About
CIR: The Site
Christian Internet Resources (CIR) presents its essays with the characteristics of personal relationship in mind: interpersonalism (IP). That feature of the Christian worldview joins our personal creator to us and to each other, and provides for a systematic theology in website form. IP establishes the context for every topic and impacts the interpretation of scripture since the convictions about interpersonalism arise in the first place from revelation’s self-consistent witness. The approach calls for all personal operations to operate in the mode of First and Second Great Commandments. Love as defined by the Golden Rule serves as the positive code word for all vertical and horizontal actions between persons.
Here we try our hand at providing clear answers to age-old issues that should be understandable to wayfaring strangers and useful to seasoned theologians. After all, the Lord’s way claims to be simple enough that everyday people need not err in it (Isaiah 35:8) though interpersonalism is the most complex reality that exists. It is not beyond the simple or beneath the wise because experience has already taught the simple how it operates, and its complexity sufficiently challenges the wise to search its depths. So we all can walk with God like Enoch (Genesis 5:21-24) and be his friend like Abraham (Isaiah 41:8; 2 Chronicles 20:7).
The bases for ideas, their relationship, and consequences provide a formidable task, especially when combined with analyzing and evaluating alternative ideas. Trying to critique some scholar’s take complicates the task; it adds properly understanding the other person to properly understanding the issue itself as addressed by scripture. The endeavor cannot be absolute, of course, because seminal ideas flow from seminal thinkers. But we have avoided confirmation by citation of authorities; though interesting, such does not solve.
A high proportion of our presentations function as position papers on topics of interest. They do not aim to qualify as scholarly studies by providing extensive documentation of sources for ideas not available in print to much of a typical readership anyway. Over time many resources become unavailable anyway—although the advent of electronic devices has enhanced the permanence of important resources. Being position papers explains why a great number of our offerings are relatively short.
Our studies endeavor to avoid anything pejorative about viewpoints alternative to ours. We have supposed that people believe what they believe because they think it is true. Obviously, there are people with self-centered motives and put-down attitudes who try to draw followers after themselves for fame or fortune as the apostle warns the Ephesian elders that some of them would become (Acts 20:29-30). Assuming improper attitudes and bad motives frustrates the meeting of minds. Experience has taught us all the importance of avoiding that temptation. The Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12) applies to opponents as well as friends (5:43-44).
Beyond topical essays, as time permits, we may be able to include video, audio, and musical offerings.
Structure and Use
CIR is free to use, reference, and circulate with the source notations and logo in citing whole essays. We recommend indicating “access (date)” in order to accommodate future upgrades.
Treatments come in Levels 1, 2, and 3 as geared to users’ interests, needs, and preparation. The levels sort out by length, by whether biblical languages significantly undergird the write-ups, and whether the complexity of some issues call for other than first-level exposure. Level 1 documents include dictionaries and short treatments like prime passage, misused scriptures, short answers to frequent questions. As time goes on, we hope to facilitate connections between documents by cross-links and footnote references. Those mechanics add to the interpersonal theme that also ties the components together.
Some of the sigla
| ________* | substantial documents |
| ________1 ________2 ________3 | level indicators |
| ________g ________h | Greek Hebrew significantly involved |
| LXX | Septuagint, a widely-used, pre-Christian Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament |
| MT | Masoretic Text, the standardized Old Testament Hebrew text |
| BDB | Brown, Driver, Briggs standard Hebrew Lexicon for the Old Testament |
| * | within documents alerts to navigation points |
Navigation indicators will be more forthcoming as the website develops. There will be increased use of:
- home-page boxes/symbols for categories of interest
- subunits under major categories
- cross-links between related documents
- hover-overs for:
- definitions of unusual words and expressions
- additional short comments
- explanations of home-page entries
- actual words of scripture references
- pop-ups for resources to be consulted
Users should expect some duplication across the essays. They were composed over a period of fifty years on similar topics for original presentations in publications and lectures for different audiences. Like scripture, not everything about a topic likely appears in one place. Furthermore, interpersonal “outcroppings” show repeatedly from the bedrock beneath the specifics that overlie it. Awareness of those connections keeps coming to mind as the decades unfold.
What’s New is a box on the Home Page indicates new items appearing periodically: communion meditations, offering meditations, devotional entries, sermon sketches.
As time permits, we hope to devise a mechanism for feedback, raising questions, or making comments on topics not already addressed.