Welcome to the study…. It’s a place which fills some with dread and others with peace. The study is often a quiet place of learning and reflection. It’s a window to the world, for in the study we encounter and explore the world of literature and ideas. Ideas which shape and influence our culture, environment and our lives. To neglect the study, is to fail to understand ourselves and our world.
The study is a room in which engages the mind. Yet the study is not a vapid acceptance of the intellectual status quo, the study is a vibrant, exciting room which facilitates exploration, experimentation, and even imagination. It’s a room which puts innovative and creative ideas to the test through rigorous and thoughtful analysis.
It’s a big room - for in it we want to discuss all fields of human knowledge: anthropology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, history, science, commerce, law, theology and more. All areas are up for discussion, there are no restricted areas in this study.
It’s also an uncomfortable room, for in it we ask questions - big questions which may unsettle us and our conceptions of life and reality. We’re unafraid to tackle ideas which may threaten or intimidate. This is a space which allows exploration. No question is too big, and no question is forbidden. In this space we are committed to asking the ‘bigger’ questions about life, meaning, the universe and God.
Yet our study does include an important book, the Bible. We believe this to be not simply a great literary work which has influenced and shaped Western culture. But it is also a living work which can impact and shape the lived experience of one who reads it. We believe this to be the most important book in our library, because our house is built on the conviction that there is a God and he has acted in history in the person and work of Jesus Christ. We believe that this book best explains our world and through it our minds and lives can be enriched.
This conviction is clearly contrary to the rhetoric of some, like atheist Richard Dawkins, who says he’s hostile to religion because it “subverts science, teaches us to not change our minds, saps the intellect”, and “teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world”. Yet we believe precisely the opposite - that the study in our house enriches our minds, feeds our intellect and stimulates an appetite for learning. Maybe you can join us to see for yourself?
Welcome to our study….
