Are you legitimate Christians or weirdos?  The simple answer is that we are, indeed, legitimate Christians.  Doctrinally, we are completely orthodox in relation to the traditional creeds which underpin the Christian faith.

The more complex answer would say we are postconservative evangelicals, struggling with the theological challenge of making the historic Christian faith relevant (but not accommodated) to today's culture.  This has always been theology's task.  It didn't stop with the Reformers, nor with Charles Hodge, and nor with John Stott.

The cultural gap now, though, is increasingly widening, as many parts of the Christian church try to ignore Postmodernity, or resist it, hoping and praying it will 'go away' and God will take society back to the normality of Modernity, so we can be relevant again without having to have changed along the way.  Modernity, though, isn't normality.  It's just a worldview, like any other, and no more a friend of the Christian faith than the Ancient World view that preceded it or the Postmodern view that is rapidly succeeding it.

What hinders the church from engaging with the Postmodern world?  It's a complex answer, but includes: fear it would mean compromising historical truths; misunderstanding the concept of worldviews; fear of change in general; being wedded to Modernity without even realising it; and, one of the strongest motivations, concern about a 'slippery slope' - where might such-and-such lead us to next?  This last concern can cause Christians to retreat into the apparently safe surroundings of the castle walls and to raise the drawbridge.  The problem with this is that whilst it is a safe environment, and makes defending the position easy, the reality is that one is trapped within it.  Meanwhile, the world outside the castle goes on, without us.

Why does this site have some stuff that is skeptical or critical of Christians?  Someone once said if you want to know what people really think of you, ask your best friend and your worst enemy.  There will be something to learn from both.  Too often, Christians seem blissfully unaware of how others see them, how their messages and explanations sound, and the impression they leave.  It does us good from time to time to see ourselves as others see us.

Can we take some fun poked at us every now and then?  I think so.  Do thinking non-Christians sometimes see the flaws in what we say, when we ourselves are missing them?  I think so.  Do we need to hear the questions people are asking and see how poor our answers so often are?  I think so.  Are we better off staying below ground in the comfortable Christian bunker, pretending not to see or hear ...?  I think not.

Why is there a Harlequins rugby video on this site?  Are you suggesting it isn't the most dramatic drop-goal ever ...?

It would be wrong to claim that rugby is God's favourite sport (and even more so that Harlequins is his favourite team).

But then again, has anyone ever proved that isn't the case ...?