Website Purpose
If you like to be intellectually stretched in new directions and are willing to dig deeper, then join me in this exploration of life, faith, technology, and the world that surrounds us.
You will find deeply researched and substantiated articles, extensive use of footnotes, often discussions with Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin languages too. The site is structured in such a way that you can draw your own conclusions with or without my analysis.
The website contains the Gift of Tongues Project which is the largest digital repository of ancient and modern texts relating to speaking in tongues on the internet. There is other great stuff here too, like the history of the Christian Calendar System, in-depth Bible manuscript analysis, aids for translating Patristic and Jewish texts, and articles on the intersection of technology and/or politics from a faith perspective.
This is a niche blog where many articles are long-form and avoid simple explanations, popular-level content, or defending a particular brand of the Christian religion.
About Charles A. Sullivan
Studying and translating ancient texts reflects my passion about history, the evolution of ideas and traditions, Bible transmission, and the intersections between faith and contemporary society.
My background is a B.A. from Winnipeg Bible College (now known as Providence University College), which is located in the province of Manitoba, Canada. A desire to get more in-depth studies brought me to the Hebrew University Overseas Student Program in Israel. This University was where I began the intensive journey into languages and manuscripts.
The study program quickly revealed that there are few jobs in this industry, and those that exist in the evangelical world that I belong to do not pay very well. The scenario is even worse in the Pentecostal and Charismatic realm, where they are suspicious of any higher learning. So I went into the technology field instead as a pre-press computer specialist and then worked my way up to systems administrator.
In fact, you have probably seen elements of my contribution in the realm of publishing, such as the various daytimers by Premier School Agendas, handed out to students on their first day of school throughout North America, or the 7 Habits of Highly Successful Teens by Sean Covey (First Edition). This chapter is now closed in my life, but it sure had its exciting moments.
Some may want to know my religious affiliation or influences. I would call myself a Renewalist Reconstructionist–a small “c” Protestant-influenced charismatic who affirms the supernatural but in a rational, common-sense manner. My views align closely with the balance established by Thomas Aquinas, who combined the mystical with the intellectual in a deeply and comprehensively integrated way.
A special thanks to Dr. Philip E. Blosser who is a professor of philosophy at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, who worked so hard to make the four-part series of books called “Speaking in Tongues: A Critical Historical Examination. I also would like to thank Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke for his endorsement of that series, along with Dale M. Coulter, professor of Historical Theology, Pentecostal Seminary, for taking the time to review and comment. It feels satisfying that this work bridges the Catholic, Pentecostal, and scholarly worlds. I would also like to thank the many students and teachers who have contacted me on other subjects such as the Christian Calendar System and made this site much richer because of that feedback.
I am also very honoured that this site has been selected by Feedspot as one of the top 15 Canadian Christian blogs.
Back in 2008, one of the priorities of this site was to assist students in Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic languages to further their skills in reading and translating Patristic and Jewish literature. There wasn’t much out there at that time. Since then, many good sites have come up that assist in these fields and it has allowed me to focus more on historical theology–that is reading ancient texts and seeing how ideas are transmitted down through the centuries. My focus lately is shifting to technology and religion as well because of the tectonic social shifts happening today.
Charles A. Sullivan
P.S. There are a number of Charles Sullivans on the internet. One is very much involved in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and another is a well known American lawyer. I am not related to either of these people.