believe in Jesus Christ and his message.

Finally, this blog was created for any Christian who is looking for “ammunition” that they can use in their own efforts at sharing the good news.  Hopefully, they will find this website to be a useful resource.

Our Mission

Over time, this blog will be populated with a number of posts that will, piece by piece, hopefully accomplish a few tasks:

• Lay out a rational and persuasive case for belief in God and in His Son, Jesus
• Outline why the Gospels are true and well-supported
• Differentiate Christianity from other faiths
• Explain some of the basic teachings of Christianity so that readers—especially those who may be new to the faith or who are just exploring it—can gain a better understanding and/or apply lessons to their own lives.

It is important to note that I am not an ordained minister.  I am simply a motivated layman doing the best I can to share my faith with others.  So, the posts in this blog that will deal directly with Christian doctrine will be vetted by ordained personnel who have agreed to serve as editorial advisors.  This is just to make sure that the authors for this blog don’t accidentally get something wrong or unintentionally misrepresent any teaching or belief.

What This Blog Will Not Do

We will explore the core truths of Christianity, and work to distinguish it from other faiths.  Doing so will inevitably lead to comparisons of various belief systems and our expression of why Christianity is correct.  However, it is not our intent to offend anyone of a different faith, and we will always treat other belief systems with kindness and respect.  Nor is it our intent to compare different “types” of Christianity to determine which denomination is “correct.”  Ultimately, denominations are man’s creation, not God’s, so we will focus on the core beliefs of universal, biblical Christian doctrine without getting into such debates.

Welcome!  Let’s Learn Together

I sincerely hope that you, the reader, find this blog to be an enlightening and helpful resource.  Most of all, I hope that it succeeds in its primary mission of helping to bring people closer to Christ.