A Christian website, non-denominational and Bible based (Not a Roman Catholic website)

About This Website

This website is not Roman Catholic, or is in any way related to that denomination. It is a Bible based Christian website, and is non-denominational. The name was chosen because of what an abbey represents. An abbey serves the monks or nuns as a place for their contemplative meditation. Therefore, this website is my abbey. (Of course, you probably guessed that the idea for the name was at least partly inspired by a show I enjoyed, Downton Abbey.)

I am writing for myself. By writing I crystalize and clarify my thoughts. It makes it easier to see mistakes when I read them on a page. Also, when someone wants to hear it, I like to speak wisdom into their lives. Often, they will ask me to repeat what I said, clarify a point, or write it down so they can remember it better. With this website it's easier to make a written version available.

If this site helps you as well, great. If not, there are lots of others. I don't insist that I'm right or that people should listen to me. The right to free speech means I have a right to speak, not that I have a right to be heard. In fact, my motto is, "be like the Bereans." I recommend you read the Bible yourself and check up on me. And if you disagree with my conclusions, it won't bother me. At the least I may give you a new way of looking at something.

Be Like The Bereans

My motto and advice for any Christian is to be like the Bereans!

While many of the Thessalonian Jews were persuaded by Paul's reasoning that Jesus was the Messiah, the Jews of Berea did not just accept what Paul said. Every day they checked it against scripture.

Acts 17:11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

Because the Bereans did not just accept someone's words blindly but checked everything against scripture, they were not easily fooled by good sounding words or arguments that were false. Do not accept what anyone says in writing, on videos, or in person without checking it against scripture. And by that I mean in context. When someone quotes a verse or two, back up a bunch of verses before the quoted verse, and also read a bunch past what they quoted. Be sure they are using scripture properly.

Whether it is footnotes or references in your copy of the Bible, study guides, commentaries, books, preachers in churches, speakers on videos like YouTube or TikTok, or this website, do not take anything at face value. These can be useful aids for studying scripture but are not scripture themselves. Scripture is the inspired Word of God. Everything else is the thoughts of man. While I value the scholarship of others, especially those that show their work and those that have proven to be trustworthy, I am always questioning and checking. Every source gets something wrong, including me. Scripture is the firm foundation of our faith. And the more we study it ourselves, the more easily we can discern the true from the false.

About Michael

It's only natural to want to know something about the person behind the words. Although I would suggest you read my article, "Who To Listen To". Whether you listen to what I have to say or not is up to you.

I was the son of a Preacher. We moved a lot as he moved to different churches. After I moved out on my own, I fell away from God. The common label for it is an Atheist. Eventually I found myself wondering about what this life is all about. And I searched for answers. I went to a Buddhist temple, a Mormon tabernacle, studied ancient religions, and so on. I asked a lot of questions, and wasn't given any satisfactory answers. Eventually, I started trying to come at the question logically. At the end of my reasoning I found that the only conclusion was that there was a God, and Jesus was his son who died for my sins. While I came about it by a longer and slightly different path, you can get the essential parts of my journey by reading the first two parts of "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis.

I served in the U.S. Air Force as a flyer and am now retired. I have two undergraduate degrees in technical/scientific fields, and one in the humanities. I have a masters degree in Theology. And I am currently pursuing a Doctorate. If I had the money I would spend the rest of my life learning.

But at the core, I'm a sinner just like everyone else. Whatever is good in me is because of Jesus. Left on my own I'm a jerk.