Why?

Hello esteemed reader,

Since this is the first post on this blog, I thought it prudent to explore the reasons behind why I am starting it and why you should read it.  I believe firmly that a person ought to have a reason for whatever they do.  This is not to say that it has to always be an excellent or admirable reason, but I certainly think that whether it is conscious or not, everything we do has some reason behind it.

Therefore, when I set out to create this blog, I thought it only fitting that I explain my reasons for creating it.  But that simply isn't quite good enough, because this blog only accomplishes its task if it has a readership.  Therefore, I have also decided to give a few reasons why you might want to follow this blog.  You are obviously free to read or ignore this blog for whatever reason you like, but perhaps this inaugural post will help both of us in the end.  That is certainly my prayer.

But seriously... Why?

So why am I making such a big deal about this little question?  We all know the classic six investigative questions used when examining a situation: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?  Yet these six questions are not all created equal.  The first four are what I would consider "face-value" questions.  The answers to these questions can usually be found simply by examining the basic facts of the situation.  They usually require very little thought or deduction.  The last two questions, on the other hand, are much more involved and, I would assert, normally much more important.

In fact, most of the investigative professions in this world are attempting to answer one of these two questions.  Two of the more esteemed examples (perhaps not currently, but at least historically) are scientists and philosophers.  Scientists spend the majority of their careers looking at the "How?" behind certain phenomena, while philosophers look at the universe through a lens that asks "Why?"  Granted, both of these types of people are called on to ask the other type's question from time to time, but as a generalization, this analogy works pretty well.

With all this going for it, I certainly think that we should consider the motives behind anything we do.  I think that everyone would be much better off for asking themselves "Why?" more often.  And, as I have said, that is exactly the question I am attempting to answer in this first post.

So why faith?

Now for the main point of this post.  Why am I going to the trouble to create an entire blog about my faith and about faith in general?  There are many answers to this question, and I shall attempt to address a few of them here.

The first reason why I have started this blog is as a means for witnessing.  I am a Christian, and I am unashamed of that title.  And a faith as strong as one in Jesus Christ is one that should be passed on.  I am compelled simply by the message I have received to send it on to others (Matt. 28:19-20).  This is one way in which I hope to spread the earth-shattering message of Jesus.

The second reason is related to the first, but goes a little further.  I wish to use this blog as a means of doing some apologetics.  Peter tells us to always have a reason ready for what we believe (I Peter 3:15).  I believe that since God created the world, there are a great many parts of His personality which have been programmed into His creation.  Also, I am a firm believer that science does not contradict faith (at least true science does not), it merely affirms it.  Science as a study has been corrupted by society into something it is not.  The typical view of science in American culture is fraught with paradigms both philosophical and religious.  I hope to be a small part of a movement to restore science and religion to their proper places.  Part of this endeavor will be conducted through this blog.

The third reason is that I hope this will be a place of respectful conversation and constructive dialogue.  If you are reading this and disagree with what I say, you are more than welcome to tell me so.  If you want to know more, ask.  If you want to contribute helpful information from your own experience, please do so.  That being said, the last thing I want is to create another breeding ground for trolls.  This world is wracked with people more than willing to spew whatever ill-formed opinions they have across the internet.  I do not wish for anyone to be disrespected or personally hurt by anything put on this site.

What about you?

The final topic I wish to cover here is the reason why YOU should read this blog.

You should read this blog if you are a thinking, reasoning person who is open to the idea that there is more to this universe than humans know or understand.  One of my favorite sayings is "The more I know, the more I know I don't know."  There is no end to the amount of knowledge that can be gained in this universe, and therefore I (and you) must admit that I don't know everything.  This is perhaps one of the most difficult things to do in modern society, but it is crucial to having a healthy image of yourself and others.  Also, this blog is meant to be about faith, and thus far in my life the best definition I have come up with for the term faith is "admitting that you don't know everything."  If you don't get it, think about it for a while.

You should read this blog if you wish to grow in your personal faith.  I believe the modern church is full of too many people trying to get by with the least amount of sacrifice possible.  This should not be!  We should strive to give more of ourselves up every day.  I hope that the discussion fostered on this blog can create an atmosphere which forces people to actively think about what they believe and where they stand on various issues.  No matter what your faith background is (and even if you don't have one), you should still have a very good reason for believing what you believe.

You should read this blog if you love science, religion, or (hopefully) both.  I am not a professional minister, nor do I pretend to have better ideas than anyone out there.  But I do have ideas.  In fact, I am still in college, training to become an engineer, so obviously I have a love for the sciences and especially mathematics.  But that does not mean that I disregard my faith.  Quite the contrary!  One of the things I enjoy most in this world is seeing how religion and science complement one another.  Hopefully, you do, too.

Finally, you should read this blog if you think I'm wrong about what I have to say.  I very well might be!  I am perfectly open to respectful, thoughtful, and constructive discussion about any topic.  Please contribute whatever you want to this site, and if you wish to contact me personally, do not hesitate to.  Faith only works in community (funnily enough, so does science), so the better the sense of community we have here on this blog, the better off we'll all be.

One more word, before I conclude this opening post.  There are a few reasons NOT to read this blog.  You should NOT read this blog if all you wish to do is start arguments and belittle others (see: Troll).  You should NOT read this blog if you do not want to challenge yourself or your faith in any real way.  You should NOT read this blog if you think you have everything figured out.  In that case, you should start a blog of you own and let us all marvel at your greatness.

If none of these categories fits you, then I look forward to seeing how God uses this tool to grow His message and His glory in our lives.  I truly believe that if we devote the discussion here to Him, He will accomplish awesome things for His glory.  And to be honest, His glory is really the best reason to do anything.

Looking forward to seeing more of His Kingdom in action.

-Addison