“The problem with quotes on the Internet is that it is hard to verify their authenticity.” — Abraham Lincoln

I strive for a few things when I write on this blog. One is to convey what the truth is to the best of my knowledge. Second is to convey this truth in an understandable way, preferably using less than 1,000 words. Third is to present original research, not necessarily because I was the first to come to a certain conclusion, but to actually come to that conclusion by my own reading instead of parroting talking points from my own side.

Now, I cannot do all of these things perfectly, though by God’s grace He will help me improve. Nonetheless, because I strive for the truth here, I try to be as accurate as possible with citations.

A problem on the internet is that quotations are parroted off of other websites without any independent verification. Most people do not care, because they simply want to prove their side irrespective if their side is really right or wrong. I believe this is a massive disservice to those who actually care what the Bible and Early Church really recorded.

When I make citations, I try to make them easy to reference. Hence, I use chapters and verses so the reader may easily go look the book up himself. I try to avoid citations that are from secondary sources when the primary source is readily available. However, because a lot of church works are still in Greek or Latin, and they are not always translated. For example, I hope to get Augustine’s Commentary on Galatians soon. Believe it or not, that commentary is not available online, it was only recently translated into English even though Luther ascribes to it a large role in shaping his thinking. So, not everything I cite will be easy to find, though I strive that it will be.

Further, being that this is not an academic journal, until I have a good reason to modify my practice, my citations will remain short and functional. They will be easy enough to read, Google up the source, and independently verify that my quotation is accurate. Readers here probably notice that I usually do something along the lines of this (Author, Title of Book, Book III, Chapter 4). If you cannot find the citation using a little Google Fu, there is a good chance that what I am quoting from is not readily available.

That is all!