seeking knowledge

have you ever stopped and thought about the knowledge you have of your faith? if you were faced with someone who believed something completely different than you did would you be able to stand your ground?

lately i've found that i don't know much about the background of christianity. it's sad to admit that i haven't considered it important enough before now to actually that the time to research it. being here in japan, i pretty much am the expert on christianity because most people have never heard anything about it before. so whatever i tell people has to be truthful or else i'm telling them something not valid. however, it never occured to me before that i should test everything that i have heard from others. i always trusted what others said because i knew them to be an honest person but as the bible says:

but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. ~1 Thessalonians 5:21

And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. ~Acts 17:11

if the people tested what paul, author of 13 books of the new testament, said then how much more so should i test what people tell me? i don't about you but i don't want to be telling people information that *might* not be true. i want to know my stuff; not just for others but for myself as well. it gives me a deeper appreciation of my faith when i know more of the background and the sacrifices others went through to make sure that it was carried through to the next generation.