Only Human

I don’t think that a site that publishes new material only once in a six month period can still be considered a blog, so I guess I am hoping to re-establish the “blog” status of this site.

When I really think about it, the main reason I have been neglecting this site is a simple insecurity issue. I just have not felt like I have the authority at this point in my life to play the part of scientist, biblical scholar or philosopher. After all, I’m just a 2nd year graduate student who occasionally reads an English translation of the Bible and likes to think about philosophy in the shower.

But in truth, giving into that insecurity is listening to a lie. I have learned so much about life, science, the Bible, my faith and my research over the last two years that a lack of material to discuss on this site is a poor excuse for my 6-month hiatus. I’ve got a lot that I want to share. I just hope that I have the discipline to keep posting at consistent intervals.

So here’s to shorter, more frequent blogs!

Born to Make Mistakes

So there’s this awful 80s song by The Human League called “Human” that popped into my head when I was sitting down to write this post. And since the goal of this blog is not to discuss the dangers of over-using synthesizers, all I’ll say about this song is that the lyrics mention the fact that all humans make mistakes.

Just for kicks though, I've linked the picture to the video of that song for your listening and viewing pleasure (or displeasure). Be warned that the song will be stuck in your head for weeks.

Anyways, if you have never made a mistake in your life, then just go ahead and stop reading now because the rest of this post will not apply to you. But if you agree with me that humans are fallible beings, then I invite you to continue reading.

As fellow mistake-makers, we all should consider the possibility that some of our beliefs just might contain error. No matter how strong or well-reasoned they might be, no matter how long we have held them, no matter how many people in the world share them, chances are that something we believe in is untrue, incorrect or not real in some fashion.

I wrote a post about belief a while back and I’d like to state it more concisely. There are always going to be others who hold beliefs that are different than our own. Therefore, we owe it to ourselves to truly own our beliefs and to learn what they are, what they mean, and where they came from. Only then we can thoughtfully evaluate the ideas of others with a skepticism that is both respectful and open-minded.

In the next couple of weeks and months, I will finally (I promise) provide a summary of the beliefs that are commonly held when interpreting the first chapters of Genesis. My goal is not to persuade people to believe as I do, but to share what I have learned so that the reader can be aware of the different beliefs that are commonly held about the first book of the Bible.