EDITOR’SÂ NOTE:Â On Dec. 23, 2005, Rod Heggy and I began blogging under the name Terra Extraneus (“Strange World!”). During 2006, we wrote about 300 blog posts on a variety of topics, including faith, politics, law, books and movies. At the beginning of 2007, we divided our blog content between two blogs. We redefined Terra Extraneus as a law blog and established this new blog, Joshua One, to promote our faith and ministry. Joshua One went online on Feb. 6, 2007. We transferred about 150 posts from the original Terra Extraneus blog to this new faith blog, and left about 120 posts related to law and business on TerraX. I have duplicated this post and Rod Heggy’s reply (next post) on both blogs, to memorialize how this blog began.
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Rod Heggy and I have been friends since our teenage days and partners on numerous projects during our adult lives. Today, 35 years after our friendship began, we begin our latest collaboration: the Terra Extraneus** blog.
Terra Extraneus is Latin for “strange world,” as in the phrase, usually said while shaking one’s head, “It’s a strange world!” Actually, our view isn’t quite as dismal as that phrase suggests (well, maybe Rod’s is, but mine isn’t). Depending on how you look at it, this strange world we live in can be a source of dismay or of comedic relief. I imagine Rod and I will be looking at things from both of those perspectives on Terra Extraneus.
Rod and I first met in 1971 as members of the youth groups of sister churches. Soon we crossed paths in a second way as high school speech and debate competitors. Rod went on to become an attorney and today he heads a successful practice. I entered the ministry and have spent much of my adult life as a pastor. I have also worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, and paralegal.
Rod and I are evangelical Christians, meaning that we believe Jesus is the living Son of God and our Lord and Savior. But don’t be too quick to pigeonhole our personalities or our politics based on that confession. We may surprise you.
We launch Terra Extraneus to discuss “news, morality, law and faith.” Our discussion, of course, reflects our perspectives as two men, one an attorney and the other a pastor, who are long-time friends and fellow Christians. Actually, we have already been having this discussion between ourselves for years. Today we invite you to listen in — and to add your own comments, if you wish.
