Alright. I'm doing it. Writing a book.

I realized recently that I haven't been reading much. I feel like I'm not on top of my game. Therefore I decided that I'm finally going to write a book. Not kidding this time. I'll probably never even send it to a publishing company. That's not why I'm doing it. It's more for me and whoever also might be interested. So like 3 other people. Maybe. The point is, I need something to push me to read more. The idea is a documentation of my research on the bible and questions that have separated Christianity into countless denominations. There's probably been numerous books written on the subject, but this one is different. It's my take on things. So...in order to write this, I'm going to have to read. A lot. I'm going to read several books about this subject, hear what other people have to say, then read the bible myself and gather my own conclusions. For starters, I'm going to read all the way through "The Great Controversy" by Ellen G. White in which the first half explores the fight between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. I will most likely need a nudge every now and then to get this done. Below is a rough draft of a part of the preface to give you more of an idea of what I'm doing.




There are so many questions today about religion, especially Christianity. So much that I don’t even know what to believe anymore. This preacher says that, another one says this, while my friends and family say otherwise. All this piles on to an already epic struggle that is hard to fight without all of the chaos. I’ve read countless books and talked to an even larger amount of people in search of truth, but I still don’t feel like I’m always going in the right direction. There are questions that have separated this religion into an unknown amount of denominations such as “Can I eat pork?” “Is respecting the Sabbath on Sunday wrong?” “Should I still follow all of the Old Testament laws?” “If not, which ones are still supposed to be kept?” All of these denominations are based on scripture, which one is right? I do not know the bible well enough to answer these. I’ve always based a lot of what I believe from books, preachers, and what I hear, which all came from another person. The purpose of this book is to track my research of the scriptures and once and for all find an answer that puts peace in my heart. Not because someone else told me, but because I heard it from God myself. One thing that also plagues me is the fact that so many people out there claim to be close to God, yet seem to be doing the opposite of what the bible says. For example: an evangelist that goes to colleges and condemns anyone that comes near without even having the slightest hint of who that the person is. I’ve heard evangelists call women whores for showing their legs and even just being in college. I’ve always been taught that there is a loving God full of grace. Where is the grace in that? Aren’t we supposed to strive to be like Him? Getting back to the point, can someone that acts like this truly have a relationship with God?
The point of this is not to condemn anyone. I am starting to write with a completely open mind and open heart. I’ll start here by saying that no one in these examples or any example I use later is “wrong” because they are doing what they believe. I don’t think there really is a strict wrong or right, which is might be the key to all of this, but I think it’s more in depth than that. That’s why I will be researching and reading, seeking answers that I’m looking for straight from the bible and not from another party.
The irony, however, is that if anyone chooses to read this, they too will be getting answers from something other than the bible however my final points on everything will be coming straight from the bible and not another source. It will be what I've interpreted and therefore not necessarily truth. I hope that instead of taking what I’m writing as is, they look into the bible as well. I believe that having a personal relationship with God is about finding your beliefs on your own. When you meet someone, you don’t get to know them through one of their friends. The information you get won’t always be 100 percent accurate and might be biased depending on how the friend feels about the person you want to get to know. Why should being in a relationship with God be any different? The bible is the only thing we have to find out what God truly wants for our lives, and to find out who he is. While there will always be unanswered questions, I hope that some will be answered for me when I’m through.