Parameters

When I read a new blog, or anything else, there are certain questions I usually ask myself, and I suspect you ask yourself something similar. In this first post I'd like to address some of those questions and, hopefully, give everyone a clear understanding of what I am doing, why I am doing it and how I hope to accomplish my purpose in it.

1) What is this blog about?

The Faithful Life is, in simplest terms, about relating every aspect of life to God as the reveals himself in His word, the Bible. Politics, religion, work, family -- no subject is taboo and you are likely to see anything here you might see in tomorrow's headlines, and possibly some things you won't.

2) What is the purpose of this blog?

The purpose of this blog is twofold. First, I hope it will help remind Evangelical Christians, including me, of what God expects from us in our daily lives. Second, I would like to help interpret the evangelical understanding and point of view to the non-evangelical world.

This blog is not, primarily, an evangelistic tool, though I suppose anything that expounds a point of view is, to some degree, evangelistic for its cause. Certainly, I would be thrilled to see anyone come to know and understand Christ from these pages, as I would from any other endeavor, and I make no secret of, or apology for, that. But, primarily, it is to help interpret the Bible in its role as a guide for our daily lives.

The blog is also not a doctrinal or belief statement, as such. For a clear and well written statement of my basic beliefs you can see the booklet The Baptist Faith and Message. If you are interested, you can find a copy at www.sbc.net/bfm.

I find doctrinal studies important and fascinating, but I will endeavor to keep this blog on message, which is to relate the Bible to life. That does involve our beliefs, of course, but will not be a treatise of them. The only exception is that my next two posts will address two key evangelical (and I believe Biblical) beliefs, the understanding of which are key to understanding the views of evangelicals in general.

3) Does that mean we won't address controversial questions?

Absolutely and emphatically not! Indeed, much of what is said in this blog is likely to be controversial. It is not my goal to be so, but one could hardly address the questions of this, or any other, day without it. I do not intent to use controversy as a reason to misbehave, but I will not shy away from the hard issues.

3) What are the parameters of this blog?

The single parameter for this blog is the Bible. That is, the sixty-six non-apocryphal books generally accepted as the Bible by the orthodox Christian community. The further explanation of this question will be the subject of my second blog.

4) What is the point of view of this blog?

The point of view is that the Bible is the only authoritative source of knowledge of God or His will and that, as such, it is completely true and wholly relevant to any issue, circumstance or position of any time in history, including the present and the future. Again, this will be addressed in my second blog.

5) What are my qualifications to write this blog?

Certainly not that I am perfect (even good) or have any special dispensation or ability. My only qualifications, such as they are, are completely transparent -- I have lived long enough to have a reasonably good education, raise a family, lead and follow others in various endeavors, read the Bible and hear what others say on that subject, hold most available positions in a church, work at a job and generally have some experience in life and give some thought to how life should be lived and to have failed in the proper living of it on occasion.

6) Why should you believe me or read what I say?

What I say is important only so far as it helps correctly understand what God says in His word. I invite you to read the Bible (if you have not already) and judge my words against that. I also invite you to comment on what you read. Those comments are the best way I know to keep my nose to the grindstone, so far as not allowing my personal feelings and prejudices to interfere with a fair reading and explanation of God's word.

7) What if I don't believe the Bible (or some part of the Bible) is true?

Then we won't have much in common and your comments may not sway me very much. The only argument to which I am consistently susceptible is one made from the Bible -- something that is true for most evangelical Christians. Still, I hope you will read my blog, and even comment on it. It is written for you, too, in hopes of helping correct what the world often misconstrues about evangelical Christianity. In the end, even if we don't agree, we may understand one another better.

Even if you don't believe in the Bible I have this one promise I can make you. Never, in this blog, will you find anything intended to be demeaning, hurtful or rude to those with whom I disagree. Open disagreement, yes, but mean-spirited, no. After all, if I were to spend my time castigating sinners, I could take up all of it dealing with my own shortcomings.

8) How often and how long?

I have a couple postings that I need to get out to set up what I want to do, and I will be trying to get those published quickly. After that, my initial goal is to publish once a week, on Wednesday. As for length, initially my goal is to keep it around five hundred words, which is about one letter sized page, type-written, single spaced. If I find any of that does not work for some reason, I will post the changes in by blog.

9) How do I reference what I write?

At the end of each blog you will find a list of Biblical passages that relate to what I have written. Feel free to check them, or any other passages you feel or relevant, and to comment on what you read.