Confusion and Christianity. Two things that really shouldn't go together, but tend to. After all, the message of the Gospel is pretty simple, right? Humanity sinned against God and God had to fix the problem through Jesus. Right? Its a little more complex than that. Its like saying Lord of the Rings is "A story about some dude and a ring". God forbid.
From its inception the Church has often befuddled, confused, and enraged the people around it. Jesus Himself tended to frustrate the religious leaders of His day by doing things they felt were impossibly sinful (like having dinner with a tax collector...ooh...stoke up the flames of Hell on that one boys...) The Apostle Peter needed to explain why 100+ Christians were running around speaking in languages they never learned (Acts 2). The Apostle Paul spent most of his life trying to get people to understand even the most rudimentary elements of Christ's message (the books of 1 & 2 Corinthians are good examples).
Despite the best efforts of the Apostles and early Church Fathers (men like Polycarp who knew the Apostles and carried on their work after they had died), Christianity continued its downward spiral into mystery. Even after Constantine made Christianity the "state" religion of the Roman Empire, things continued to worsen. Certainly the Crusades, Inquisition, Salem Witch Trials, and improprieties of certain television evangelists do not help matters any. The near innumerable denominations today lead many to believe that Methodists and Lutherans are entirely different religions when they are only saying the same message in a different way. Then there's Catholocism. And Pentacostalism. Even a brief look through the Yellow Pages can leave the curious confused, at best.
This site is one small step to bring some clarity out of all this confusion. I have set out to do this by several different methods. The first is a Dictionary of Christianese. Many Christians use phrases and slang that make no sense to the "uninitiated", and this Dictionary will help you translate. If you've ever heard someone say "God fall on us!" or "I was slain in the Spirit!", this is for you.
Secondly I would like to post a series of Articles to supplement the Dictionary. This is for people who would like a more detailed consideration of what it means to be "saved", or what Jesus meant when he said things like "Anyone who wants to follow me must take up his cross..."
A Links page for further study also seems mandatory.
As the site progresses I will likely add other resources, including a Bibliography, and an Art section.
I must offer this caveat. It is impossible for one person to fully elucidate the Christian faith. Men like John Donne (a metaphysical poet and later priest) have spent their entire lives struggling over what it means to be a "new creation", or why they were so long in coming to Christ (e.g. Saint Augustine's Confessions). I am unlikely to exhaust the topic.
There is also the issue of writer's bias. While I am a pretty open-minded person who seeks to find balance in an age of extremes, bias is impossible to eradicate completely and my own beliefs on things are bound to come through. I do not apologize, however, for it is my passion for Christ, and belief in Him, that has lead me to create this site. I pray He will use it as a vessel for our mutual journey to Truth. For
"You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all of your heart."
-Jeremiah 29:13
May God bless you and keep you. Let the journey begin!
Michael
Michael@never-world.net
12 August 2002