This post is dedicated to my mother, who is, quite possibly, the best mom on the planet (though my mother-in-law also deserves a shout-out for raising such a great girl).

I think it probably goes without saying that parents have a huge influence upon their children, either positively or negatively. In my case, both my parents had a very positive impact on my life. In fact, the reason that I am pursuing a graduate degree in Biblical studies, and will hopefully be pursuing a PhD one day is my mother’s influence.

If you were to meet my mom, you would find a Christian woman who’s passion for the past twenty-four years of her life has been raising three sometimes-cantankerous boys. My mom constantly encouraged me to read my Bible, to pray, and to perform other Christian disciplines. She told me that when I grew up I could do whatever I wanted, from being a garbage man (an aspiration of mine when I was younger) to an astronaut. This is, perhaps, not that different from what other parents tell their children. When I had a question about something I read in the Bible, or life in general, my mom always did her best to answer my question, or to point me towards an answer.

This ability and encouragement to question is one of the prime motivators behind my entry into the professional world of biblical studies. Because my mother, alongside other important figures in my life, taught me to question, I now have a great desire to ask questions. Of course, at times my mother might prefer that I ask fewer uncomfortable questions, or at least question the Bible less–but that’s part of being a parent, I suppose. You do your best, and eventually unleash your progeny upon the world.

So, my mother taught me to question things, and that influence has led me into the world of biblical studies. Now, I question all kinds of things, and–in the words of a professor–I get my answers from the Bible. Of course, I also often question the Bible, probing its depths. To me biblical studies is largely about the back and forth dialectic of question and answer.

So, here’s to you mom–even if my questions sometimes make you nervous.