Author Archives: StriderMTB

About StriderMTB

Hi, I'm Matt. "Strider" from Lord of the Rings is my favorite literary character of all time and for various reasons I write under the pseudonym "StriderMTB. As my blog suggests I seek to live out both the excitement and tension of a Christian walk with Christ in the 3rd world context of Asia. I started my blog as an unmarried man who was blessed to oversee an orphanage of amazing children in South-East Asia. As of 2022, I am a happily married man to an amazing missionary wife serving together on the mission field. I hate lima beans and love to pour milk over my ice-cream. I try to stay active in both reading and writing and this blog is a smattering of my many thoughts. I see the Kingdom of God as Jesus preached it and lived to be the only hope for a broken world and an apathetic church.

Human Sexuality and Gender–What Say You Nature?

Posted on December 22, 2012 by StriderMTB

We live in a day where there is monumental concern over the genetic altering of crops and the general manipulation of a fragile environment to benefit our needs. “Don’t mess with nature” is the often repeated warning. And when an … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and Culture, Thought of the day | Tagged Gay and Nature, Gender and Nature, gender confusion and nature, manipulating gender, natural argument against homosexuality gay, secular argument against homosexuality, why being gay is unnatural | 3 Comments

“I Was Born Gay”- Why the Current Gay Debate Is Irrelevant

Posted on December 18, 2012 by StriderMTB

Often in debating those who advocate homosexual behavior in the Church one will find themselves being asked, “Did you choose to be a heterosexual?” The real question being asked of course is, “Do you remember consciously making the choice that … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and Culture | Tagged Are gays born gay, argument against Christian gay marriage, can I be a christian and be gay, does God accept homosexuals, Gay and Christian, Gay Debate, Gay rights, Homosexual attraction vs. behavior, Is homosexuality a sin, same-sex attraction and the Church, the Bible and homosexuality, Why is being gay sinful | Leave a comment

Where is God when Evil Visits?

Posted on December 17, 2012 by StriderMTB

It was a few days ago that great evil visited Newtown Elementary School in the form of a crazed maniac unleashing his personal hell on innocent children. And a great many people and pundits continue to wonder, “How can we … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics and Athiesm, Church and Culture, Thought of the day | Tagged evil and rationality, How to make sense of evil, the problem of evil and God, where was God at Newtown Elementary | Leave a comment

God, Christmas and the Newtown School Shooting.

Posted on December 17, 2012 by StriderMTB

God didn’t think the world needed Christmas because it needed another festive holiday. He knew it needed rescue…it needed a Savior. He didn’t see peace on earth and goodwill towards men. He saw bloody Crusades, Salem Witch Trials, Wounded Knee, … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics and Athiesm, Church and Culture, Thought of the day | Tagged Evil and God, God and Newtown School Shooting, The true meaning of Christmas, Where was God at Newtown school, Why does God allow evil? | Leave a comment

Prejudice and Preference: How God is Dismissed

Posted on December 16, 2012 by StriderMTB

Because of modern science we now know the universe does not have an infinite number of past events and it indeed had a beginning. Big Bang cosmology has successfully validated that the universe is not eternal and that roughly 14 … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics and Athiesm | Tagged Arguing God from Big Bang Cosmology, Big Bang Cosmology and God, Cosmological argument made easy, evidence and argument for God's existance, God and the origin of the universe, God the uncaused cause, irrational atheism, Prejudice against God, scientific definition of God | Leave a comment

Splitting Us Open

Posted on December 7, 2012 by StriderMTB

Hebrews speaks of God’s Word as being “sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.” Definitely not a relaxing passage … Continue reading →

Posted in Devotion Life | Leave a comment

Marriage: to be or to flee

Posted on November 18, 2012 by StriderMTB

Today I read a blog post on love and marriage that explained the dynamics of marriage with one of the most profound analogies I have ever come across. I couldn’t help but think how desperately young CHRISTIANS need to read … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and Culture | Tagged christians and divorce, hollywood love vs. true love, how to build a marriage, how to stay married, secret of happy marriage | Leave a comment

Like a Little Boy’s Toy Boat–a poem on love lost

Posted on November 17, 2012 by StriderMTB

I’m a terrible poem writer. I’ve only written two in my life. One was on the tragedy of homelessness and the other is below. I was reminded of something recently that made me remember this poem I wrote almost 10 … Continue reading →

Posted in Devotion Life | Tagged dark night of the soul poem, how to get through end of engagement, poem on breakup, to love is to let go, wisdom on breaking up | Leave a comment

Why Obama won in 2012

Posted on November 15, 2012 by StriderMTB

Republicans are kidding themselves if they think the political culture of our grid-locked bureaucracy in Washington would have fundamentally changed into a bureaucracy deserving the nation’s admiration had Romney won the election. As an old Israeli friend of mine once … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and Culture | Tagged consumers not producers, difference between republicans and democrats, entitlements can destroy a nation, role of government, where is U.S. headed, why Obama won election, Why Obama won in 2012 | Leave a comment

Evangelism–not a long-distance relationship

Posted on September 8, 2012 by StriderMTB

I was thinking today about evangelism which is fundamentally “to bring good news to people.” Evangelism for the Christian is not a long-distance relationship or form of communication. Christian evangelism is in its greatest form when the distance between broken people … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and Culture, Thought of the day | Tagged definition of evangelism, Evangelism, how to evangelize, What is christian evangelism | 3 Comments