I’m often asked where the inspiration to write “Do You Believe Jesus” came from.

Why did I write it?

It did not just pop into my head one day, I have wanted to point out what I believe are discrepancies to God’s teaching, exhibited by main stream Christianity, for many years, I finally found myself in a position to have the time to put them to words.

I reasoned, if I had so many questions about the truth throughout my life others may also be asking those questions. So I will begin by saying I could not square what is being taught in Churches with what I read in their text book, the Bible. Even as a child, I could find no logic to that which was being taught. I was not studying at that early period of my life, just listening. And I would hear, “God loves you”: 

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 1 John 4:7-8 (KJV)

Then I would hear, “if I continued in sin I would go to hell and would suffer torture and pain forever throughout all eternity” then someone would cite this verse:

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23 (KJV)

Paul said the penalty for sin was death not torture. When I would question these things, I would hear, “if you were not called to preach you could not understand these things”.

If I can’t understand these things, why ask me to study the Bible. Why did God give me a brain and intelligence? Does it make sense that God would go to the trouble of having his word or instruction documented for us but not give us the ability to understand what he said? And why does saying one thing mean something else? Where is the logic in creating billions of people who cannot understand your instructions and then condemning them to eternal punishing and torture for not heeding? If I were to believe what I was taught, I would believe that billions of people who never heard God’s message are doomed to torture. None of this makes sense or has even one iota of logic to it.

One day I reached an age where I knew I could understand if I applied myself and studied hard. And though I began my studies for all the wrong reasons, I reached conclusions that in no way represented what churches teach. I had to ask myself, how can my understanding be so much different than the millions that profess Christianity? The answer, they have been deceived, I reason is further proof that God’s message is true, for he inspired these words:

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12:9 (KJV)

At the same time I’m human and capable of error, I could be wrong. If however, I am wrong the preceding verse from the Bible is wrong, as are all the others cited in my book. If we cannot trust or believe the Bible is God’s word, we have nothing to believe in. I accept it as true because I’ve never heard a better explanation for life.