Me
First off, I must explain that I am not a Pastor or Priest of any kind. I am only a common church goer, like many others. I am common, in that I am not established into any position within the church that I attend, though I certainly hope I am not common in my ideas. I am like the kid you sat next to in class who occasionally got the other answer right on the test, but still made plenty of his own mistakes.
My Ideas & Theories
One feature of my way of thinking is that I am not afraid to push the boundries of my thinking to consider any number for possibilites. I am also ready to change my beliefs if the weight of the evidence is for it... but I also keep in my heart the bedrock principles of my Faith, and remind myself of them continuously:
There is only one God. Jesus is His one son. Jesus was sent by the Father to save the world because He loves us. If we believe in Jesus and what he did, and continues to do, we are saved and our place is in Heaven. From this change should come good works, not because they have anything to do with being saved, but they show that a person is in fact saved because Christ is in him. God gave us His Word, written by men who were directed by God, and preserved through time to teach and strengthen us all. This world will End, but our place is with God forever.
That is the basis. Anything beyond that, like how any of those things work, or why they work is all a matter of interpretation and ideas. Even much of what churches hold as "Gospel Law," is just a collection of ideas, based on The Word.
If you Agree...
Great! Then I have hopefully expanded your understanding of a particular point like one student helps another get a certain lesson. Or, I reminded you of something you already knew, but haven't thought of in a while. Or, I just gave you a quirky metaphor to use on someone else.
If you Disagree...
Great! If you say, "Hey Ed, I think you missed the point on this one. It should really be..." Then fill in your own answer and understand that even if you completely disagree with what I am saying, you are thinking of what the answer should be, thus you are thinking of God! Which is where your mind needs to be, and so my job is done! If you do think some of my ideas are EVIL (which I am sure someone will), then understand that these are my ideas and that I do not contradict the core principles of Christianity (listed above) or of the Bible as best as I can. I am going to interpret what I read in the Word as best as I can, just like everyone who reads it has and will; Just like the church Fathers all the way back to the Apostles who wrote the books.
God left some room for thought, so therefore, I think!
