My Blog

The Traveler Passing Through is largely about history and religion. That being said, I would not say this blog is very religious itself. My articles tend to take an academic approach to understanding the history of religious traditions. But what does that mean?

History is often thought of as a recounting of events as they actually happened. While that is always the ideal goal historians have when writing, in reality history is an interpretation. It is a person's retelling of events influenced by their current understanding of the world and available pieces of evidence, and as such it is always being added to and reshaped. Given the limitation of accessible historical evidence and the limitless creativity of the human imagination, there are various versions of history out there on the same events and people. This is especially true in regards to religious and political history. The life of Jesus of Nazareth, the intentions of the Founding Fathers, and the origins of the earth are just a few of such contested historical subjects in the United States due to our religious and political climate.

With so many competing histories being taught, it can be difficult knowing how reliable any one of them is. In academia, scientific principles are used to keep historical interpretations in check. When constructing history, historians ought to be:

1. Critical. All historical constructions, religious or otherwise, should be treated with skepticism. History is recorded by humans, who are known for being driven by self-interest, having a flawed understanding of events, and at times being intentionally deceitful. 
2. Evidence-based. To keep criticisms in check, historical constructions should be supported by evidence, which can be rational arguments and/or material evidence. This is in opposition to faith-based historical constructions, which often maintain historical claims regardless if evidence supports it.
3. Agnostic. Any historical constructions should be treated with a certain amount of uncertainty. This allows space for improving flawed historical perceptions, as well as flexibility when new evidence is uncovered. It also prevents clinging to traditional understandings that have been shown to be unsupportable with the evidence at hand.

My blog utilizes the above methods when understanding religious history, and builds off of other scholars who do the same. My main area of interest is my own religious tradition, Christianity, and that is reflected in the content of my articles. This treatment of Christianity (and other traditions) is not meant as an attack, but as a method of understanding the past in a way that stretches the mind to view religious traditions through the eyes of an inquisitive outsider—a mere traveler passing through—which allows one to see the world beyond one's cultural boundaries and comfort zone.

I recognize that my method of understanding is not for everyone, nor is it (nor can it be) perfect. Any readers, religious or otherwise, are welcome here. I embrace feedback, including constructive criticism, from my readers. However, comments that I deem rude, offensive, or irrelevant will be deleted.