Help Me Help You

by Oct 9, 2020Personal19 comments

This blog has shifted over time to reflect the interests of its proprietor. I use it as much as a “weblog”—a journal of my own thoughts, a means of forming those thoughts—as I do anything else. I search my own blog all the time for quotes and illustrations to use in other writing.

But I want to serve you, my readers (one of whom told me years ago that the “both of you readers” joke is old, so I won’t use it here). So tell me what you want me to talk about. What brings you here? Are you okay with what this blog has become, or do you want it to return to the days when it had more Bible tech tips—like Unicode tutorials?

What else would you like me to talk more about? Maybe language? Worldview?

What would you like me to talk less about? Maybe the KJV…? I want to know!

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19 Comments
  1. Jim

    Please continue to write as you are led by the Holy Spirit.

    • Mark Ward

      Thank you for the encouragement!

  2. Roy Milner

    I have always enjoyed your column, even though we sometimes disagree. I learned to read with the KJV, so for someone to say it is too hard to read, I get upset. However, I will agree with you that the language is from a former era and people today don’t understand it (what a pity!). But I still enjoyed your comments and found them to be even-handed and without malice. And, if I really admit it, truthful to a point.

    Many of your columns piqued my interest on topics I had not thought about or did not dive into as deeply as you did, so I found those very interesting. And some of your columns I found that were in complete agreement upon, so I really enjoyed those! Honestly, for me, just keep going like you are. If I don’t like something, I don’t have to read it. But most of the time I am better off having read your column. So thank you!

    • Mark Ward

      This is helpful and honest. =) Now, I hope I never say, “The KJV is too hard to read.” I hope I’m more careful than that!

  3. Stephen Brown

    For myself, I find some of your items engaging with cultural and theological/practical issues helpful (as examples, your recent post of inerrancy / the validity of authoritative biblical interpretation and your recent post on complementarianism).

    • Brent Karding

      I agree – the posts about the KJV keep building on the good foundation in my thinking that you helped lay, and so I’d like to keep seeing those. But what has been very helpful recently has been your lengthy posts on theological and cultural issues like complementarianism.

      • Mark Ward

        Thank you, both Stephen and Brent. This is helpful.

  4. Robert Vaughn

    I check in from time to time to see what you are discussing. As you know, I first engaged with you through/because of your book Authorized. So the posts on the Bible are certainly interesting. But also posts on complementarianism, book reviews, and such like catch my interest as well. As you write on what interests you, I continue to find some things that interest me.

  5. Mike Gratis

    Have always enjoyed your articles. A topic that comes up again and again in conversation in my neck of the woods is “Christian Politics”. By this I mean taking a Christian stance on a wide variety of governmental (political) & societal issues that affect us all, and even what the proper Christian stance should be on those issues. For every verse that one person can point to supporting their stance, another person will point to another verse supporting an opposing stance. I don’t think that makes either of them necessarily wrong; but many times, obviously, one of them is, or, at the very least, partly so. For instance, as far as I’m concerned, I can’t say I’m a Christian and support at-will abortion; but there are those who do. When it comes to welfare, some say the Christian stance should be anything & everything possible on a government level, to the point of socialism, while I tend to think that everyone should contribute to their community & society, and those who are truly destitute should be assisted in a Christian way by those more fortunate.

    I certainly am not saying I’d like to see a lot more politics in your blog; but I do sometimes find it difficult to find reasoned Christian thoughts on real issues happening in the United States and the world. Thanks for your time & effort, Mark….

  6. niederb

    I’ll cast a vote for more book reviews!

    • Mark Ward

      Done! Just posted one! =)

  7. Greg Burgess

    I am very much ok with your blog as is! I find the posts to be enjoyable and edifying, so please keep on writing! I came to the site originally for the KJV articles, but it’s all good. Maybe one idea for a related but new post – I have a sense that just as there are “false friends” in the KJV, it might be that our language is changing so fast that we may have some words 8n our modern translations that have taken on new and very different meanings.

    • Mark Ward

      A good question. A worthy one. Will consider.

  8. Gordon

    Mark, I am a big fan of your blog, the Bible Study magazine podcast and your book and mobile Ed lessons on “Authorized”. I love talking and reading about Bible translations, textual questions and the theology of Scripture in general. I also like it when you blog about apologetic or cultural issues. I say, keep up the good work and may the Lord continue to bless you.

    • Mark Ward

      This is very kind. And helpful. Thank you!

  9. John Morgan

    I like the variety. I like to hear about what God is teaching you, your reflection on what you have read (Stanley Fish), and I really like reading how you engage those other writers or issues (seeing/reading your thought process). I guess that would be worldview. I like the practical Christianity focus anchored in Bible and theology. I like the balance of head and heart. I’d say there was too much KJV and I tired of it. These are just a few things that come to my mind.

  10. Steve Lucente

    Hi,
    I have been reading your material for about a year, on and off. I am interested to know how an academic prays, and sees the Lord lead him to conclusions. Your blog is called By Faith We Understand, which I take to mean that in the middle of uncertainly, we step out and obey God, and then He reveals the truth to us. How does this work for Bible academics?
    Thanks

    • Mark Ward

      This is fascinating. That’s not quite what I think I meant by my blog title, but it’s not 180º off, either. And I’m flattered to be called a Bible academic, but I’m not sure I’m one of those, either. I’m a popularizer, a servant to the academics and to the church at the same time. A bridge builder. Here’s my prayer, though: “Lord, open my eyes to behold wondrous things in your law!” Here’s my prayer: “Create in me a clean heart and a ready mind!”

  11. Stephanie

    Maybe more in the realm of Biblical Worldview. I appreciate the curriculum that you’ve help write, but maybe detailing *how* you make decisions for the curriculum could help parents. I know I find it daunting to think about the never ending questions my daughter will have as she becomes more and more fluent. I would appreciate hearing from you both as a parent and an author.