New Contributor Introduction: Edward

I'd like to welcome our next guest blogger, Edward.
I love having Edward contributing in the comments and look forward to his upcoming posts.

I think of Edward as the lamb is the wolves den!  He is a Christian surrounded by mostly Atheists but he stands his ground and is never afraid to present his position. He's given the non-believer some great insight into how a Christian reads the Bible.
Below is Edward's personal introduction.


I have been asked to contribute to the project and look forward to this coming year. I am 35yr old male and work as a software programmer and Unix/Linux administrator. I am married with 1 daughter and 1 son, the son keeps me busy, he's 2 going on 3. I first learned about this project when i was on a news website and decided to stop by and see what it was all about. I am a Christian, however probably not the kind that you encounter every day. I was raised in the church then when i was 19 decided to go my own way. I lived like most people, took what i liked about God and His laws, and chucked the rest. It was not until after 3 years of marriage when i was upset with my wife and made a comment "God she does not love me the way i should be loved!" and than i heard a still small voice say "Maybe it's because you don't love Me the way I should be loved.". It was at that point that i decided to research the Christian faith and the Bible. I spent 2 years on Bible translations, text source, and origins. Unfortunately for me i did not take any notes, so i am doing it all over again. Last year in 6 or 8 months i read the entire Bible. I started in the New Testament and then did the Old. At the end of it i realized that with God you are either 100% in or just stay out.¹ He did not and does not want anything less. So what was i to do?

Well i decided to get in 100% and learn about defending the faith and being ready always to give an answer.² In the Christian circles it's called Apologetics to which i thought sounded like i was apologizing for stuff all the time. Christianity...stands out among all religions...as distinctively "the Apologetic religion."³ the word Apologetic comes from the Greek work apologia, meaning the defence of a position against an attack, not from the English word apology, which is exclusively understood as a defensive plea for forgiveness for an action that is open to blame.⁴

So i was back in reading through the NT again when i learned of this project. I felt i was being ordered to put my actions where my mouth and head have been. So i started to read the posts, when the project was still in Genesis, i came to realize not many people were Christians that were commenting. In all honesty i felt it was the blind leading the blind.^{5, 6} So i decided that i would comment and give a Conservative Christians perspective on the Bible. To me it looked like, at first, that this project had attracted only people that clearly did not accept the Bible as the Word of God, yet had never studied it themselves to come to that conclusion or were finding other people and works that also agreed with them in their criticism of the Bible. I did not think they would actually read it and be receptive to input from the CC point of view. However i was half right. Some people have fallen away and don't post that much any more, others are still in there daily, which is good to see.


I really want to gain the anti-theist point of view and why they hold it. I also want to learn about their worldview and see if they have apply their critical thinking to their own worldview that they have to the Bible and Christianity. I also want people to question me allot. I really want to be trained up to have answer to tough questions people have.



There have been times that i have felt like just abandoning this project, however i know that the reward goes to them that don't faint.⁷ Also it would only show to me and others that i really don't believe what is recorded in the Bible.⁸ I enjoy this project and look forward to each night when i get my son to bed to be able to sit down read the passages for the day and then comment on stuff and read other peoples comments.

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References

• 1 (Luke 9:62) And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
• 2 (1 Peter 3:15) But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
• 3 Michael A. Robinson, The Necessary Existence of God pp. 6; B. B. Warfield, Selected Shorter Writings of B.B. Warfield II (Nutley,NJ: P & R, 1973), pp.99-100
• 4 http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Apologetics Accessed Sunday Martch 6th @ 1430 CST
• 5 (Matthew 15:14) Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
• 6 (Luke 6:39) And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
  
• 7 (Galatians 6:9) And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
• 8 (Mark 16:15) And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.