I grew up in a Quaker church, and have been going to a Calvinist college, which has acquainted me with a variety of doctrines. I realized in high school that no single denomination has all of its doctrine correct, let alone any one person. So I have made an ongoing effort to evaluate any doctrine from any tradition I encounter, to see what truth I might learn from it, so I can paint a more complete picture of reality. You would think this would lead to a number of conflicts, but I've learned how to modify some beliefs in small ways to get two differing beliefs to work together.

The main principle I hold to in my theology is that God's Word must never be defied, because God is trustworthy in delivering His Word. I believe that historical writings can be taken literally, with the likely presence of one or more figurative meanings, but I insist that the literal meanings must never be sacrificed because of a figurative meaning. As part of this belief, I am of course a young-earth creationist, and I spend a significant amount of time on the subject.

I've also taken an interest in elaborating on what "love" means for Christian life. If the second-greatest command is to love our neighbors, it should be our motivating factor in life, so I tend to evaluate everything I do in light of that commandment.