Berean Believers is a group of volunteers. We are members of the Seventh-day Adventist church. We are passionate about the best book ever written, the Bible. Its protagonist, our Lord Jesus Christ, can turn sinners into saints and offers forgiveness and the gift of eternal life.
The main contributor to the website is Kim, a pastor's son, pastor, and professor of theology. Originally from Greece, he earned a BA in Religion and History, and an MA in Religion from Newbold College, England. After serving as a pastor and youth leader for six years, he went on to do a PhD in Theology at one of Europe's foremost schools of Theology, the University of Durham, in Durham, England.
Kim is passionate about Biblical theology, especially relating to the New Testament. As most students of the Bible know, the New Testament was written in Greek. Since Greek is Kim's mother language he has felt comfortable studying the New Testament often bringing to the fore linguistic insights that may not be immediately apparent to others.
He has authored more than 20 academic and professional articles, two academic books, and has been an editor of a third:
The Geography of Hell in the Teaching of Jesus
Israel, Covenant, Law: a Third Perspective on Paul
Kim enjoys interacting with believers of any or even no faith and believes that intelligent dialogue can enlighten the understanding.
What does the name Berean Believers mean? And why was this name chosen?
In Acts 17:10-15 we read how during his 2nd missionary journey Paul visited Berea, a small city located in northern Greece. The city is still there today and is well worth a visit. There is a synagogue that dates from the 19th century, but built on the same spot where the ancient synagogue once stood, and where Paul preached during his visit there almost 2,000 years ago!
The Berean people were very keen students of the Bible. Here is what Luke the Evangelist wrote about them: "Now these... [the Berean believers] were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so" (Acts 17:11).
Notice the words I have put in bold. The Berean believers were "more noble." What made them more noble? The fact that they examined the Scriptures daily to check if what Paul was saying was true. This is the attitude that every serious student of the Bible should posses. If they felt compelled to double-check the sermons of Paul, we should likewise feel the need to double-check what everybody says - rather accept things just because so and so said so.
We have chosen this name therefore, because this is what we want to be, and this is what we encourage all students of the Bible to be.
But there is another reason why this name was chosen. Part of our team is literally from the city of Berea.
As was mentioned earlier, Berea today is a small city in northern Greece with a population of about 50,000 people. The modern pronunciation of the name is Veria.
It is a beautiful small city at the foot of Mount Vermion, with plenty of fresh water springs, and rich farmland all around that produces some of the world's best peaches and nectarines.
It has many ancient churches and a synagogue that though relatively modern (19th century) is built on the same spot where the ancient synagogue stood.
There is also a small Seventh-day Adventist community were both Kim's father and Kim served as pastors. So we are literal Berean believers, believers in the Lord Jesus who come from the city of Berea!
(NOTE: If you ever plan to visit Greece and you are interested in religious tourism, do not bypass Berea. If fact, use the form below to contact us, and we will give you advice on what to visit.)
The contributors to this website are Seventh-day Adventists so, naturally, the content will reflect this. If you are a Seventh-day Adventist, we hope you will find the material useful and an enhancement to your faith.
If you are not a Seventh-day Adventist you are welcome to visit our pages and read them with an open mind. There will be many things you will agree with, since the foundamentals of the Christian faith are common to most Christian denominations.
If there are any areas where you disagree, we will be happy to hear your comments about it. What we write is not intended to offend anyone but to share teachings that we have found important in our Christian walk.
May the Lord bless you in your life and in your study and draw you closer to Himself.