Chris Gore: Christianity

I currently attend Memorial Lutheran Church in Glendale, Wisconsin, which is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which is one of the more liberally-minded sets of churches around today.

My name derives from the Greek Christóphoros [Χριστόφορος] which means "Bearer of the Christ". A thing is named as it is purposed, and I believe that is an important part of my purpose. This is a primary part of the purpose of all Christians however, not just myself. Christ said to be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth, and so we should do. Not everyone will listen, but he who has ears to hear, let him hear.

One of the best online bibles is at Blue Letter Bible.org. It allows you to view several different translations side-by-side and has many other nice features. Another good online bible resource is Bible Gateway.com. There are many easy ways for most people to obtain a physical copy of the Holy Bible though, and that is my preferred way to read the scriptures. Books are generally more convenient still than reading online, at least for some things. Paper is nicer than glass, and a well-bound copy can be had for $10 and often even for free if you ask. Which translation should you read? I have tried to help answer that question. Another good online resource is the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. It has all sorts of ancient and not-so-ancient Christian texts online in several convenient forms, including a very good online study bible. Another good resource for extra-biblical ancient Christian writings is the website Early Christian Writings.com, which has all sorts of texts from the first three centuries of the Christian age, along with commentary and other material. If you would like, I also have a local ASCII copy of the King James Version of the Bible in plain text for download, originally from Project Gutenberg.

I am a creationist, but probably not the sort you are thinking of. I don't think the universe and the earth are only around six thousand years old, I don't believe that the dinosaurs were all killed off in the Great Flood that Noah escaped from, if Noah even actually existed, and I generally don't believe in most of the nonsense that is associated with the stereotypical person who would call himself a creationist, or that is purported to be believed by all Christians by people who would like a straw-man to argue with. I believe that the empirical world did not exist, and then did: this is creation, and I believe God is the source of it.