Opinion Streams

I am a Christian, a husband, a father, a U.S. citizen, a full-time worker, a part-time student and a part-time blogger. And (whew!) I’m doing the best I can to balance all those roles into a productive life. Presently, I am a practicing attorney with a rather jaded view of the legal profession because my skills were honed in the mean hallways of law firms and in the adversarial corridors of courthouses.

As a result of several life-altering events over the past five or so years, I have undergone (and am still undergoing) “paradigm shifts.” One such shift is my reevaluation of the relative importance of acquiring wealth and material possessions vis-à-vis building a family legacy based on time and commitment and otherwise living a holistically fulfilled life. Another shift is a reexamination of religious institutionalism vis-à-vis Biblical truth. This latter shift has caused me to reevaluate my political views and the conclusions I draw from my Christian beliefs.

Both shifts (and others not mentioned) have brought me to the blogosphere. I am fulfilled by writing and, ironically, although I write for a living, my work-related legal writing has been unfulfilling because I am not passionate about its subject matter. On Opinion Streams, I will write on subjects about which I am passionate. I will write with a degree of opinion (hence the title) and a degree of authority, which authority is derived from my educational and professional background.

I received both my undergraduate and law degrees from so-called “elite” universities. My undergraduate studies focused on international relations (particularly the evolution of U.S. foreign policy from about the eighteenth century forward), political science/history, socio-economic theories regarding the interplay between developed countries and less developed countries, and the sociological study of U.S. race, gender and class relations. My legal studies focused on constitutional and civil rights law. I am also currently pursuing graduate work in national security studies, together with the development and evolution of the global economic system. My legal career has focused on commercial litigation.

I am by no means a Christian scholar, but I am a passionate Christian and a knowledge seeker. These traits drive me to seek out Biblical truth and a personal understanding of what Christ expects from me and how to effectuate Christ’s commands and exhortations. I facilitate a marriage ministry at my church and thus am particularly concerned about God’s Word concerning marriage and the family, but I am also generally concerned about the way Christians interact with non-Christians and how non-Christians perceive us, as both impact our broader ministry.

So that’s a little about me. You can also click the link above to find out what this site is all about.

Rob J