In any field of endeavour, progress is made by people who are prepared to think outside convention. This is as true in the study of theology and history as it is in science and technology which is my original training and profession. However, in theology, there are more conventions than in most subjects. In the past, the conventional view had force of law. This often resulted in draconian and deadly measures being taken against those who held unconventional views. Even if we no longer burn 'heretics' today, we still retain the medieval idea of a 'received interpretation' of scripture.
It is evident that the idea of a received interpretation of scripture is a nonsense perpetuated by vested interest. Since each denominational vested interest holds to a different 'established' or 'received' interpretation of scripture, so there must be reasonable doubt about which, if any, are correct or even approximately true. Indeed, truth and vested interest are not compatible, each notion offends the other.
Therefore, the possibility exists for us to interpret the scripture without the shackles of a received interpretation to limit our exploration, or a blanket of vested interest over our heads to stop us perceiving truth. I have read widely and listened to many different views, and I have enjoyed reading, dividing, collecting and interpreting scripture without feeling the slightest duty to push convention.
These works are offered to kindred souls who would like to explore a new world of meanings from scripture. I believe there is every reason for this endeavour. Compared to the vitality of its youth, Christianity today is chronically ill. There are signs and symptoms everywhere that we are missing many key fundamentals of Christ's teaching - not least the commandment to love one another.
This site contains the manuscripts of several books that I've written around key themes of the Christian faith. There are also some stand-alone articles on historical, chronological and theological subjects. The contents of this site are summarized below:
Syriac studies area This is an endeavor of mine that started in October 1999. The Syriac studies pages on my site are devoted to the study of the New Testament in ancient Syriac, a dialect of ancient Aramaic. Syriac is very similar to the Aramaic dialect that Jesus Christ spoke. The Syriac pages discuss the New Testament texts and text types in ancient Syriac that survive today. Included within the scope are the language, the history of people and gospel texts and the recovery of distinctive Syriac gospel texts.
Books about the mysteries of the Christian faith. There are some autograph books of mine published on this site. They offer a fresh perspective on many important aspects of Christian belief and thought. They are very original and controversial books on major bible themes. Sometimes not for the faint hearted, they strip away many common ideas which make it difficult to understand Jesus' teaching. Contrary ideas are replaced with the ideology of Jesus, as revealed by the intense ideological conflict which raged between Jesus and the religious and political authorities of those days. The result of this different perspective is a much better understanding of what Jesus has to say to each one of us about the really big questions of life.
Historical and Christian teaching articles relate our Lord's teaching to the history and chronology of the first century and interpret His teaching in the context of the Christian faith as practised today.
The views expressed on these pages are entirely my own, they do not reflect the views of any church or denomination or movement. This work is offered in good faith and is believed to be accurate, however, the responsibility for any mistakes is also my own.
This website will be updated regularly as new material is researched and created. If you would like to be kept informed about new additions to this site, or if you would like to add a link to another relevant site or make a comment, please feel free to send me a message. My email can be constructed as follows: 'steven' then a dot, then 'ring' and then '@ieee.org'.
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