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Religious Books
In her novel, ‘Be
Still,’ author Pamela Young tells a spiritual story about the ‘end of times’ where the world is on a collision
course with a comet and messages from God delivered by angels forewarns of the end of life on earth.
The plot of ‘Be
Still’ focuses on the protagonist Amanda Fox, a reporter for the World News Network. Amanda Fox is a woman who has walked
away from a spiritual life to live a more secular life as a reporter. Life for her is about facts. When Amanda hears of the
reports of angel sightings and messages from around the world, she is skeptical and dismisses the reports. As she meets the
people who have seen the angels, she is shocked by the accounts as they seem so real, particularly the message from God, "Prepare
yourself, for the time is at hand." In Greece, a man reports of his encounter
with an angel. In New Orleans, Ellie Lebeaux sees and receives a message from an angel.
In Victoria, British Columbia, a little girl foretells events that will take place before the world comes to an end.
Amanda becomes a believer when the events the girl forecasts start to come true. In the meantime, there are groups who attempt
to discredit the angel sightings and messages, as well as a reverend who seeks to profit from the sightings.
‘Be Still’
delves into a spiritual theme that focuses on the assertion that Man has turned away from the spiritual teachings of God and
has stopped loving God. Man now manipulates and distorts the true word of God for personal benefit and profit. The story,
although told from a Christian perspective, is able to successfully encompass all major faiths. Important themes include the
disintegration of our morals and values and how Man’s greed has shaped society and taken people away from the true meaning
of what it means to love God. ‘Be Still’ is also a story of a woman discovering what it means to have faith. Amanda
runs the risk of ruining her reputation by broadcasting the stories of the angel sightings and she begins to reflect on her
own beliefs and how she has lived her life. Amanda’s story is a journey of spiritual growth.
I highly recommend
‘Be Still’ as a story of finding true faith while providing compelling and thought provoking observations on the
current state of humanity. Readers will not be able to put the book down until they find out if mankind survives. ‘Be
Still’ provides numerous issues to think about regarding the path the world
is on and what will become of mankind if we continue to live such violent, selfish, and greedy lives.
Tracy Roberts, Write
Field Services
In her book ‘Fake
Sex Real Consequences,’ Aliceson Henderson provides a spiritual self help guide for young teen girls and young women
on developing, through God’s wisdom and love, a sense of integrity, self respect, and self love. The purpose is to make
positive life choices when it comes to relationships.
Henderson’s
book provides lessons learned from experiences from her own life as a teen and as a young woman. She shares deeply personal
experiences to help others understand how external influences impacted her self esteem and thinking which ultimately influenced
her own choices. She faced overwhelming odds as a young woman, sacrificing everything for her children. She details how she
believed that sex was supposed to be the way to a young man’s heart, believing what they said which led to betrayal,
pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, and thoughts of suicide.
A predominant message
in the book is the need for women to love themselves before they give themselves emotionally and physically to another. She
discusses fake sex and the fake orgasm. She explains that fake sex is the addiction to needing to feel loved. For a woman,
the physical becomes the emotional which leads to bad choices and devastating consequences. She talks about soul ties. A soul
tie is a connection to our heart and to God. When our soul becomes tied to someone instead of tied to God’s love, we
lose our connection to God, and then lose ourselves.
Henderson discusses
that she had kids but never enjoyed the process of having kids. Much of the reasoning behind the lack of enjoyment of sex
is because it was “unsure sex.” She says that, “no sex is better than unsure sex.” Women need to set
standards and personal values about sex despite the pressure society puts on them to have sex. She explains that unsure sex
leads to low self esteem and feeling worthless which makes it is easy for a man to capture a woman’s mind and manipulate
her. An important message of the book: “never let anyone define who you are.”
A nice part about
the book is that the Pastor takes her own life experiences as well as experiences of others and shares them with readers.
As with many religious books, social issues are discussed. Homosexuality is briefly touched upon. She appears to view homosexuality
as a sin so it will be up to the reader to agree or disagree. ‘Fake Sex Real Consequences,’ is well worth reading
and highly recommended as it provides a heartfelt understanding of such problematic societal issues as domestic violence,
spread of sexual transmitted diseases among women, and teen pregnancies, as well helpful spiritual teachings.
Write Field Services
In his non-fiction
work, ‘The Jesus Secret,’ author Michael Wood presents specific passages from the Bible and translates the passages
from original Greek manuscripts, known as Koine Greek language. The translators
of the first English Bibles believed they were translating a special language written specifically for the bible. However,
at the turn of the twentieth century, Greek manuscripts were uncovered in Egypt where the language was found to be the same
as the Bible. Koine Greek language is the language that English translators translated the first English bibles. What Wood
reveals is that the text of today’s bible contains many mistranslations resulting in incorrect interpretations of important
biblical passages. What we have now is Christianity with flawed beliefs and teachings.
Wood documents important
passages that contain incorrect translations. The English Bible is filled with a number of wrongly guessed meanings of specific
words. A key meaning throughout the book focuses on the Koine Greek word ‘dikaios,’ which was translated incorrectly
as ‘moral righteousness.’ However, the Koine Greek word ‘dikaios’ means ‘justice and equality.’
New meanings are revealed regarding such issues as: homosexuality, greed, justice, equality, human rights, the concept of
repentance, salvation, and much more. As Wood points out, much of the meaning of Jesus words are rooted in the doctrine ‘equity
based requirements.’ That is, Jesus’ central teaching: ‘treat others equitably for this is the law.’
Dikaios was the closest Koine Greek word to expressing ‘treating others equal to ourselves.’ As Wood points out,
it is mentioned 193 times in the New Testament.
I found the ‘Jesus Secret’ a very informative and easy to understand read. I was particularly
fascinated by how such incorrect translations have shaped the Christianity belief system we have today, especially for those
who base their political, social, and religious beliefs on the New Testament. It is quite clear that the many English translations
of the Bible have resulted in important translations and meanings being lost. I highly recommend ‘The Jesus Secret’
to readers who enjoy learning about the history of the Bible as well as to readers who want to find more accurate meaning
in the passages and words found in the Bible.
Tracy Roberts, Write Field Services
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