WHAT IS ZA?

If you clicked on the About page with the purpose of determining what ZA is, then you’ve played right into my hands, and I support you for it! You see, this site is all about seeking the truth, and you’re seeking the truth of the name of this site! Get it?

Anyways.

Z and A are the initials of a Greek phrase “zatei aletheia” (zay-tay a-lay-thee-a) - seek truth. Zatei Aletheia is a mouthful and tough to remember, so it got shortened. The only thing that I ask is that you don’t try to say ZA as a word…”zaaaaaa.” Come on now.

WHAT’S REQUIRED OF YOU?

  • Don’t read this site uncritically. At the end of each article, ask yourself if you agreed with it. If yes, then will it change anything about your walk? Then make sure you do it! If not, then what problem did you have with it? Why? Get into your Bible and give us verses that tell us that we’re wrong! We’ll fess up to a mistake and we’ll alter our pages if we say something really bad and you call us on it. But please, don’t read a life-changing article, say “Eh.”, and go back to Facebook or go take a nap!
  • Participate. Post a comment on the blog. Submit an article. Suggest a topic. This site is for you, so if you can make it better in any way, do it! Everyone else (especially the staff!) will thank you for it!

WHAT ARE WE ABOUT?

The goal of Zatei Aletheia Magazine is to share truths in a humble, passionate, loving, and relevant way so that when you read this site your relationship with God is affected.

  • Humble - No holier-than-thou, self-righteous attitudes. We’re not the wisest people in the world, and we don’t have it all figured out.
  • Passionate - But what we do know we want to share because it means so much to us. Jesus changed our lives and is the purpose of our existence; we hope that our writings reflect that.
  • Loving - If we don’t show love, we’re nothing but crashing cymbals or banging gongs - noisy, annoying, and unwelcome. Love isn’t always flowery…sometimes, it is quite tough! But, we want you to know that we’re doing what we’re doing because we want to see you the reader either become a Christian or mature as one.
  • Relevant - Just because Jesus lived 2,000 years ago doesn’t mean that He’s outdated. Just because some words and doctrines have been in place for centuries doesn’t mean that we need to change them now to be hip or modern. The Bible is timeless, and we want to show you how it can be real in your life.
  • Your relationship with God is affected - We don’t want you to walk the line. Be on God’s side, or be on Satan’s side! We want you on our side, but, like Jesus, we would rather have you be on one side or the other than to just coast through life with a half-hearted view of God (Revelation 3:16). If you’re on God’s side, then we hope that these articles challenge you, that they might renew your mind (Romans 12:2) and let you see God in new ways.

WHAT DO WE BELIEVE?

  • We believe that absolute truth exists, it comes from Jesus Christ, and it’s attainable.
  • We believe that the biggest absolute truth is the simple fact that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. Jesus came and died for our sins, because we’ve all sinned and fallen short of God’s perfect standard, making us worthy of Hell. But if we come to God in humility and with an attitude of repentance, if we believe that He died for us so that we could have these sins washed away, we can confess our sins to Him and ask for Him to come into our lives and heal us. When God heals us, He makes us into a new creation and enters into a relationship with us, and we are given the gift of eternal life!
  • We believe that there are many other absolute truths. We as humans may not always be able to comprehend such truths until we get to heaven, but in the meantime we believe that we should always be seeking to know more about God and His ways and His plan for the universe as well as our lives.
  • We believe that absolute truth can be achieved in two ways: Prayer, and Scripture. We affirm the Bible as the living words of God, and we use it as an infallible authority. We also believe that if one prays for wisdom and knowledge, they will get it from God (Proverbs 2:1-8).
  • If you want more specific doctrinal statements, well, sorry. Everyone who posts articles to this site has the Apostle’s Creed in common, but to us, that’s enough. Each author will have slightly different positions on matters of doctrine, but we’ve all got the basics in common. If you want to know more about what each contributor believes, ask us!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

BRENDAN BERKLEY

Brendan would like to think he’s an ordinary dude. He’s a college student who loves sleep but never does it, who eats lots of pierogies and pizza, who has a minor obsession with Smash Bros. and Guitar Hero, who loves his Steelers and Penguins as much as the next Pittsburgher. However, the 6′7″ frame and blonde hair set him apart from ordinary in the minds of most people. This is furthered by the fact that he’s an ex-hockey player who spent as much time in the chorus room as he did on the ice. He’s into art, but he has a passing interest in science too! He’s a computer nerd yet somehow has a vibrant social life. He can dress up really nicely for stuff but often prefers Carhartts and a (really) dirty ball cap. He’s pretty cool - in his own mind. He’s at Robert Morris University right now, majoring in graphic design.

When it comes to the spiritual side, he’s the kind of guy who just doesn’t quit. He might not be the strongest, the fastest, the whatever-est, but he doesn’t give up. Brendan grew up in the church and had some cool spiritual experiences, but it took a trip to college for the Lord to radically work in his life and light a fire under him. Brendan has a history of overanalyzing spiritual things, so he tries his best to stick to functional thinking - not caring so much how it works, just knowing and trusting that it does indeed work. He’s not gonna let his faith in God get lost in the hair-splitting, but he likes to see the hair get split to see the incredible depth there is in pursuing God.

Music
Christian: David Crowder*Band, TobyMac, Pillar, Skillet, Aaron Shust, Matt Redman, MxPx, Hillsong United, Five Iron Frenzy, and many many others.
Non-Christian: Less Than Jake, Midtown, Muse, Pearl Jam, Rammstein, Linkin Park, The Temptations, 80s arena rock

Movies: Ocean’s Eleven, Casino Royale, National Treasure, Scorpion King, Kingdom of Heaven, A Knight’s Tale, Rear Window, Vertigo, The Matrix. Mostly mindless action, but Hitchcock is my go-to guy for a serious movie.
Television Shows: Sporting events (Penguins, Steelers, college basketball), House, The A-Team, American Gladiators, Star Trek (TNG or Voyager)

Preachers: Francis Chan, Paul Washer, Louie Giglio. He digs a classic message by C.H. Spurgeon or John Wesley every once in awhile too.

MIKE ‘BUZZ’ SCHELLHAMMER

Buzz enjoys speaking in the third person. He is not defined by just one trait. He’s not just a funny guy, or a serious guy. Buzz is a complex cornucopia of brains, brawn, and emotions. He does not stray from deep thoughts and conversations, but enjoys the insight one can gain from such actions. His life is not much different than the one led by the fictional character from whom he gets his nickname. That’s actually a joke. He has a fascination with the unseen world, including angels, demons, ghosts, and the paranormal. He is an amateur photographer and ghosthunter. A native of Johnstown, PA, he has grown up a fan of Pittsburgh sports. He loves sports, and was often seen playing football in earlier years. A student at Robert Morris University, majoring in Hospitality and Tourism Management, he hopes to one day put all of his knowledge of random trivia, movie quotes, historical data, and management skills to good use.

Buzz grew up in the church, attending Catholic school up until college. It was through a great on-campus organization of Christians that Buzz was able to experience God on a whole new level. He is still learning about God and all the ways He works, but a gap in spiritual knowledge motivates him to seek more knowledge, from God and from others around him. He has made faith and trust in the Lord paramount in his life, always striving to have confidence in the Lord’s plan. He tries to find the commonality between all people, so that through our similarities, we can reconcile our differences.

Music
Christian: Kutless, Hillsong United, Skillet, Mercy Me, Rick Butor, Stumbling to Paradise, and Mike Duncan Project.
Non-Christian: A Perfect Circle, Metallica, Kamelot, Chevelle, Seether, Tool, Rammstein, Staind, Evanescence, Nightwish, Breaking Benjamin, The Clarks, Brand New, AFI, too many others…

Movies: Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Star Trek, The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Ace Ventura, Casino Royale, and basically any suspense, thriller, sci-fi, mystery, or war film.
Television Shows: X-Files, Heroes, The Office, Scrubs, House, Bones, and Gilmore Girls.

Likes: Wolves, Pittsburgh, traveling abroad, computer games, and valued friends.