Have you ever wondered why you believe what you believe?  Have you ever been asked by a person of another denomination or faith a question about your faith and felt that you had inadequate knowledge to answer the question accurately or completely?  Have you ever wondered how to answer one of your children when they ask a question about faith and the practices of your church?  Have you witnessed a child grow up in the church and then leave it when he or she gets to college because they don't know what they believe or why and get battered by the secular forces they run into in the world of academia?   If you have encounted any of these situatons, then you are at the right place at the right time.  We are going to spend the next twelve weeks or so studying systematic theology.  I know, at first this seems academic, cold and technical.  While it can be, the good news is that this class will be none of those things.  Real theology impacts our lives to the core of our being.  It asks, what do we truly believe and then answers not only what but why we believe something.  During this class we are going to look at the major doctrines of the Christian faith but ask not only why do we believe this but also how does it apply to my life today?  Good theology is fresh and relevant, even though it may have been formulated centuries ago.   Through this class, it is my hope that you learn to not only gain knowledge of what and why you believe something but also how people come to these ideas in the first place.  We will use the two streams of truth to bring these doctrines to life:  Scripture and historical precedent.  Both are required for solid and accurate knowledge of God and His truth.   We are going to attempt to answer the following questions over the next several months - one question per week (Lord willing):  Who is God?  What is God like?  Who does God do?  Who is man  and what is he like?  What is sin?  Who is the person of Jesus Christ?  What are the works of Jesus Christ?  Who is the Holy Spirit?  What is salvaton and how does one obtain it?  What is the church and what does it do?  What are teh last things and the final states of man?  My prayer is that  this study brings solid theology to life for you and that you will be a weekly participant in it.