I am a long-time student, teacher, writer and skeptical believer when it comes to all things biblical. All things biblical certainly include the texts themselves but also the historical, cultural and linguistic contexts in which the biblical texts were composed, preserved, edited, compiled and canonized. When it comes to understanding the biblical texts, context is everything! I have both a B.A. and an M.A. from the Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies department at the University of British Columbia. My study/research specialities include Latin, Greek and Hebrew, the Hebrew Bible (i.e., the Tanakh) and ancient Judaism.
I approach the biblical texts for what they are––written in times long, long ago, by and for humans who lived in cultures far, far away. For any modern readers, these times and cultures are so very different from our own. For this reason, even when the biblical texts are read as honestly and objectively as possible, questions and concerns arise that can inhibit, or even reverse, a decision to believe their messages.
However, my experience of four plus decades of faith and thirty-five years serving as a pastor has made it clear to me that faith and doubt are not mutually exclusive. In fact, it is my conviction that a truly authentic faith must exist in tension with, and can be energized by, acknowledging doubts.
My website has a very clear purpose:
I have created the content on this website with the intention of providing support, encouragement, resources and recommendations for other skeptical believers as they strive to live out their faith. To do that, we need a safe place where we can explore, learn and question. Having the courage to do that can be overwhelmingly difficult especially if the faith community, of which we are part, tends to equate true faith with certainty and doubt with weakness or even sin.
I want this website to be that safe place where we can both trust and doubt, discuss beliefs and ask difficult questions.
Please feel free to let me know what kind of content helps, or you think would help, you the most. Also, I enjoy hearing about how other skeptical believers are navigating their faith journeys. Please use the form on the “Ask” page to contact me and I will be happy to respond to all respectful communication.
There are lots of "Coming Soon" notices throughout the website right now. I have done that on purpose, so that visitors to the website can see, specifically, what I am preparing and, generally, the kinds of topics that have been helpful for me to consider as a skeptical believer.
I hope you find it helpful in some way on your faith journey: https://skepticsbelieve.com
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