Why I Am...

Greetings,

The past three to five years have been formative for me in understanding and developing my theology without the restraints of a person or an organization telling me how to think and what to believe. So I have decided to take time to write a series of blogs titled “Why I am…” as a means of reflecting and summarizing where I am at on this journey. Obviously – as is evident from all of my blogs – I am of the opinion that orthodoxy (right belief) is just as important as orthopraxy (right living), if not more so. What we believe dictates what we do! That is a matter of fact, a reality of “worldviews”. And I have taken this journey of trying to understand the scriptures “rightly” by submitting myself to the teachings of great and holy scholarly men from various backgrounds and differing viewpoints – even at the expense of being criticized (ironically) for having a so-called “critical spirit”.

I think these blogs will be relatively “light” and easy to read. My goal is not to enter a defense of the positions I have taken but simply to summarize why I have taken them.

“Why I am…” will cover the following:

Why I became a Christian * Why I am still a Christian * Why I am Protestant * Why I am Evangelical * Why I am Post-conservative * Why I am Arminian * Why I am “Open Theistic” in practice * Why I am amillennial * Why I am “Christus Victor” * Why I am Covenantal

My sustained hope is that others will read these blogs and be exhorted to take up a call to “reflective Christianity”. This comes at the high price of being criticized (hurtfully so) sometimes by those closes to you. But if it is true that orthodoxy dictates orthopraxy then it is very important and hugely practical for the Christian life that we work these things out.

Derek