Welcome to the blog of Matthew E. Taft!
I live in North Carolina with my wife of eight years, two children, and two cats. I have many interests and have been involved in many different things throughout my life. I really enjoy metal, and was in a local metal band for years called Edge of Mortality. I also enjoy other kinds of music, and have been involved in various more acoustic-type projects. I used to skateboard for a now-nonexistent company called Witness Skateboards. I volunteered for a now-nonexistent Youth Crisis Hotline. At nineteen, I moved to Germany, where I worked at an English / German speaking church as a Youth Leader / Music Leader / Janitor / Assistant Pastor / etc. Since I returned to the United States I have worked as Operations Manager for a medical software company and as Web Developer for a German online marketing company.
I began reading for my own pleasure in eighth grade, when my brother forced me to read the Sword of Shannarah by Terry Brooks–it was all he got me for Christmas and we were stuck at the grandparent’s house with not much else to do. Since then I have been hooked on reading and writing fantasy. For a few years I drifted away, being more involved in music, but with the birth of my first son, the desire came back. I began to write my first story in my eighth grade English class, and finished the first draft back in 2007. I have started on a different writing pursuit in my free time (which isn’t much), and have also returned to school for a Bachelor’s in Computer Information Science.
I enjoy nature, hikes, camping, fishing, and being outdoors. Our home in North Carolina backs up to a forest with a trail that leads down to a lake. It’s more than I could ask for my children as they grow up; we’re really grateful.
The most important thing in my life is my faith in Jesus Christ, and the most important aspect of that faith has been to have it based on reason, not on emotionalism or “blind faith.” My life for the last 14 years has been encompassed many things, but one of the main things that stands out to me is my journey towards trying to understand and define my beliefs clearly. In this process, I believe and hope it has helped me become less argumentative and more approachable by those whose views are different from my own. I really enjoy conversations with Christians and non-Christians about differences in beliefs, and have made it a goal to promote positive communication and (hopefully) inspire others to try to think clearly about issues and have enough confidence and clarity to discuss these beliefs without offensive or defensive reactions.
With this blog I intend to post lots of different things. Sometimes I’ll post about life in general. Other times I will post about something I heard on the radio that fascinated me. Most probably, the majority of my posts will focus on Christianity, theology, philosophy and apologetics, as that is where my mind goes mostly.
I hope you enjoy!
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