7 Quick Takes Friday: Vol #13

1 - Long Absence - I took a break from blogging.  I felt my blogging aims were getting cloudy and I needed the time to refocus on writing about what mattered.  I needed time to focus on finding a job.  I needed time to focus on my faith and my family.  I won’t apologize for my absence; it was needed.  Sometimes the only way to come back is to go away for a little while.

2- Looming Employment - After six months on the sideline I’m re-entering the workforce.  I wish I was more excited than I am.  Its a job in customer service, entry level.  I haven’t had a non-ministry job in a long time and never one full-time.  I really do miss the ministry work and I’m not sure I’ll ever get back into it.  But as Dick Bolles says in What Color is Your Parachute, “All jobs are temporary.”  I am grateful to have a job and to be able to help provide for my family.  “I’ve only got one more week of freedom before I start.

3- Baby Timeline - On to more important things: my wife’s pregnancy is going fine.  What a blessing for a healthy pregnancy.  My wife and I should know the gender of our second child within the month.  

4- Design Issues - Perhaps you noticed that I changed up my template and design.  It certainly isn't anything unique, original or visually stimulating; I was just going for simple and uncluttered.  I thought a basic, simplified view would help me as a I attempt to refocus.   I still haven't figured out my font issues...

5 - More Content with Content -  I feel like I’ve been taking too much time updating my weekly 7 Quick Takes piece.  Not that it should require much time, but with a pregnant wife and an active one year old... well... I'm lucky to write at all.  Amateur that I am, It takes me awhile to post the kinds of content I started writing for in the first place.  The 7QT post series, while a great idea, was taking away my focus (a precious thing for a borderline ADDer).  I’ll still post bits from my personal life and silly nonsense from time to time, but it’ll be at a slower pace.  

6 - Blog Refocus - I’m hoping to get back to what this blog was about.  I originally started this as a place to collect my thoughts:  why would a Baptist youth pastor consider Catholicism?  A change like that requires an explanation of things that are too deep for us.  This blog was originally intended for my wife, and for family and friends later.  I’m a better writer than a speaker - if you think my writing is bad imagine how horrible my speaking must be!  It is easier for me to express my thoughts on this matter in writing.  

The reason for this blog re-focus...

7 - I joined RCIA - After four years of reading Catholic books, posting on Catholic message boards, thinking through Catholic theology, freaking out about my attraction to all things Catholic and re-examining my own faith... I finally worked up the nerve to don the door of a Catholic Church.  


I’ve been enrolled in RCIA class for a month at a small parish and I'm really enjoying it.  Thus far my journey has been through books and reading - for which I am grateful - but it is a lonely way to journey.  I’ll post more on how the personal element of RCIA has benefited me greatly.  I’m attending Mass once a week now and I really enjoy that too (not that I go for enjoyment).  

I’m most grateful to my wonderful wife.  She doesn’t see in Catholicism what I see, and I no longer see in Evangelicalism what she sees.  Its not hard to see how this puts a strain on a marriage that was planted and nurtured in Evangelicalism.  But love overcomes fear and differences.  We still agree on many things (an important point in all Protestant-Catholic dialogue) and we promise to love each other till death do us part, no matter what path our lives take.   The alternative (either one of us compromising our convictions) is too painful for either of us to bear... we know where that road ends. Our faith is something neither of us can compromise on, for no one can compromise with God; we can only obey or disobey.  We promise to love, respect and support each other.  I found some helpful comments in an article titled, Interchurch Marriages: How to Help them Succeed:

Rather than threatening your own faith, this effort at understanding might enrich it, revealing how similar yet how distinct each expression of Christianity is. Then, like the Schweitzers, you'll come to realize that "Christ is the mortar, not the wedge, between our lives...  Interchurch couples daily model what Father Byers terms "the Church of tomorrow." "When respecting each other's traditions and sharing that respect with their children, they lay the foundation for the reconciliation of Churches."

Differences in a marriage are never easy, but we can grow through them.  I think, for my part, my actions may have made things more painful.  I thank my wife for being a portrait of grafecullness and forgiveness.  However if our marriage could model "the reconciliation of Churches" then perhaps we'll learn to see our challenges as a humbling opportunity and grace from God.

I'm sure over time I'll have more to post on the family aspect of this faith journey.  

7 Quick Takes Friday: Vol #12

1.  Week on Hiatus:  Last week was a wacky week with a wacky one year old.  It happens. As a result my 7 Quick Takes article didn't happen.  I might miss today's 7 Quick Takes if my dear daughter doesn't quit whining, banging her head on the underside of the table and eating the plastic spice canister of turmeric.  

2.  Fair Fare:  We're headed to the county fair tonight for some big city fun:  petting farm animals, people watching and eating fair food.  The guilty pleasure I'm most excited about isn't just another funnel cake... its red velvet funnel cake.  

Go ahead.  Envy me.  

3.  Finally:  Huzzah!  I got a job interview.  Its entry-level for a Christian book company, but hey... there's not too many industries you can specifically target with a Bachelor of Science in Religion with a concentration Biblical Studies.  Hope it works out...

4.  Fall Back Plan:  I seriously want to open up a mobile food vending business.  Though not my first choice, apparently the mobile hot dog business is doing well.  There's something that taps down into my inner man, combining cooking and transportation.  

5.  Oh, by the way:  My wife and I are expecting our second child!  

6.  Article of the Week:  Great article on the Coming Home Network by Thomas Storck titled The Catholic Church: Reality and Ideal.  It does a good job balancing the excitement of the convert having found the truth and the all-too-often disappointment that individual Catholics and parishes don't live up to that truth perfectly.  

7.  Joke of the Week: Removed... before the picture police got on my case.

Read the original at Conversion Diary.

7 Quick Takes Friday: Vol #10

1.  The Batman:  Finally, finally, finally got to see Dark Knight Rises.  My patience was rewarded.  I can't think of a better ending for this trilogy than the one they wrote.  It tied in nicely with the other two films (especially considering this wasn't originally supposed to be a trilogy).  

As far as my guesses went... well, go watch it yourself and see how close I got.  

2.  Inglorious Illegitimate Children:  A few years ago my wife and I rented Quentin Tarantino's most recent movie about a group of Nazi hunters in WWII, called Inglorious... well you know the rest.  I knew it would be weird, but I thought the movie would be funny and perhaps have some point to it.  It was a little funny in some places ("Y'know why I hate fightin' in a basement?  Cuz we're fightin' in a basement.").  It was one of the most worthless movies I've ever seen.

It came on TV this week and my wife and I decided to watch it again.  Perhaps we had expected too much the first time around.  Perhaps we let disappointment ruin what was good in the movie.  We watched it again.

It still stinks.

3.  Fantasy Football:  I read the best rule ever for a fantasy football league.  In order to keep teams from intentionally losing at the end of the season (to get a better draft pick) the rule is that the team that wins the league gets to change the worst team in the league's team name and logo for the entire upcoming season.  

Imagine, your team is in last place.  You have nothing to play for.  Except if you lose your team name next year will be the Wussy-Butt Care Bears and your logo would be Sailor Moon riding a unicorn while playing a flute.  

I'd play like the dickens to avoid that fate.  

4.  Bathroom signs at the Mexican Restaurant:  So... we went to a local Mexican restaurant recently and (as usual) I had to go to the bathroom.  I was expecting the ubiquitous, standard "men-women" sign.  Maybe the kitsch Mexican style "Hombres-Senoritas."  Nope

This bathroom sign just had a picture... but I was able to figure out which bathroom to use:

I mean, come on! How much more macho can you get? Do you know what this picture says? It doesn't say "This restroom is for men." It says, "This restroom is for REAL MEN. Do not enter unless you're wearing an awesome hat, have a bandanna tied around your neck, donning cowboy boots and, let us not forget, a gun with a concealed carry permit. And by the way, our restroom isn't a room at all, you can just unzip and pee on whatever you want."

This what we need. Not the bland, stock clip art, faceless, meaningless man shape.  We need gender role modols.  And nothing says gender role model like a guy out in the middle of a desert, urinating with the force of a garden house and armed with a revolver.  

5.  More Bathroom signs at the Mexican Restaurant:  Think the men's sign was a sight to behold?  Check out the women's sign... because nothing says feminine like squatting to pee on a cactus.

6.  Article of the Week - Theology of the Living Dead.  This article is a little older, but still awesome.  It basically explores the morality of living in a zombie apocalypse.  I'm not big into the whole zombie "thing" but the article is a fun read.  

7.  Meme of the Week:  Removed... before the picture police got on my case.

Read the original at Conversion Diary.

Rote Prayer Rocks! #1

Taken from Magnificat, morning prayer for August 3rd 2012... 

From the prison of our sinfulness, let us cry to God for mercy:
     O Lord, listen to our prayer.
For those who feel hopelessly trapped by the baits of their sin,
grant them forgiveness and peace.
     O Lord, listen to our prayer.
For those who fear your anger,
show them also your love.
     O Lord, listen to our prayer.
For those who delay examining their decisions and habits,
let them see how quickly life passes.
     O Lord, listen to our prayer.

How easy it is, when pressed for time or stressed or in a non-reflective mood, to simply pray "Forgive me Lord!" and move on.  Not that that short prayer goes unanswered or is flippant or a poor prayer.  But there is often more to picture (or should be) than just that.  Our wounds often go much deeper.

I loved the balance of this short part of the morning prayer.  It does, indeed, beg God for forgiveness for the sins we've committed.  It is, as most all pre-fab prayers are, prayed not only for ourselves but for all of us; this takes the individual out of the center, which is a perspective we often need.

It is a prayer for those who are caught in their sin after giving in to temptations, that they will seek and be granted forgiveness.  We've all been there.  It is a prayer for those who fear God's wrath.  We've all been there (and how quickly I forget).

The most painful, for me, was the last.  I am too careless, too negligent, too lax.  I need to be reminded, not that God will forgive me so much as I need to be reminded to seek his forgiveness, oh wretch that I am.  I do not sit aloof while others wallow in sin... I'm the dense one that needs to be reminded that I'm actually sitting in the muck too.

THAT is why rote prayer rocks.

Rote Prayer Rocks! is a short, ongoing series highlighting some of the awesomeness that comes from pre-fab and rote prayers.  I do not share this to demean extemporaneous prayer, but to highlight the 'other side' to those of us who didn't grow up appreciating the power and view often given to us in a set prayer.  

7 Quick Takes Friday: Vol #9

Read the original at Conversion Diary.

1.  Hiatus:  Just when I was getting on a roll with this whole, blogging regularly thing, I missed last week's 7 Quick Takes.  I thought about excuses like being too busy, not feeling good, working on other projects, being under a lot of stress... but to think about using those excuses I'd also have to think about lying.  Truth is I procrastinated and got lazy.  One of these days I'll no longer be lazy... one of these days.

2.  Olympic Coverage Rant:  I wish they had more diverse coverage of the different sports featured in the Summer Olympics.  Gymnastics is entertaining, volleyball is great, water polo is alright and swimming would be exciting if they didn't have 147 different events.  They're all okay.  But come on, can we see more of the other events?  Equestrian, fencing, skeet shooting, field hockey or dodgeball (I wish)?  Something?  Anything?

3.  Teenage Athletes:  Being a former youth minister and working with teenagers for a solid decade I am so impressed with the amount of teenage athletes competing in the Olympics.  There's been two gold medal swimmers, the United States' Melissa Franklin (17) and Lithuania's Rula Meilutyte (15).  Pretty much all the female gymnasts are teenagers.  I saw a teenage kayaker the other day.  I've worked with a lot of teenagers over the years and I can tell you it takes a special someone to develop that kind of work ethic, have the presence and also to handle the pressure of the Olympic stage at such a young age.  So much for teenagers not having the ability to focus, excel or do anything besides make snarky comments to adults in authority and listen to their iPods.  I'm truly impressed. 

4.  Fantasy Football:  Rule #1 of fantasy football is to not bore other people by talking about your fantasy football team (for some of you, I already broke that rule just by writing that sentence).  I, myself, am pumped for this upcoming season.  Since my family has relocated I've had to cobble together a hodgepodge league of friends, family members, and their friends but we've got an interesting league starting up.  10 team Dynasty, year round trading, a very basic salary cap and even a rookie draft in the late spring like the NFL.  Is it nerdy?  Yeah.  But if you're gonna be a nerd, best go all out.  

5.  Still Haven't Seen Batman:  I know, after expelling all that hot gas about the movie a few weeks ago, I still haven't gone to see it.  My daughter had a birthday, I'm coming down with a case of sinus somethingitis and my wife has been feeling "blah."  Life takes precedence over movies about the caped crusader... but I still plan to see the movie about the caped crusader in my life.  Hopefully this week...

6.  Article of the Week - Catholicism in the South:  Very interesting, if brief, read on the Catholic faith in the Southern United States.  My favorite quote, “In such an environment those who are casual cultural and cafeteria Catholics quickly become either ex-Catholics or evangelical Catholics, and that is paradoxically one of the reasons why our congregation and many other Southern parishes are flourishing: The unique challenge for Catholics seeking to live their Christian faith in the South leaves no room for spiritual mediocrity, doctrinal confusion, uncertain commitments or a lukewarm interior life.”

7.  Meme of the Week:  Removed... before the picture police arrested me.

Read the original at Conversion Diary.

7 Quick Takes Friday, Vol #8

- 1 -

Dad of the year. That's right sweetie, its a PS3 controller.  FUS RO DAH!!!

 - 2 -

First Child turning 1: I thought people were exaggerating when they talked about how much your life would change once you had kids.  I really did.  As a guy who never thought much about babies I never seriously thought through the thousands of diapers, the nights you stay up at 2am and 4am and 5:30am, the constant supervision required, trying to figure out why she's crying, worrying about an oncoming illness, losing most all free-time, and being truly and honestly exacerbated and flabbergasted multiple times per week.  I never counted on my life changing so much in one year.  I thought people were crazy.

I also thought people were crazy when they talked about how much love was added and how much the changes were good.  I was wrong there too.

- 3 -

The nice thing about parties for a baby:  You get to pick the party theme, their cake, who to invite.  Funny how my daughter's party is going to be beach themed (which her parents love), she'll have an ice cream cake (which her parents love) and everyone coming over is a friend of ours or a family member (whom her parents love... most of the time).  This will be a far cry from her birthday party in about 5 years, where she'll pick her own theme (by that time it'll be space-age iPod ninja fairies), she'll want her own flavored cake (a space-age iPod ninja fairy decorated bubble-gum and sour patch kids flavored cake) and she'll want to invite her little friends over (including the snotty-nose kid who is too old to not be potty trained and too young to know the cuss words he uses).  

I'll enjoy this while I can.

- 4 -

Bat-Plans:  As much as I want to watch the Dark Knight and Bane duke it out, some things are more important.  My daughter's first birthday is one of them.  Hopefully I will catch The Dark Knight Rises sometimes in the next week.

- 5 -

Multiple Super-Villains:  I've read that Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow is appearing in TDKR. Kinda cool to see him appear in all three movies.  That got me thinking about how Nolan has handled multiple villains in his Batman films compared to last Batman film series (Batman 1989-Batman and Robin). Especially in regards to Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, the villains had to have equal screen time, they had to "team up" and generally they just never appeared as threatening. 

Nolan has done a great job balancing all of the villains in his movies. In Batman Begins, Ra’as al Ghul is a great, if often shadowy, main antagonist. But throw in Jonathan Crane and Carmine Falcone and you've got a thick world with multiple villains occupying different strata, all threatening, but none of them have that cookie-cutter feeling to them and it makes the main nemesis appear that much more threatening by comparison. The same goes for The Dark Knight: the Joker is a sick, psychopath... and he shines all the brighter against the mob bosses (especially that weasel, opportunist Maroni), Lau, the corrupt cops and (in limited fashion) Jonathan Crane again. Heck, the Joker is incredibly sinister as he had a hand in bringing down Harvey Dent. And Harvey Dent, while perhaps not the menace the Joker was, was way more frightening to me than Two-Face was in Batman Returns. 

Nolan knows how to layer multiple villains and I think he will do a great job again with (what I'm sure is limited screen time for) Jonathan Crane, and any flashbacks/involvement with the League of Shadows/Ra'as al Ghul/Talia al Ghul.

Oh... and Catwoman (whom I imagine will just end up being an anti-hero hero).

- 6 -

Article of the Week:  Great article discussing the themes of Christopher Nolan's Batman movies, and how they relate to the writer's prediction (as he had not seen the movie at the time of writing the article) that Batman would be killed in the last movie.  The article, "Why Do We Fall?  Speculating Batman's Fate in the Dark Knight Rises" is a well-written and insightful look at this series and worth a look.  

I promise, next week I won't fill my 7 Quick Takes with Batman write-ups.  I also promise to try and figure out why my fonts aren't working correctly???

- 7 -

Joke of the Week:  Removed... before the picture police arrested me.

Read the original at Conversion Diary.

7 Quick Takes Friday, Vol #7

- 1 -

We’ve officially got a walker! Our 'almost-one-year-old' has been taking steps for nearly a month, but our daughter could crawl faster than she could walk so she didn't bother to walk much.  Then one day this week she just up and decided walk everywhere instead of crawling.  This walking phase will last two weeks... followed by the running phase.  

 - 2 -

Turning 30 didn't make me feel as old as my daughter turning 1. For some reason, my child reaching milestones makes me feel older than when I hit milestones.  Anyone else feel the same way?  

- 3 -

The sky is falling, the sky is fal-  Oh, wait, that's rain... its been so long I forgot.  Middle Tennessee wasn't alone in the recent heat wave as we broke record after record in two solid week of (practically) triple digit heat.  However, we've also been in the midst of a pretty severe drought.  My grass turned brown, two of my maple trees were shedding leaves, my veggie garden stunted (despite two daily waterings) and even my two pine trees we're going brown (when evergreens stop being ever green, you know you have a problem).  Thankfully we caught a break in the heat and also got some much needed rain. Hope others have caught a break too.

- 4 -

Cow Appreciation Day:  This major, national holiday just about snuck up on me!  For those of you may not know, Chick-fil-a celebrates Cow Appreciation Day once a year.  Dress up as a cow, go to Chick-fil-a, get free food.  Simple as that.  A full costume gets you a free value meal, a partial costume gets you a free entree.  You can check out the Chick-fil-a website for details, costume ideas and even a downloadable Cow Starter Kit... meaning there's still time to get decked out as a moo cow even if you don't have a bovine costume hanging up in your closet.

- 5 -

Intermediate Batman Theory. With all of my excitement over the Avengers, I overlooked the upcoming release of The Dark Knight Rises, the last in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy.  But something happened this week... I got bit by the "bat bug" or something, and I'm genuinely looking forward to TDKR and plan to watch the two earlier films over the weekend.  At an online message forum I was part of a discussion with some real comic book nerds (a term of respect, not an insult) called Advanced Batman Theory, where they all talked about and guessed at some of the plot lines.  Me, not being quite so knowledgeable, I've made a few predictions myself (hence, titling this "intermediate").

• The biggest plot issue for me... Ras al Ghul.  Ghul was Liam Neeson's character in Batman Begins, leader of the League of Shadows, the man who trained Batman.  He apparently lost his life in a train crash.  
• However, in comic books and in cartoons, Ras al Ghul makes use of something called the Lazarus Pit which, basically, adds years back to his life, bringing him back from near certain death many times. 
• Liam Neeson is part of the cast for this film.
• Liam Neeson, on IMDB, Neeson is listed third.  Very often, credits are done in order of character importance and Neeson's (Ghul) is listed just behind Bale (Bruce Wayne) and Hardy (Bane), and before Hathaway (Catowman), Oldman (Commissioner Gordon) and Freeman (Lucius Fox).  
• Now that in itself means nothing as what is on IMDB is not guaranteed to be the order of the final credits.  But "not guaranteed" doest mean "it can't possibly be so."  
• It makes me think there is something important about his character, not just a short flashback.
• Ghul's daughter, Talia, is a character in this movie.

• Then there is Bane himself.  I cannot now find it, but in one of the movie interviews I read he is described as an "idealistic terrorist."  I found this to be a very interesting description for several reasons..
• After the excellent job Ledger did with the Joker in The Dark Knight, the crew for Dark Knight Rises had to come up with another excellent villain, and he couldn't be the same "style" as the Joker.
• The Joker was, for lack of a better word, a complete and total psychopath.  He was a type of terrorist, but he is the complete opposite of an idealist.  He did it purely for pleasure.
• So what better way to contrast the Joker than with someone who is a terrorist for some mistaken moral reasons.  Hence, we get Bane.
• But, when you compare Bane to Ras al Ghul... they are eerily similar.  Ras al Ghul was also an idealistic terrorist.  He tried to rip Gotham apart because of its moral decay.  Odd, that the first villain and the last villain in a trilogy should be so similar.  Which made me wonder what exactly would make Bane "different."
• There is a comic book storyline where Bane and Ras al Ghul do work together, though I don't know many of the details.
• And there is also another character in the movie who gets a lot of attention named John Blake, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  
• Some say he could be Robin (or Nightwing or Azreal or...) a young guy who takes up Batman's mantle if he dies in the film.  I think this is a good idea.
• It would seem like too many heroes to fight only Bane.  Batman, Catwoman, Commissioner Gordon... and non-combatants like Lucius Fox and Alfred.  Add one more hero to the mix and... well it would be a little crowded.
• I think he could somehow be connected to Ras al Ghul and the League of Shadows.  Perhaps the son of Ras al Ghul (his daughter Talia is already cast in the film) or perhaps a younger version of Ras al Ghul (Ghul had access to the Lazarus Pit which made him younger)
• And of course, the plot details we already have seem to favor a deep connection with Bane and the League of Shadows and/or Ras al Ghul.
• It seems that Bane knows Bruce Wayne is Batman... he could have learned it from Ghul (the only villain who knew this).  
• This film is supposed to bring the story "full circle."  What better way to tie it in with the first film?
• One thing Ghul taught Batman was to have some sort of 'theatrics' working for him, to get into the mind of his enemies.  It looks like Bane might have some element of that as well, though in a different way from Batman.  
• It seems that Batman is taken captive by Bane to watch Gotham crumble.  Of course we do expect Batman to somehow escape and eventually to save the day.  It just seems like a rather slow, predictable storyline without some connection to the League of Shadows, "Batman has Gotham pretty well cleaned up - Oh look, a new powerful villain who beats up Batman and takes him hostage - This could be the end of the caped crusader and Gotham city, folks - Look Batman escapes and then has to face this new nemesis once and for all - Batman saves the day."  It just sounds... predictable, even it if is well done (and it will surely be well done).  It sounds more like the plot of one of the old Adam West Batman TV shows!  
• So what do I make of all of this...
• Catwoman turns hero (even if she isn't too heroic... she may be).
• Bane has some connection with the League of Shadows.  I'd be very surprised if they just up and brought Ras al Ghul "back to life."  That seems to supernatural for this trilogy.  Maybe he didn't really die, maybe there is some chemical that can change him back to youngster (perhaps that has some connection to Bane's mask).  I rather doubt it.  Still, I'm banking on there being some connection between Ras al Ghul's League of Shadows and Bane.  I'll guess that Bane was perhaps trained by Ghul to be the 'replacement' Bruce Wayne after Wayne left the League.  Something like that.  As much as I'd love to see Ras al Ghul come back from seeming death, I just don't see it happening... but there is some connection.
• I'm going to call it... I think Bruce Wayne makes the ultimate sacrifice in this movie.  No other recent, blockbuster superhero movie has ever done this to their hero and I'll call it now.  
• ... I fully expect to eat crow on at least one of my guesses... maybe more.  

- 6 -

Article of the Week: Well, I got so hung up working on my Batman theories that I didn't get around to posting an article... 

- 7 -

Joke of the Week: Removed... before the picture police arrested me.

Read the original at Conversion Diary.

What I Mean by 'Biblicism'

Not having a Ph.D. in Theology I cannot give you a full dissertation on the definition, abuse, applicability, fairness or use of the term ‘biblicism.’  There are many Christians who believe in the “Bible alone,” but within that group there are many different understandings of that concept.  To speak on behalf of, or in response to, that great variety is beyond my ability.  However, I have found author Christian Smith’s description of biblicism to be a helpful jumping off point and it is the working definition I use.   The comments can be found in his book, “The Bible Made Impossible” which for me was a wonderful read.

Many functional biblicists in America have not heard of the term “biblicism” or do not know that it describes them. That does not matter. What does matter are the real belief system and the practices it animates. Whether called by that name or not, biblicism is prevalent and powerful in American Protestantism, particularly among conservative Protestants... The word “biblicism” turns out to mean different things to different people. It is therefore important to be clear about the meaning I intend here.[1]

Ditto.

By “biblicism” I mean a particular theory about and style of using the Bible that is defined by a constellation of related assumptions and beliefs about the Bible’s nature, purpose, and function. That constellation is represented by ten assumptions or beliefs: 

1. Divine Writing: The Bible, down to the details of its words, consists of and is with God’s very own words written inerrantly in human language. 
2. Total Representation: The Bible represents the totality of God’s communication to and will for humanity, both in containing all that God has to say to humans and in being the exclusive mode of God’s true communication.
3.  Complete Coverage: The divine will about all of the issues relevant to Christian belief and life are contained in the Bible. 
4. Democratic Perspicuity: Any reasonably intelligent person can read the Bible in his or her own language and correctly understand the plain meaning of the text.
5. Commonsense Hermeneutics: The best way to understand biblical texts is by reading them in their explicit, plain, most obvious, literal sense, as the author intended them at face value, which may or may not involve taking into account their literary, cultural, and historical contexts. 
6. Solo Scriptura: The significance of any given biblical text can be understood without reliance on creeds, confessions, historical church traditions, or other forms of larger theological hermeneutical frameworks, such that theological formulations can be built up directly out of the Bible from scratch. 
7. Internal Harmony: All related passages of the Bible on any given subject fit together almost like puzzle pieces into single, unified, internally consistent bodies of instruction about right and wrong beliefs and behaviors. 
8. Universal Applicability: What the biblical authors taught God’s people at any point in history remains universally valid for all Christians at every other time, unless explicitly revoked by subsequent scriptural teaching. 
9. Inductive Method: All matters of Christian belief and practice can be learned by sitting down with the Bible and piecing together through careful study the clear “biblical” truths that it teaches. 
10. Handbook Model: ...although often not stated in explications of biblicist principles and beliefs by its advocates—also commonly characterizes the general biblicist outlook, particularly as it is received and practiced in popular circles: ...The Bible teaches doctrine and morals with every affirmation that it makes, so that together those affirmations comprise something like a handbook or textbook for Christian belief and living, a compendium of divine and therefore inerrant teachings on a full array of subjects—including science, economics, health, politics, and romance.[2]

Smith refers to this as a constellation of ten beliefs, however he does not believe that everyone everywhere who believes in biblicism believes in it the same way.  

Biblicism is not a comprehensively formalized position always explicated in exactly these ten points and subscribed to identically by all adherents. Different people and groups emphasize and express a variety of these points somewhat differently. Some may even downplay or deny particular points here and there—there are, for example, highly biblicist denominations and seminaries that are unapologetically confessional. The point is not that biblicism is a unified doctrine that all of its adherents overtly and uniformly profess. The point, rather, is that this constellation of interrelated assumptions and beliefs informs and animates the outlooks and practices of major sectors of institutional and popular conservative American Protestantism, especially evangelicalism. [3]

So there you have it.  I couldn't say it any better myself... which is why I didn't.  If this topic interests you then again I would like to plug Christian Smith's book, the Bible Made Impossible.  I found it an approachable and good read on the topic.  

[1] Smith, Christian (2011-08-01). Bible Made Impossible, The (Kindle Location 198-204). Brazos Press. Kindle Edition. 

[2] Ibid. (Kindle Locations 205-229)

[3] Ibid. (Kindle Locations 231-236)