An Introductory Note

Given the potentially controversial title of my blog, I thought it important to elucidate a few points about my theology and beliefs. After this particular introductory post I will be cataloguing the latest random points I have to make about the latest random item of study that I have undertaken, although usually they are more close to carefully-chosen items of study than random ones, though they may seem random to others. So here in a nutshell is just a sampling of my beliefs:

1) I am loosely orthodox. But mostly pragmatically speaking. As to the nature and attributes of God which are communicated to us through Scripture, the natural world, and other people, I am sketchy as to whether my understanding of any of these concepts is so full as to grasp them in an infinite sense – which God would of course possess.
2) I believe that the claims of Christianity can and should be demonstrated through logical, inferential, and intuitional means (though, of course any argument actually involves all three of these). So I am not afraid to (a) defend my beliefs as true, (b) demonstrate that other beliefs which contradict my own are untrue by virtue of mine being true and (c) believe that the normal rules of epistemic warrant for a belief apply to Christianity. When I say “my beliefs” in this context I am referring to the traditional claims of Christianity, such as the physical resurrection of Christ, the existence of God, the possibility of miracles, the non-physical aspect of our existence, etc.
3) I am toying with the notion that Christians who are unwilling to develop their intellectual capacity in order to both, (1) defend the truth of our worldview and (2) be able to communicate it more clearly to others, are not fully responsible representatives of Christ. Many people claim that the philosophical skills necessary to defend Christianity are simply not a talent or ability they possess, but I have yet to hear a single person deny the importance of building relationships. In fact, I hear it so frequently that many times preachers make Christianity sound like a big social club. Since I, myself, could be just as easily inclined to say that building relationships with people is a skill that I lack, yet I do not do so for it is my responsibility to reach others through relationships, I do not accept the line of, “All that stuff just isn’t for me,” as an excuse.