Plain Truth: The “What’S Missing” of the Protestant Faith

By Todd D. Utley

Plain Truth
For many generations modern Christians have sat in church week after week while ministers pound the pulpits telling them what horrible sinners they are. In many cases doctrines have been handed down from parents to children, professor to student, and pastor to assistant, with little or no study of the scriptures on a personal basis. It should come as no surprise that we are missing some important pieces.

If you are ready for real growth then you should read the Bible for yourself and fi nd out what it says to you fi rst hand. Reading this book you have in your hand is a good place to start. In this book we will explore provocative truths that you may not have heard of before. We will look at topics the average minister will rarely if ever speak of. We will discuss things that the protestant church simply cannot accept in spite of it being right in front of them in black and white and even in red and white. We will also look at a few scientifi c discoveries that support the word and spark our imaginations.

Christ came to set us free from the bondage of the old law, yet many churches today are riddled with legalism, bickering, envy, hate, all the things that contradict what Christ came to promote, that being love and forgiveness. Christ himself said that he came into the world not to condemn it but instead to save it and to give each person eternal life.

Plain Truth is a fresh look at some of the most interesting scriptures on the most controversial topics. I have shared it with the world in an effort to promote the Kingdom of God along with peace and personal growth for those that seek it.

I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I have enjoyed creating it. It may not be inspirational on every point to every reader, but if it helps each reader discover even one small truth for them, then my mission is accomplished.

Author: Todd D. Utley

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 4, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477204191

Todd D. Utley

A little bit about me: I was born and raised in central Indiana on an old homestead in Warrington near Wilkinson. It was and is still today a farm community. It was a wonderful place to grow up and I love my meomories of that old house and barns and the surrounding acreage. My siblings and I were raised in a more old fashioned way than most of my peers today would recall. No air conditioning in our old farmhouse and the old boiler radiator system that was somewhat problematic every winter. We survived the blizzard of 1978 and un-like folks in larger metropolitian areas we were truly snowed in for two weeks. We were down to just peanut butter and crackers and very little LP left in the tank for our boiler before an oversized snowplow was able to break through with the aid of a large back hoe in several locations. A full size snowplow could break through the enormous drifts on our little country road that isolated us from Anderson which was 12 miles away. That was a very unique experience. We grew a huge garden every summer and canned anything and everything we could in the old Ball Jars that were so popular back then. We had almost everything homemade. We raised a calf most years for butchering and had plenty of chickens for eggs and a few for frying. We had ducks, cats, dogs, ponies, horses, and a few other strays. We went to church every Sunday Morning and Evening and every Wednesday night for Prayer Meeting. We were raised strict Baptist and we simply did not miss church unless we were very ill. My Mother and Father were hard working people who believed and still do believe very strongly in our Heavenly Father and everything in our Bible. I too am a believer and have similar viewpoints to theirs however I have studied the King James Bible for myself and have arrived at somewhat different conclusions. They have mellowed in their elder years and have changed their position on several things that the older Baptist Doctrines Supported. They have come to recognize, as I have, that many things are now known as legalism. We still have wonderful Biblical conversations to this day and we respect one another greatly and sometimes agree to disagree on the finer points of the Protestant Faith. The whole idea of believing in what you hear without studying for yourself is why I wrote this book. I reveal some things in this book that will be startling to many readers. If you have sat in church your whole life and still don't know what you really believe, then I hope that you will read this book, as it may change the way you see your faith. Todd D. Utley

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© 2012 by Todd D. Utley. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 05/23/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4772-0420-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-0419-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012908503

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

A bit about me

Chapter 1

Don’t Be A Splitter

Chapter 2

I’m Up!

Chapter 3

Vacation Vs. Tithe,

What To Do?

Chapter 4

Wish You Were You?

Chapter 5

Wives?

Chapter 6

Part A: Marriage, Divorce,

Adultery, Fornication

Part B: Origins of The King James Bible Official Authorized Version

Part A: Divorce, Adultery, Fornication Continued

Chapter 7

Join The Club

Chapter 8

Be Happy

Chapter 9

Judge, Jury, And

Executioner

Chapter 10

Born Again! Or Born Again?

Chapter 11

Angels Among Us

Chapter 12

You Can’t Take It With You

Chapter 13

Rain Drops Keep Falling

On My Head

Chapter 14

Money Is The Root Of All Evil

Chapter 15

The Real Secret

Chapter 16

Where Is Your God Now?

Chapter 17

Zecharia Sitchin And

The 12th Planet

Chapter 18

Dianetics

In Summary

Appendix A

Extras

Appendix B

The Book Of The Law

Of The Lord

Testimony

A bit about me

I grew up in rural Indiana on a small homestead that was formerly a farm. I had a farm like atmosphere for the larger part of my childhood. We were 12 miles away from the city and I attended a small farm community school system. My father always wanted to live the farm life and so just about the time I was born he moved our whole family to the country life near Wilkinson Indiana. I was born in 1967 yet I still attended a school with a bell tower on it for K-6th grade. Yes that’s right an actual bell tower. The original school house was used for all 12 grades. As the community grew it was added on to several times and became the elementary only. We were the last 6th grade graduating class of Wilkinson Elementary. I recently went by the old school in (2012) and they had begun demolition on the old place, it was a little sad but it was in bad shape so it had to come down. No doubt it had lead paint and asbestos as well. At our family home we had all the atmosphere and makings of a little farm but that was not my family’s vocation. My Father worked in a factory in the city by day and returned home to our little piece of country solace every evening. I am the youngest of five children which made for a nice big family. We had a nice variety of animals on our little acres, cows, chickens (egg layers), and ducks, a few ponies, two horses a few dogs and at least a half dozen cats at any given time. So we grew up simple with no air conditioning, rusty well water, the old boiler heat system in a drafty old farm house that we all loved. We had tons of fun chasing fire flies, looking at the stars at night, hand cranking the homemade ice cream bucket (until we found out about the electric one!), building snow forts, huge snowball fights, and we survived the blizzard of 1978. Chores included, planting, hoeing, watering and weeding the garden, mowing the two acre lawn with a push mower a good part of the time because the wheel horse (riding mower) was busted, feeding the chickens, gathering the eggs every morning, feeding the horses, pony, and the cows. The more fun parts were picking/eating the strawberries and also the fruit from our little mini orchard of a few trees. It truly was a great way to grow up. We had hula hoops, schwinn bikes, red Ryder BB guns (just like Ralphie), homemade sling shots, a windmill with a hand pump, a big old barn, and Granny living in a trailer north of the Pasteur. We had fun with all our cousins, corn cob fights, grape fights, truth or dare, jumping out of the hay loft into a smaller and smaller pile of hay, hide and go seek, and lot’s more. No we were not hillbillies instead we were flat land, Midwestern, pseudo modern hicks, I guess. We did not have much money but we had fun and were very happy. My parents will shoot me for saying so, but at one point we even had an old car with flattened trash can lids for floor boards and no reverse gear. No problem when you have five healthy kids right? All of us kids would just pile out, push the car back as far as needed and then jump back in! It makes me smile just thinking about it because the memory of it is so hilarious. One Christmas Eve we were at the local Kmart stuck right in front waiting for a parking spot along with about fifty other cars. This very richly dressed lady came tromping out of the Kmart in her high heal shoes in 3 inches of wet snow with her little fur frock on (very fancy) she piled all her loot into her Cadillac and proceeded to back right out into our piece of junk. It was as if she were blinded by her rushed stupor. We just sat there in our old heap with no reverse gear and no horn and nowhere to go. She backed into us and still did not see or notice we were there. She proceeded to sort of jack our car up sideways while we all just sat there in amazement. She finally realized when her car would no longer move that there was something in the way. She pulls forward get’s out and comes to my Father’s window. My Father is just calmly rolling down the hand crank window when she exclaims oh dear! Sir I am so sorry I have damaged your classic automobile. She was dead serious and we all just busted out laughing with our hands over our mouths for fear of the repercussions of punishment for being rude to this lady. To this day we still talk about that hilarious memory, of course my father refused the money that she offered him for the damage to our heap. What a great and lasting impression that made on me. We went to church every Sunday morning, every Sunday evening and every Wednesday evening for prayer meeting without fail unless we were deathly ill. My father was in the Navy as a young man so we had skirts hemmed and well below the knee, shoes polished and shined, hair high and tight, shirts starched, neck ties straight, teeth brushed, mouths shut, no back talk, front and center get in the car and don’t be late or else. We ate all three meals together around the family table without fail except for when we ate our lunches at school. We said grace before every meal even in public with no shame and I still do it part of the time today even over a big mac and fries. Sometimes after church on Sunday my Father would treat all of us to dinner out, of course it was really a treat for my dear mother more than anything because cooking on Sunday for seven people and then doing all the work associated with it wore her out even more after a long week. Of course us kids usually got drafted to help but you know how that is, I can do it in an hour or you can help and we will get it done in three! So we would pull into Ponderosa (our only local steak house at the time) and my Father would park the car and just sit there for what seemed like a long time. He would muster up a very serious stern face and then turn around and glare at all of us kids with laser beam eyes that could cut right through you. He would look each of us right in the eyes and say Now we are going to march in there single file like ladies and gentlemen, if any one of you get’s out of line I will pull your pants down right there in the restaurant in front of everyone and spank your butt!" We were all terrified because we believed he might really do it so needless to say we behaved real good. The restaurant help would almost without fail compliment our entire family on how polite and well behaved we were in the restaurant. Let’s just say putting fear into your children is not to bad of an idea. I used some of the same tactics with my children while they were growing up and it works, spare the rod spoil the child.

Pr 22:15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

Pr 23:13 Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.

Pr 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

At the dinner table everyone had an imaginary square that bordered your area, if the item you wanted was outside your square the rule dictated that you must ask for it to be passed to you proceeded with please and followed by thank you. We still laugh about it today as a family because my father always said my square is the whole table and so it was (a true image of our heavenly father) we are given dominion over some portion of earthly things but the entire world is under his dominion. Yes, and we won’t forget vacation bible school and summer church camp (which were really fun for us kids) and the once or twice a year week long revival meetings. Yes that’s right, the ones where the guest evangelist (or as I like to call him the ringer) would pound you into tears and complete spiritual submission for at least five whole days. This would usually result in a fairly substantial financial setback as you would give nearly all of your allowance as offering and burn all your favorite carnal things at home, (ok maybe a slight exaggeration) leaving you with allot of stuff to replace a few weeks later when you came out of the hypocritical trance you were in.

As a young man I attended college at Ball State University in Muncie Indiana but quickly found my schedule had become too demanding for full time work and full time school. After one semester I dropped out with hopes of returning later. After several years of hard work, a Marriage and two children later I returned to college for a degree in Electronics Engineering Technology at ITT Technical Institute and at the age of 27 I managed to graduate with honors while still working full time. What can I say, my parents were awesome, raised me with tough love and prepared me pretty well for life. I married young and made some mistakes along the road with my first wife who was also not perfect as none of us are. After 7 years we divorced and went our separate ways. We had two children which we both still love and always will. It is the children of course who suffer the most in these broken marriages. As I am sure you all know relationships are tough, especially when you are young and it does not matter whether Christian or not sometimes they end in spite of our best efforts but usually more because of our humanity and the imperfections that come with it. I will be covering this highly controversial subject in this book. I met my second wife when I was sixteen years old. She was seemingly a happily married woman to her high school Bo who became my friend through our mutual interest in cars. Their marriage deteriorated much like my first did, just more quietly over a longer period of time, and after 20 years they also divorced. They too married very young and they had one child whom is now my step son. I was friends with both He and his wife and after their divorce her and I began spending more time together which led to falling in love. We did not really date as one would say traditionally, we just sort of started eating together, playing card games, watching movies, and then it just happened, we fell in love. We had the advantage of knowing each other for thirteen years prior to ever viewing each other as a potential mate. We also each watched the other go through a divorce so we knew the complete history of those situations. Even with thirteen years of preview while in two completely different relationships you still don’t really know someone until you marry them. We have learned much about one another and grown since then. Our marriage has never been perfect but for long spans of time it has come pretty close. There have also been times when we did not think we would make it another day, and then somehow we did. So you now know that I am a real person with faults, good times, bad times, one ex-wife, one current wife, two biological children and one step son and now a few grandchildren both step and biological. Now you don’t have to worry about me falling from grace (so called) because I certainly never attained it. I am not perfect in Gods eyes and definitely not yours either I am sure. So let me help you judge me just to get it out of the way. Sometimes I drink alcohol, sometimes I listen to rowdy (rock & country) music. Occasionally I go to the theatre and watch an R rated movie. And yes I am even guilty of dancing, not well, but it was an attempt at the activity anyway. I do not consider any of those things sins. I do all things in moderation, but maybe you do consider these things sinful even in moderation. If so, please exercise forgiveness and read this book anyway because God oftentimes uses broken and unlikely vessels to carry his message. I know these things set me apart from most so called Christian Authors, but that is who I am and there is no point in hiding it from my readers. I would be surprised if you found this book on the shelf of a Christian book store as it will probably be shunned by the mainstream protestant crowd due to its controversial nature. But that’s ok, I just hope the right people read it, especially people that are really looking for some answers that they are just not getting in their local church. I have always been a worker and never really taken much time off. I have never been that slacker fellow that you find on their Mom and Dad’s sofa (or even my own). I have worked on cars all my life for both fun and out of necessity, I have been a factory worker, a welder, machine operator, small business owner, went to school for electronics, became a tech, engineer, engineering manager, and finally business owner again, and yes I still work, work, work, which is the right thing to do according to the passage below.

Pr 6:6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

I must say I have only seen two kinds of ants, busy ones and dead ones.

Ok, well that’s enough about me. Why so much detail? I wanted you to feel like you know me while you are reading this book. To know that I am a very real person, probably just like you, a very average guy from Indiana that has never been off this continent. Busy every day working hard to make a living. Someone who understands the everyday struggles of life, someone who has gained, lost, and started over again. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. I must say that I thought I knew what I wanted to write when I began it. But during the process I learned even more about God’s Word and myself. There may be some mistakes in this work that I have not discovered or simply do not understand yet, if this is the case then hopefully those of you reading it will understand that no one is perfect and it is likely there are some errors. I apologize also for grammar and spelling errors as I am not the best at those things and I could not afford the added cost of editing by a professional proof reader.

My Chosen Life Verses, Ecclesiastes 7:15-17

All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness. Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?

Proceeds from the sales of this book will go towards the cost of living for my family and some will probably be given to my favorite local churches. I would also love to help out my Sister and Her Family in Romania where they have been for many years patiently and steadily building a ministry and an orphanage.

Author, Todd Utley

Chapter 1

Don’t Be A Splitter

My second choice to title this book was deception but while writing I felt I should change the name to truth because that is (in my opinion) what I am telling. I am attempting to identify and root out some deception but that title is just so negative to plaster across the cover of a book. The first title was lies which was really sharp and a real attention getter, or so I thought, but also very negative. I felt led to the idea that people are actively looking for the truth and if you are walking around with that in mind your eyes would notice this cover and draw you to it maybe even subconsciously well before being drawn to something negative. So I went with truth and I feel pretty good about it. This book is about seeking and discovering the truth and how we as Christians (in some cases) are starving for it in the local church. We must also identify the lack of it because in order to define white one must know black and to define good one must know evil and so on as we must have a contrast to distinguish things clearly. Deception is an evil thing and it can come in different forms like self deception. When a person desires something to be a certain way for so long and they lie to themselves and others for so long that often it becomes their reality. Many of us in our local churches start out by just listening as children and then as adults and then we don’t question things, we don’t observe things, and so this becomes a form of self deception because we claim to believe things that we have never really been convinced of. Can you imagine a scientist simply accepting everything someone told him without going through the necessary steps to prove it to himself and others. He would not be a very good scientist would he? So can you imagine a Christian just simply accepting everything someone told him without going through the necessary steps . . . . ok you see where this is going I’m sure. Yet we as Christians often do just that. This is the very reason radical muslims are willing to blow themselves to bits for their cause. Just like us they have been conditioned to believe certain things since they were very young and they have accepted it as their truth. But some of them have broken away from it, some have questioned it and have learned their own truth and they are now free. Thirdly there is the kind of deception where someone else is telling you lies that benefit themselves in the present tense and probably does just the opposite for you. Then lastly is the most clever deception of all and that is the kind that evil uses to deceive us, the kind that is mixed in with some well known truth and then twisted into whatever benefits evils cause at the time. The best way to defeat an army is to divide it and that is what evil does in the local church with deceptions. He (evil) gets us fighting amongst ourselves rendering us useless in the promotion of the kingdom of God. The fight is usually over something that is much less important than salvation, like what kind of bread to use for communion or whether or not the women in the church can wear pants.

1Tim 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. (this passage is speaking of legalism)

You have heard it said a divided house cannot stand, it is true, and it is one of evils favorite strategies. As believers we should be able to discern the truth from the deception with very simple study. God has given us his word and when I say us I mean all of us not just the ministers. Each man and woman that is a believer should have a desire to know for themselves exactly what they believe in and we should develop an educated opinion.

2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

This book is simply my opinion based on my interpretation and of course opinions can differ greatly from one person to the next. So with that in mind, please take everything in this book with a grain of salt. Allow it to make you think, open your mind to the viewpoints but whatever you do you must guard against anything in this book being used in a negative way. If you read this book and feel that is has opened your eyes on some points that is great, but please do not cause strife and division in your church. If you decide you believe differently after reading this and you feel that it has changed your views to the point that you are in great difference of opinion with your churches doctrine, then please consider leaving your church quietly and seek one that is more suited to your new thoughts and needs. The worst possible thing that can come from this book is division of Gods people and churches and I do not want that. If you really love your church and the people in it then you might stay and quietly know your own new discovered truth and cause no problems.

God’s word teaches us in several places that not all of the sheep can receive the same things, it depends on our circumstances, level of understanding, and the amount of faith that has been gifted to us.

Mat 19:11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

The word says that knowing the truth will make YOU free (not necessarily EVERYONE you know). Those that are seeking the truth will find it and that is why you are reading this book and probably several others.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Above: If people are presenting something to you as the truth and it comes with a message of, rules, bylaws, regulations, (aka legalism) then it is not the truth because it is not making you free. Note: persecution should come from the non-believers not our own flock.

If this book makes you angry, then that is a good thing as anger is one of the strongest motivators known. If you do feel angry then please channel that energy into more study to prove to yourself whatever you need to. In the process of shoring up your beliefs whether they coincide or contradict these writings, either way it will help you grow. When you read the word of God fervently and with great attention you will always discover something new and enlightening that you missed somehow before.

Each of us should study and come to our own conclusions. If we do this while praying and asking God for guidance then I believe we will receive it. Your views and my views can be different and that is ok. Here is a great passage that should help each of us to realize that our personal relationship with God is unique and he treats each of us with this in mind as he made us in his image and we are all unique also.

Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Here is another one that might help you see your individuality.

Ga 6:4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

Deceptions come in many ways, so don’t go calling your minister a liar after you read this book. He is probably a good God fearing man, and not likely a liar. Lies of omission and deceptions told out of complete ignorance are certainly not as bad as the bold face I totally know I am lying kind of a lie. So do I believe you have been lied to from the pulpit? Yes I do, especially if you have been in several different churches during your life time. Do I think the lies were intentional? Well maybe a few, but most are probably not. We will explore many areas of the Bible and the common deceptions and ignorance associated with them. If it makes you feel better you can call them divine misconceptions.

I decided to write this book because I believe there must be others out there in the modern church seeing some things that don’t really make sense and searching for some answers. I am by no means a well educated scholar or an eloquent speaker. I have no theological training, but I did attend church three times a week (minimum) growing up and then a great deal in my adult life as well. I also attended a Christian Academy during my high school years that meant well but was heavy on legalism. I personally experienced three church splits before the age of 18 and heard of several others in our community through friends and family. No doubt they are still going on today throughout the protestant churches. So I have seen allot of ways to split a church. Maybe that will be the second book, How to NOT split a church. Churches fight over everything and anything for reasons that elude me. Maybe it is because they just don’t really read their Bibles to get answers. But even when they do, they all seem to come up with different opinions, and I think that is just fine, but no need to fight over it. This book is a collection of a few topics that I think many protestant ministers are unclear upon for either lack of study or they have listened to their teachers without researching the topics for themselves. Another possibility could be that they are just telling people what they think they want to hear; maybe they are afraid to speak out about such controversial subjects for fear of splitting their flock and ultimately collapsing their church. Let’s face it these guys rely on the congregation for supporting their families and what good is a non-existent church in the community, I guess I can see that logic, although it is still wrong if they are thinking along those lines while omitting information that should me shared freely. The last scenario I see is they have studied it and they are very convinced they are right so they teach what they believe and for that I would not criticize them. Can you imagine how some ministers feel when they realize they must skirt around a subject? Especially when they really want to share it with their congregation but they are afraid to and they realize they must maintain a careful delicate balance within their church or face unemployment, failure, and then no ministry at all. I don’t have to worry about all of that because I earn my living in my daily job and as a result of my position I can say what I believe is the truth without worry of losing my situation or income for my family.

So these writings are just my opinion but it is all very clear and honest with no other agenda then just that of sharing it with you. If nothing else it might make you to study more than usual and you might find some other truth for yourself in those precious words of God. If I help cause that then my mission is accomplished because in the process of testing my words you may find the most precious truth you have ever known that is not even covered in this book. I have read the Bible several times through during my life and studied it in great depth in order to pen this book and every time I read it I discover something I missed previously. I cannot read the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic languages that are behind the English versions of the Bible. So because I am unable to translate it myself I must accept it as the most accurate account we have of those events that is in my language (English). I also believe it to be very accurate because in those days King James would have probably be-headed (well maybe just imprisoned) scribes for deviation from the most accurate translation humanly possible. I have only referred to commentaries on occasion out of curiosity on a point here and there. I have also learned that there are a good number of books that were left out of the authorized version and I have begun study of these works as well. I predominately research the Authorized King James Version but do not shy away from consulting the other versions for a second perspective which usually turns out to be the same anyway. I believe the Bible was intended to be simple and should not be over complicated by over study or by stretching it too far. I pretty much just take it at face value; you know good ole country boy common sense approach. The real problem that I had and I believe many people have is just not reading it at all. We just simply focus on the passage that our minister is preaching and no more than that due to our busy lives, lack of caring, laziness, fill in your excuse (and mine) here. If you are one of these people then you are living on the milk only and not the meat of the word.

1Co 3:2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

There is allot of great stuff in there and it is by no means hidden, just not talked about much from the pulpit, that’s all. I guess this book is what happens when you start reading your Bible while bored in church, not that my minister is boring as such, but if he happens to be preaching a classic type sermon that I have heard a thousand times then yeah, I get a little bored. So you stray off during the sermon and suddenly you are amazed at the great biblical history you have been missing out on and the intended meanings and great wisdom as you perceive it for yourself under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This leads to simply wanting to share it with others. The word truly is like fire! One of my favorite tools for research has been a CD that I was given as a gift called power bible it is a great program for your computer that has the Bible in several versions and many built in commentaries that shed some interesting light on the word of God. It is completely searchable on any word or topic. You can get a copy of this either free 90 day trial version or very economically on the web. (Note: I receive nothing from the sale of power bible)

Will I come under fire for the words I have written