BE CAREFUL, I MIGHT BE CRAZY!

It is always best, I think, to be aware of any possible ‘angle' or agenda that the writer or compiler of religious material may have. I myself am maddened when I am unable to see the motive, credibility or allegiance behind some of the things I read, both in print and on the internet.

Not that people should be dismissed because they have a bias or an agenda. The mystical poetry of St John of the Cross assumes the existence of God He's not trying to convert you; he assumes that you are a Christian to begin with and knowing that, he already considers you an intimate in his Christ-filled world. Knowing this 'bias' to begin with brings a whole new depth of appreciation and guidance from his legacy.

And of course it should be no surprise that St Thomas Aquinas concluded that God is Necessary Being and that His reality is provable. To put it crudely, that was his job and he was very good at it. That doesn't make him rubbish but it's still good to know where he's coming from.

It's also good to know if the author of a website you're visiting wears a colander on their head to stop the aliens from reading their minds. Here is a photo of me; the colander has been cropped from the image.

SO WHO AM I?

NAME: Graeme Castleman.

DISCLAIMER: I have no authority to teach or preach or make determinations on behalf of any religious organization or denomination. And I'm not trying to start yet another one.  I'm not trying to convert anyone or solicit money, property, powers of attourney, your offspring or any such thing.

RELIGION: I am a practicing Anglican of the anglo-catholic tradition, living in Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia.

CREDENTIALS: I hold, from LaTrobe University Bendigo, a Bachelor Degree (Honours) in Humanities, majoring in Religious Studies & Philosophy, Western Traditions and Literature. My Honours work was entitled “Created to Be God” and explored both Christian and Muslim mysticism and the theme of transfiguration or theosis.

I was awarded the D.M. Myers University Medal and a scholarship. I am currently a doctoral candidate at that same university. My PhD work considers the fundamental threads of Traditional Christian doctrines (such as those considered on this site) and the place that the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo (creation from nothing—not creation science or creationism) plays in the total theological drama of Trinity-Creation-Incarnation-Salvation.

I have experience teaching in the fields of Greek mythology and philosophy, and Islamic studies.

PUBLICATIONS: These days I mainly doodle for the local parish news and attempt to hammer a doctorate together, but an article on Creation Theology (not creation science!) appeared in the journal Sophia: The Journal of Traditional Studies.

STANDARDS: While my language may be informal at times, I have not been loose with the claims I have made.  A website like this is not the place for the expansive documentation, arguments and proofs of formal academic work.  But this website is nevertheless based upon many years of training in precisely those scholarly skills, as well as the excellent guidance provided by peers and supervisors at Latrobe Bendigo.

WHY THE WEBSITE?

To put it bluntly, after pursuing an idle curiosity and looking at what was out on the internet under the banner of 'Christianity', I was amazed. I was already familiar with many excellent resources on the net - a variety of good texts (if not always the most recent or best translations), images, and superb materials provided by a number universities around the world - but I was shocked by the sheer amount of absolute rubbish out there.  And amongst that rubbish (some of it by people in leadership roles in various denominations) - and the chatter in the media and the streets - a total lack of understanding of the heritage of the Christian Tradition was evident. 

It was as though Christianity was invented as a response to Luther, Capurnicus, Galileo and Darwin rather than God in Christ and in an ancient lineage.  It is such an over representation for what is, historically, a small blip on the history of Christianty. Even in its own time it is limited to but certain segments of the diverse Christian tradition.  But it is expanding, through many of the same means that Wahabi style Islam (itself a very new historical anomoly, not yet ubiquitous) is expanding.

So I thought 'If the loonies can do it, why can't I? I can't do any worse that that!'  And here we are now.  

I invite email responses made in good faith, but I'm not interested in crazy talk. 

Email [email protected]