To whom may concern themselves:
This blog is a beginning for me. I am, by God's grace, going to chronicle my attempts at wrestling through issues in theology, namely historical trends and how they have played into the church. The purpose is singular. I want to be able to better understand why we are the way we are.
The blog is here for me to get my thoughts out, not so much for the general public to enjoy (as my thoughts are indeed often fragmentary) so much as to invite my friends to read through, analyze and critque my understanding.
Here is a little about me, and what I consider to be my purpose:
Background:
I was born and rasied in Tucson, AZ. I schooled in Christian schools from kindergarten through High School. I attended church at a large Southern Baptist church in the city for hte majority of my childhood. When I was a freshman in high school, my family moved us to a smaller Evangelical Free church. I knew from a young age that I wanted to involve myself in ministry, though I did not know why. It was at this EvFree church that I found my reasons.
The church was starved in a few ways. Although the pastor was well-educated, and the staff committed and faithful, there was still an immaturity to the place, that I couldn't accurately accredit. Surely, it was a fantastic place to learn and grow, but I couldn't help thinking that there had to be more.
So I set out on a quest, which could only be explained as the draw of the Holy Spirit, to find out whether or not the Bible truly contained the things that I had been told that it contained. Utlimately, I wanted to examine my own theology. I spoke with my pastor and asked him where I should begin. He recommended to have me pick up a copy of Ryrie's Basic Theology. So, I told him I would, and continued on. A few weeks later, my grandparents, living in Michigan, and having no clue about the conversation, send me a book for a gift. It was the basic theology. I was stunned, to say the least.
I began to pour myself into it, but quickly found myself lost in questions and frustrations. It made little sense to a 19-year-old with a very narrow view of the world. Currently, I was only attending a community college, and had little thought of education in the subject. Without getting into superfluous detail, suffice it to say the the Holy Spirit led me by a strong directive, over the ensuing years, to return to this study of theology, and ultimately, to bring me to Chicago.
Why Chicago? Simple, really. I wanted to know theology, and I sought out a school. Biola accepted me, but I couldn't afford it. So, I looked into Moody, applied, got in, and now I am in my final semester of a B.A. in Bible Study, majoring in theology. But ultimately, what was a quest for categorization of my understanding, only led to my eyes being open to a world of thought that I had never encountered.
You see, the truth is, I had never learned about the history I had studied. Surely, I understood the councils and what they were deciding on. But I didn't understand the currents that led to the signficance of their decisions. I only knew WHAT they decided, but now HOW or WHY they decided it. Moody has greatly helped me struggle through those things. Deeper still, Moody has helped me to see personally and hopefully, that God works through broken vessels. I have learned much through men and women who are as broken and busted as I am, and it has been encouraging to counter that.
Purpose:
It is very simple: I need a thesis. Here in my final semester I am learning that I need, now more than ever to choose my direction. I need to stand on my theology, not just know it. It needs to guide my life. Thus, I need to choose a thesis, and begin to argue in its defense. Here is what I have so far:
The ultimate goal of history is to make so much of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that God is supremely glorified.
Timeline:
I going to attempt to defend this thesis in this blog. It is as simple as that. However, being in my final semester, working full-time, and putting my wife through Moody, will find me investing myself largely elsewhere. So, expect more in the way of my research after May 2009.
Thank you so much for reading, and if you have gotten this far, please feel free to tag your thoughts with comment or two. Also, if you know of a subcategory that further defines my thesis, please feel free to suggest it. Lastly, if you know any resources (books, sites, reocrdings) that further develop the thesis or your subcategory, please let me know.
His,
John Bolthouse
