Essays

Introduction

I’m planning on bringing some essays in the ares of biblical studies, philosophy, and culture. Perhaps a short story here and there. They will be about 1500 to 2000 words each. Knowing me, you’ll probably see many essays surpassing  the limits of the “status quo” by wide margins.  If a subject demands more out of me, I will have to respond by writing out as many aspects of the argument that I can think of. Perhaps they will serve as rough drafts or manuscripts for books. The objective is to share my ideas on these topics. That being said, the essays will receive updates as I see fit. It is best to view them as works in progress.

At the moment, I don’t plan on opening these essays up for comment. I may change my mind in the future if there is a high demand. My sources will consist of books from the library, my personal library, software on my laptop, and the internet. Over the years I’ve become highly effective in internet research.

Theology and Biblical Exegesis

Most people limit themselves to writing in one area. This is not necessarily a bad thing and I don’t believe that anyone should criticize them for that decision. I, on the other hand, want to be able to write on anything that doesn’t conflict with my core beliefs, those of Christianity. As they say, “to each his own.” Though I will write in many areas, I’m primarily a writer on theology and biblical exegesis. This is a result of years of study–including two years of theology in academia–and the resources that I have available at home. But I can’t fail to mention that this is due to my spiritual gifts.

Writing rigorous biblical essays doesn’t only require multiple bibles, it also requires knowledge of the original languages. In fact, if your Greek and Hebrew are solid, you don’t need multiple bibles, you can translate the text yourself. My Greek is decent, but my Hebrew needs much improvement, seeing that I never took a Hebrew class. However, I brought a Hebrew grammar and have my mind set towards learning as much as possible during the summer. As I progress along, you will see my developments in these areas. If you would like to download biblical language fonts on your computer/laptop, I recommend SBL biblical fonts.

Philosophy

Some maybe asking themselves, “why would a Christian write philosophical essays?” Part of the reason that those type of questions come up is because these individuals don’t understand the meaning of philosophy. In the church, philosophy is always presented as demonic or anti-Christ. However, it is a search for and reasoning about Truth, an endeavor that Christians partake in all the time. There is differences of course between philosophy as taught in academia from a secular perspective, and how  Christians [should] approach it. Some philosophers dismiss the Bible as foundational for their reasoning process, but philosophy itself doesn’t prohibit the use of scripture or those who reason within that worldview.

It is comforting to know that there is a place for Christian philosophers in the world.–Jerry Jacques, June 2010.