Christian Classics Ethereal Library

This is an absolute goldmine of a site. With classic works from a variety of schools of Christian thought, this site has it all: commentaries, audiobooks, and classics books from people from as far back as Athanasias to as recent as Ray Steadman (With people like Bunyan, Spurgeon, Luther, Edersheim, and Pascal inbetween.)

My absolute favorite is The People's New Testament by B.W. Johnson. Originally published in 1891, this no-nonsense commentary may be one of the best kept secrets around. It lacks the depth of something like Jamieson/Faussett/Brown and the "loftiness" of Matthew Henry, but that seems to be the whole point. An invaluable resource to any teaching pastor.

Zealot or Atheist?

Which is the bigger threat to the world: 1) An atheist who believes there is no higher authority and thus no absolute right or wrong, or 2) A religious zealot whose beliefs mandate that all who do not share his beliefs are enemies of God and thus are his enemies as well?

If you picked number two, you'd fit with the majority of western civilization. For example, when Europeans were asked what was the biggest threat to the world today, right below the United States was "religious extremism". Ask the average American the question posed above, and invariably the answer will be the same.

Quite frequently in conversation if one mentions the positive effects of religion (without mentioning a specific creed), those who disagree invariably they bring up the Crusades, the Orthodox Church before the Soviet Revolution, the Inquisition, or Northern Ireland. Rarely mentioned are suicide bombers, although they -according to their own admission- are religious in nature.

While it is certainly true that thousands have died in the name of religion, many more have died in the past 100 years at the hands of those who openly scorned it. Consider the following:

• Hitler killed over 12 million, 6 million of them Jews. (note:Many try to assert that Hitler tried to use the Bible as basis for his campaign against the Jews. However, in Mein Kampf, his blueprint of sorts, no mention is made in the nearly 700 pages as to a personal belief in Jesus or the Bible as his basis for his hatred.)
  
• Lenin killed 10-13 million, depending on whether or not you count only exectutions or include those who were intentionally starved or worked to death.
• Stalin killed 30 million.
• Mao killed 60 million.
• Pol Pot killed 2 million. At first, this seems like a small number, but this was nearly one in eight Cambodians who were murdered.

So at first glance, the atheist without moral boundaries would seem to be the bigger threat.

More on this later.

Welcome to My Blog...

"Who am I? Why am I here?" - Admiral James Stockdale, 1992 vice-presidential debate, opening line

The title of this blog comes from the age-old question that has been around for millennia: "What is truth?" Is truth absolute, unchanging? Or is it relative to the situation? Men much wiser than I have debated this for centuries, and may debate it for centuries more.

As a seeker of truth, it is easy to be blinded by the fog of the everyday: Work, family, politicians, religion, bills, media, celebrities - the list goes on. Rarely, if ever, does the average person step back and ask themselves why they continue to run on the hamster wheel we call the "modern life".

This is my search for truth through the fog of life. Feel free to join me. I'll never claim to have all the answers. Beware of those that do.