Introduction To The Blog

Introduction

We are excited to provide some excellent reading material that are being posted as a blog.  These are meant to be devotional, equipping and to inspire your own personal Bible study.

Most of the posts you will find in these blog posts fall into one of three basic categories.  These are the opinion essay, the factual essay and what we will call affirmations.  The first two forms are quite conventional and familiar to most readers.  Affirmations are less common.

Opinion Essays

An opinion essay demonstrates the validity of the author’s positions by the logical presentation of facts and arguments.  The subject matter of an opinion essay deals with a topic that is both debatable and about which there are enough available facts to support logical arguments and rational conclusions.  There are always at least two sides to the subject at hand.  Differences of opinion concerning the subject remain unresolved in the minds of enough potential readers for the essay to have interest value.

Factual Essays

Factual essays differ from opinion essays in the same way that newspaper reports should differ from newspaper editorials.  The facts and the opinions are clearly delineated.  Generalizations or conclusions, if present at all, are readily identifiable as such and supported by solid evidence.

Affirmations

Affirmation posts are quite different from essays.  For the most part, they are simple declarations of truth or assertions concerning a matter.  The affirmations appearing here are generally presented in numbered list format.  These are a series of simple statements of opinion or assertions of fact.  Unlike opinion essays, these posts contain truth claims that are usually presented with few or no supporting arguments.  Affirmations may or may not be accompanied by supporting references or evidence.

Comparable writings can be found elsewhere.  The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy of 1978, for example, includes nineteen Articles of Affirmation and Denial.  Creeds, confessions and statements of faith all summarize beliefs, though not necessarily in the form of a list of affirmations.  Catechisms, which can be thought of as condensed doctrinal manuals, often follow a numbered question and answer format.  The answers typically found there may be thought of as affirmations.  The questions and answers in catechisms are ordinarily brief and to the point, lending themselves to memorization.

A short introductory narrative may accompany some of the affirmations you will find here.  The bulk of each affirmation post, however, consists of numbered statements (the affirmations).  Generally, each of these assertions can stand on its own without reference to context for clarification.  While it may be uncommon, this form of writing enables the author to cover more ground with fewer words than conventional writing styles.

It is our hope that the posts you find in the blog pages of South Middlesex Baptist Church will be of value to you.  They are intended to inform, provoke thought and encourage deeper study.

Authors are limited to members of the congregation at South Middlesex Baptist Church.  Pastor Joe Faulk serves as General Editor of these articles.  South Middlesex Baptist Church retains all rights to this material.  None of it may be reproduced or transmitted without written permission from South Middlesex Baptist Church.