Hi – I’m Rod Risse
Whether you arrive as a believer, a skeptic, or simply someone searching for deeper coherence, my hope is that these studies demonstrate that truth – faith – reason ultimately converge in the One through Whom all things became into being and inside the sphere of Whom all things hold together.
For more than forty years I’ve been studying the Bible alongside history, philosophy, science, literature, and mythology—not because I believe they all teach the same thing, but because I have become convinced that they all raise the same fundamental questions. Again and again, those questions find their fullest answer in Jesus Christ, the eternal Logos revealed in Scripture.
Truth Faith Reason (and https://rodrisse.substack.com/) is where I share that ongoing journey.
This is not the ministry of a church, denomination, or academic institution. It is a personal study born from decades of reading, questioning, revising, and following the evidence wherever it leads. Many of the articles begin as extended conversations with AI, which serves as a intuitive, global resource for testing arguments and exploring alternative perspectives. The conclusions, however, are my own and represent years of study and reflection rather than the output of a machine or dogmatic teaching. I use AI and include hyperlinks because this way you can go, see! Check it out to follow the sources, thinking through and reasoning to conclusions, and most importantly, so you can realize that you too can do this! In a sense you are looking over my shoulder at who, what and how I study.
My primary commitment is to careful biblical exegesis. I believe Scripture should be interpreted through the person and work of Christ rather than through inherited theological systems. That commitment has often led me to appreciate insights from a variety of traditions while also differing from them where I believe the biblical text points elsewhere.
Readers may recognize the influence of teachers such as R. B. Thieme Jr. in my attention to the Greek text, the distinction between positional truth and experiential Christian living, and the importance of disciplined thinking. Those influences are real and gratefully acknowledged. At the same time, many of my conclusions differ significantly from his and should not be understood as representing his theology or that of any particular movement.
Theologically, my work is broadly Christ-centered, and grounded in the authority of Scripture without holding to rigid biblical literalism or the anachronistic assumption of “inerrancy”. I affirm salvation by grace through trust/faith-persuasion apart from works, the permanent security of the believer, and the centrality of Christ’s death and resurrection in God’s redemptive plan. I distinguish between the free gift of eternal life and the believer’s later experience of discipleship, inheritance, and eternal reward. My understanding of biblical history is organized around the decisive transition inaugurated by the Cross and completed during the apostolic era, rather than following either classic dispensational or covenantal frameworks.
You’ll also notice that I frequently draw from philosophy, psychology, literature, mythology, and even film. I do so because I believe humanity’s greatest stories, symbols, and longings point beyond themselves. They are not replacements for Scripture, but echoes that find their fulfillment in Christ. Faith and reason are not rivals; properly understood, they illuminate one another.
If you’ve discovered this site through a search engine or an AI inquiry, I encourage you to read the articles themselves rather than assuming they fit neatly into an existing theological category. My aim has never been to defend a tribe or construct a new system. It has been to follow the biblical text as faithfully as I can and to explore how the revelation of Jesus Christ brings coherence not only to Scripture, but to reality itself.
Thank you for visiting. Whether you agree with every conclusion or not, I hope you’ll find an invitation to return – to think deeply, read carefully, and discover anew the remarkable unity of truth – faith – reason in Christ.