purpose, goal

No, this isn't about teleology, at least not in the classic sense. ;-) My dear sister, who is extremely knowledgeable about all things having to do with online presence, asked me recently what the goal of my blog was.

I'd never really thought about it in those terms. But she's right: there ought to be some kind of driving purpose behind this blog, one that I can articulate to others - to my potential audience, as it were.

I write in advocacy of a catholic interpretation of the Eastern Orthodox tradition. As an Orthodox Christian I have been disturbed by the narrow way in which some in the Orthodox world today interpret Orthodoxy.  I think that a catholic view of Orthodoxy is not only possible and supported by the tradition itself. It is a necessary interpretation of Orthodoxy if Orthodoxy is to be able to live out its vocation today.  I know that I've just begged a lot of questions here, and raised others. I hope to address as many of them as possible in this blog.

I'm contrarian by nature. I don't fall into line easily, and I find myself raising uncomfortable issues others think are best left alone. I also have the bad habit of wandering outside the boundaries of the discipline or disciplines in which I was educated. I mistrust boundaries, borders, and party lines. My first instinct is to make connections between fields rather than build walls around them. I think that when it comes to doing theology, more things are fair game than people realize.

I'm also a populist. I distrust elites and I value education. Truth is great, and we do not need to fear it, wherever it is found.