”Who am I? Am I really what others say about me? Or am I only what I know of myself?….Whoever I am, you know me, oh God. You know I am yours” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Wer bin Ich?” from Widerstand und Ergebung, 381-382).
My name is John, but there’s a lot of things I can’t tell you about myself. It’s mostly because I don’t know enough about myself to tell you the right things, those things that run deepest in a person. God knows me, and with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I say ”You know I am yours.” I’m trying to believe this more than I already do.
But there are those things that can be explained. So if you wish to know a little about this blog and how the posts are generated, then I can tell you that blogging usually takes place on whatever subjects I happen to be reading about or considering. Usually I’m reading and thinking about philosophy, apologetics and systematic theology. Occasionally, I’ll blog on church history and biblical interpretation.
If you wish to know some facts about my life and its observable phenomena, then I can tell you that I’ve been married for five years to my fetching wife, Emily. We have a daughter named Jillian, and we are also the proud owners of a ferret (which she talked me into) and a chocolate lab named Berkeley (which I talked her into).
I am a Lutheran pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in LaGrange, KY just outside Louisville.
I have earned a M.Div in Theological Studies, an M.A. in philosophy, and was planning to pursue a Ph.D. in philosophy. I decided instead to serve as pastor. I spend my days reading and hanging out at coffee houses and pubs. I enjoy smoking a pipe and cigars, finding new and unpopular music to listen to, watching classic movies, reading Sherlock Holmes stories, and sporting a cardigan on occasion. Should you think I sound like somebody’s grandfather you can save your comments, I hear them frequently from Emily. If you wish to contact me, please e-mail me: johnfraiser at gmail dot com.
