About The Author

I grew up as a Roman Catholic, and in the early 1970's became what was commonly known as a "Jesus Freak." I learned of a new way of viewing God, Jesus, and the Bible, beyond the confines of church on Sunday morning. After a couple of years I was introduced to a ministry called The Way International, with which I continued to be involved for nearly twenty years. Those who are familiar with this organization know that various events took place in the early eighties which led to the departure of many members who formed various "splinter" groups. I was involved with such groups for another ten years, which at first attempted to preserve the teachings of the founder of The Way, Victor Paul Wierwille.

As time went on, however, we began to learn about the Kingdom of God, and gradually came to realize that many of the things we were formerly taught do not stand up to closer examination, in light of the Scriptures. One in particular, the system of interpretation known as Dispensationalism, is not only unbiblical, it is harmful in that it separates Jesus from his words and his teachings.

I learned a great deal about looking at the Scriptures in light of the coming Kingdom of God from these Ex-Way offshoots, and was at that time introduced to a number of other resources through which I have continued to learn, including Restoration Fellowship and the Church of God General Conference (aka Church of God, Abrahamic Faith). However, this web site is not affiliated with or officially sanctioned by any group, denomination, or church.  I consider myself an independent “amateur theologian.”

The following is a brief summary of my own beliefs:

• I believe that the Bible is divinely inspired, and as such declares the Word, or Message, of God.
• I believe that the Bible is an eastern book, from a Hebrew culture, and must be understood as such.
• I believe that God is One Person, the Creator, and the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• I believe that Jesus Christ is a man, but not an "ordinary" man. Rather, he is the only-begotten Son of God (not a pre-existent "God the Son"), miraculously conceived in Mary's womb, and is the promised Messiah of Israel.
• I believe that the holy spirit is the active power and presence of God, described in the Old Testament as the Spirit of The Lord.
• I believe that the dead are in a state of unconsciousness, awaiting the resurrections that are still future.
• I believe that Jesus Christ proclaimed the Good News of the Coming Kingdom of God, the rule of Messiah on earth as foretold by the Old Testament Prophets, which was promised to the nation of Israel, and later expanded to include all who believe.
• I believe that Jesus died as the perfect sacrifice, to pay the price for our sins in order that we may gain entrance to that Kingdom.
• I believe that after dying, Jesus Christ physically and bodily arose from the dead and was seen of many witnesses.
• I believe that Jesus ascended to heaven and sits at God's right hand, and will one day return in glory to inaugurate the Kingdom of God on earth.
• I believe that the Law of Moses was addressed only to Israel and was temporary, looking ahead and leading to Christ, and has now been fulfilled and replaced by a greater law, the Law of Christ, which involves walking by the spirit and in love, rather than by the letter of the OT Law.
• I believe that we can experience a foretaste of Kingdom power in this life as the holy spirit regenerates us and enables us to live a Christ-like life.

For a further description of how I came to the conclusions which I present on this site, see Seeking the Truth, which can also be accessed from the Etcetera page.

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to many people whose work has been invaluable in the creation of this web site. Much of my writing and organization has been inspired and/or enhanced by the writings of some that I've met (Anthony Buzzard, Ray Faircloth, Sean Finnegan, Vince Finnegan, J. Dan Gill, Gary Gudlin, Alex Hall, Joe Martin, Jim Mattison, John Obelenus, John Roller), and some that I haven't (G. R. Beasley-Murray, F. F. Bruce, Dennis C. Duling, George Ladd, Johannes Weiss). As with the links on the Suggested Links page, this does not necessarily imply that I agree with everything that these people have written. Nevertheless, I'm thankful for all of them as well as the many whose quotations are cited at various places throughout this web site.

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