New Blog: The Golden Rule

It's been a while since I've utilized this feature of Pisteuomen, but I'm proud to resurrect it and bring it back to life, the feature is: A Beginning Blogger. I started this feature for the following reasons (here's what I wrote in the initial piece about it): "...I realize how tough it is to get people to visit your site, comment, add you to their blogroll, etc. Now, I've done a lot to make my blog both resource and user-friendly and I believe that's contributed to its success but it might have also helped if some more well-known persons helped draw attention to Pisteuomen. Well, with the conviction that the biblio-blogosphere is not about constantly catering to the egos of a select few or having to be around for years in order to make it (among other things, like creating a resourceful, edifying online community), I thought I'd add this feature."

The Beginning Blogger that I'd like to mention today is Mike Koke. Mike maintains the blog "The Golden Rule". Here's his impetus for blogging: " wanted to start this blog as a safe place to explore early Christian diversity, where no one is insulted and no comment is censored (except for spam or harrassing posts). I agree with John Dominic Crossan's comment on the heated rhetoric of the "Jesus Wars" when he writes, "It is, however, only a small part of the recent shift from academic argumentation (I will make your case as accurate and strong as I can before I demolish it) to political argumentation (I will make your case as dumb and silly as I can before I demolish you)." We should all approach the Bible with humility and be willing to engage with different perspectives. I want to learn from any scholar who can help me come closer to the text, whether the scholar is NT Wright and Ben Witherington or Burton Mack and the Jesus Seminar. I hope this can be a place where we can all treat each other with the Golden Rule."

Mike says of himself: "I graduated with a BA in Religion and Theology with a Specialization in Biblical studies from Taylor University College and am just finishing an MA in Religious Studies at the University of Alberta. I hope to apply for a PhD in the Fall and use scholarship as a tool for ministry." In terms of blogging, so far, Mike has written some great posts on Historical Jesus issues, How to 'do' history and The Parting of the Ways. His blog can be found by clicking the following link: The Golden Rule. Be sure to give his blog a look and leave him a word of encouragement!