A website for Everyone
This website was created for Catholics interested in learning more about the bible, regardless of background or expertise. Whether you're taking a formal class in Scripture or just want to read the bible for personal use, you can find much on this website to help.
Reading the bible is fairly simple. As Augustine famously said, "Pick up and read." It's one of the easiest things to do, yet also one of the hardest. Finding time to read can be difficult, but so is trying to understand the bible, especially since it was written many centuries ago. That's why I've created a site that also helps you learn more about the bible and its background as well as some simple methods of interpreting it. These methods are not only approved by the Catholic Church and the scholarly community but are also spelled out carefully here so that anyone can use them. They're also accepted by many other Christian churches today, so visitors from all walks of life should find them useful as they read Scripture.
I'm also hoping to create a new page on this site where visitors can offer their own interpretations of biblical passages. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for an opportunity to do so.
About Me
I've been teaching Scripture for almost twenty years. I have taught in high schools and universities across the country, primarily in St. Louis, MO but also in Memphis, Kansas City, New York City, and Washington, DC. I now teach at St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, IL, where I am also the Prefect of Mission. In 2007 I earned my doctorate in Biblical Studies from Catholic University in Washington, DC, and I've published a book and more than a dozen articles in scholarly books and journals. My research has covered a broad range of topics, including the deuterocanonical books (especially Tobit and Judith), intertextuality, canonicity, deception, marriage, angels, biblical dogs, Markan sandwiches, and the problem of evil. My work has appeared in study bibles and commentaries as well as the marriage-prep booklet Together for Life, and I've even done some archaeological work in the Holy Land. I have also given dozens of talks at conferences and parishes throughout the Midwest, and I have taught a theology course for inmates in a maximum-security prison.
I love to read the bible and to talk to others about it. I love reading the text in the original Hebrew or Greek, learning about life in biblical times, and discovering new hidden treasures each time I read it. I hope you find the same joy reading Scripture as I do. Please enjoy your visit to my site, and feel free to send me a message if you'd like. God bless.