Welcome to the Backyard Theologian
Sharpen Your Mind, Navigate Faith
After years of wandering in the barren wilderness of secular materialism, many young people are seeking meaning and purpose and are coming to faith, particularly Christianity. While this is a fantastic turnaround from decades of slow erosion of belief into non-belief, entering the religious sphere can be daunting. There are thousands of different options, new religious vocabularies, and often contentious debates between members of different faith communities. How is one to find a “true” or “correct” path? Do you randomly pick one that looks popular and feels good, or do you learn, study, evaluate, and test? And then how do you “know?” After all, commitment to a religion is not something to be entered into lightly. Effort and commitment are required if a religion is to produce the benefits in your life that you are likely seeking.
Stepping into the world of faith to find a spiritual home means navigating a deluge of information, some of which is illuminating. At the same time, much of it is confusing, misleading, or overtly hostile. For all sincere seekers, the internet is rife with theological landmines and bad-faith actors. How do you cut through the noise, recognize the sophistry, and find the truth? And importantly, how do you know the “Truth” when you see it?
This is where we come in. Our goal is to prepare you to navigate the complex and often confusing online world of faith, debate, and apologetics. We're here to help ground you in epistemology, logic, reason, history, and philosophy, providing you with the foundational tools to identify and dismantle weak arguments. As Orthodox Christians, we'll primarily focus on Christianity, exploring the intricate tapestry of Orthodox thought while breaking down terms such as Christology, Soteriology, and Eschatology, and transforming complex concepts into accessible frameworks for structured thinking. You'll gain the intellectual firepower to not just comprehend, but follow and assess assertions put forward in high-level theological debates.
Our focus will eventually extend to popular apologetic topics – a vital discipline in an age of constant challenge. We will dissect common criticisms and provide you with sound answers to examine and evaluate relevant theological topics without writing novels that take days to wade through.
Moreover, a dedicated series on critical thinking will be your shield against the digital onslaught. Learn to identify logical fallacies, dissect rhetorical tricks, and evaluate information with precision, equipping you to discern truth from the torrent of online misinformation and manipulative arguments. (We are going to provide this series because most schools no longer teach critical thinking, certainly not in a structured manner.)
Please join us and become an analytical, discerning, clear thinker who can sift through fact and fallacy.
Why subscribe?
Most articles in this publication are likely to take a significant amount of work and research to put together, and for that reason, we anticipate that most of them will require a paid subscription. Articles may be a bit sporadic at first, but we hope to publish at least one every couple of weeks. As the ball gets rolling and the paid subscriber base grows, we will increase this frequency.
Join the crew
Be part of a community of people who share your interests. Participate in the comments section. Learn and grow, and we may invite you to become a co-author on a future article!