Who We Are and What We Believe

We are Michael and Mary Findley, Christian educators for over 30 years in many parts of the country. We have homeschooled, taught in Christian schools, directed Children’s Church ministries and taught Sunday School for adults and children. We have created videos for cable television, infomercials and public awareness videos, as well as teaching videos and 3D fiction productions. We graduated from Bob Jones University. Michael has a BA in Bible and an MA in Church History with postgrad coursework in Math, Science, Physics  and Computer Science. Mary has a BA in English.

We need to preface a statement of our beliefs by quoting from the Preface of our book Antidisestablishmentarianism.

A true open mind is founded in belief, faith and trust. The historic meaning of believe is to perceive or understand with the mind and then make an informed decision.2 The most basic use of the word believe which the average American would understand is that of a juror in court. Which witness do you believe? Which piece of evidence is believable? A synonym would be the word credible. When we believe something or someone and then act on that belief, that is faith. The active part of belief is faith. The passive part of belief is trust. Suppose your brother says that he will drive you to the doctor. If you believe him, then you understand what he says and you make a decision to get ready. If you get in the vehicle with him, that is faith. You act on your belief. When you sit in the vehicle as he drives, that is trust, a passive reliance on what you have proven true. You trust in his driving skills. You trust in the vehicle. You trust the roads, etc. Everything we do is a combination of belief, faith or trust. By restoring their historic definitions, belief, faith and trust re-emerge as the clear language of true experimental science. These terms were deliberately segregated from science to deceive people into believing Secular Humanism.

This explains what we mean by belief. Not opinion, not blind acceptance, but a conclusion or verdict based on tested evidence.

We believe the Scriptures are authoritative, a true foundation for right understanding in all areas of life. They are the basis of true Science, accurate History, and correct standards for life, conduct, and judgment.

Our church background is independent Baptist. (See the Blog post “Why I Am a Baptist” for details on this.) We have attended many different kinds of churches, as well as services at truckstop chapels, throughout the country. We have friends who come from nearly every denomination and have had discussions with Atheists, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, among others. In these discussions we have two rules: Be civil and be honest. When the speaker can’t meet these two conditions, the discussion is over.

We do not believe a person can pick and choose what to believe in the Bible or decide what to consider symbolic or literal. “When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense.” (Dr. D. A. Waite, Ephesians.) The Bible does use figures of speech and symbols. Jesus Christ is neither a lion nor a lamb, and He does not have a sword sticking out of his mouth. These are figures of speech and symbols. They do not make any part of the Bible less true or authoritative.