Arguably, all religions are foolish. Sure, they may serve a noble purpose, and they are typically driven by good intention; yet, if a religion cannot provide irrefutable statements of truth, then by definition it should be considered foolish. Because, even if I could provide a good story regarding the existence of the tooth fairy, such that I could convince some children about the truth of my story, all adults would consider the story as foolishness. Obviously, without empirical evidence beyond my imagination, my truth statement is not irrefutable. So, while I might be able to convince others to share my belief, any wise person would challenge the thinking by considering all available information, and by logically developing their own conclusion, rather than blindly trusting my conclusion. However, for whatever reason, people have always been willing to blindly trust others to form their truth statements about the nature of God and of reality, even though the truths are highly debatable.
As many argue, religion is worthwhile because it gives people a sense of belonging to a group, particularly a group that is nobly pursuing the meaning and purpose of life. And, since religion requires a blind faith, that necessity to share a common blind faith is the glue that holds the people together. Yet, that aspect of religion by its very nature excludes those who are unwilling to accept its belief statement; so, while all religions can claim to have a noble purpose and a positive impact on its members, the impact on all others outside of the group is often perceived more in the negative sense. Certainly, many religions have a mission to help the poor and disadvantaged, but this culture of “us versus them” is typically prevalent both within and outside all religious groups, and that aspect of religion is never good. Similarly, religions are perceived as being worthwhile because most people sense that this life is not fair, such that an afterlife is required for justice to be served (i.e. karma). Arguably, many religions are based solely on this idea of eternal justice, where those who suffered at the hands of the wicked will get their just compensation, whereas the wicked get their just punishment. As such, for many religious people, their hope that a God exists is based mostly on the need to feel comforted by the idea of an afterlife that resolves the problem of evil, while also providing a reason for the suffering or the loss of loved ones in this life.
For those outside of religion, the hope for God and an afterlife is no different than believing in the tooth fairy, and religion is often mocked with the image of blindfolded people probing the outside of an elephant seeking perceptions of its being. Yet, for those inside a religion, they perceive themselves as those who have the blindfolds removed, because they at least sense that a being exists, albeit a mostly unknowable being for them, which is why they rely on the wise men of religion for understanding. And, for the Christian religion, the wise men form their belief statements for their group based on books written almost two thousand years ago, which they claim proves the existence of a God, and the existence of two forms of an afterlife. Yet, should anyone claim to know the destiny of another person based on the opinion of others, particularly the destiny of eternal hell?
For reasons that I may never know, my life has been a journey from someone who had blindly trusted the opinions of others to form my worldview, to becoming a wise man of religion who had claimed to know the nature of God and reality, and now to someone who is being guided on an amazing journey towards a totally unique understanding of God and reality. Arguably, this new perception is the most profound claim ever made.
My journey into God’s Word
I was born into a traditional Catholic family in the 1950’s, and as far back as I can remember, I have believed in the existence of God. For me, the wonder of creation was clear evidence of a supreme being, but I could never believe in a personal God. Certainly, God had created me and everything around me, but I had no sense that God was involved in any part of my life. That all began to change in 2013.
Being raised Catholic, I never considered reading God’s Word. I vividly recall my father telling me not to try because I was unable or unqualified. He was right. I tried a couple of times, but I was not impacted in any sense. In 2013, however, I went through a personal crisis which resulted in my joining my first bible study class. I will never forget standing in the back of the room and being impacted by something from the book of Job. A nerve was struck, and my curiosity was awakened, such that I was drawn to seek understanding of God’s Word.
Being a salesman with much windshield time, I began listening to RC Sproul, Tim Keller, and Martin Lloyd-Jones, while also reading hundreds of theology books. I became well-versed in the doctrines that arose from the Reformation movement, and I thought I was developing a much deeper understanding of God and man. And when I retired in 2019, my greatest passion became the study of God’s Word. I completed one semester at Liberty University, but I quickly realized that the seminary environment was not the place for me. Since then, I have been a full-time student of scripture, particularly the Old Testament (OT). And during those years, I experienced a growing sense that there was a deeper understanding that I was missing.
I will discuss aspects of my journey into scripture throughout this effort, but perhaps the proverbial lightbulb lit up after reading Ray Stedman’s commentary on Esther (https://www.raystedman.org/old-testament/esther). His perspective of God’s Word as a depiction of our inner spiritual world encouraged me to consider that scripture could be more about the world within me, rather than the world around me. And, much to my surprise, this new perspective eventually changed my bible study from an often tedious and fruitless effort into the most exciting and meaningful thing that I will ever do in my entire lifetime. My thought life quickly evolved into constant meditation of scripture, and the insights gained were more profound than what I ever could have imagined. And, as I studied and meditated, it soon became apparent that I would never again approach God’s Word in any other way. The scripture made sense in new ways, and I was being hugely impacted. And, instead of imagining God as impersonal, I was constantly being overwhelmed by His revelations in His Word, and how He is depicting His plan for me through this life and into the next. So, the question soon became: what should I do with these new insights?
Since I enjoy reading and meditating on scripture more than anything else, my first inclination was to keep the insights to myself. Because, other than Stedman’s commentary, I had found no one else pursuing the symbolic perspective, and most seminaries and theologians despise “spiritualizing” scripture. Also, I dreaded the prospect of trying to share my thinking, because I knew that most people would immediately reject it. Even worse, I knew that some people would also reject me, so I tried to convince myself that these insights were intended for me alone. After all, who am I to claim that I have been given a unique understanding?
Ultimately, I realized that the implications were too significant to keep to myself, so I felt compelled to share my thinking. Of course, never in my wildest dreams could I have ever imagined that I would one day write a book about God’s Word that was totally different than anything I had ever read. Try to imagine writing a book claiming that God’s Word is absolute truth, while also claiming that all Christian religions are false and a deceptive work inspired by the god of this world. I pity myself when I consider how my effort will be unliked by everyone, both religious and non-religious people.
Obviously, even suggesting that I have been given a unique understanding is perhaps grounds for insanity. And certainly, any religious person will be offended by my claims that they are following a false religion, and that God’s Word proves that every person ever conceived will be “saved” in a certain sense. Of course, any mention of “universalism” is heretical thinking for most Christians, and non-religious people will be offended by my claim that scripture proves the existence of God, and that everyone will be “judged” in a certain sense by His Word. Therefore, please know that the idea of promoting a line of thinking that will either be hated or patently dismissed by everyone will forever be disconcerting. (Dear God, why me?)
There are several thoughts that I hope you consider before reading my effort. First and foremost, please understand that I did not choose to believe what I believe, rather it feels as if the understanding has been literally imposed upon me. Because, other than the one trigger from Stedman’s commentary, every perception that I will share originates solely from God’s Word. Notably, I even disagree with most of Stedman’s conclusions, so I cannot even claim his support of the symbolic perspective. Perhaps there have been others who ventured down this road, but I have not based my thinking on any source other than the typical canon of sixty-six books. And, if you knew me, then you would also wonder how an analytical person who hated to read stories about people could ever be passionate about reading God’s Word. My passion from childhood was math, and still to this day I have tremendous difficulty following the storyline of a typical movie. However, after much digging and meditation, the biblical story of Israel has taken on a life of its own in my mind, and I cannot claim any credit for my new understanding because I sense that I have only discovered something that was already there, much like one discovers the truths within math.
The second thought that I hope you will consider is that I am not attempting to convince anyone to believe what I believe. Critically, according to my new understanding, it is literally impossible for anyone to casually accept my thinking as truth. Because, in order for anyone to perceive what I perceive, they must first relegate all of their preconceived understandings, and then perform a diligent search for the new understanding. So, imagine the gall of me to suggest that I have received a gift from God, and that the only way anyone could accept my understanding is to first disbelieve all of their core beliefs, and then devote thousands of hours of thoughtful consideration before they can even begin to form the same understanding. Arguably, there will be very few people this side of death who are willing to make that commitment. So, instead of trying to convince anyone to accept my understanding, please recognize that my primary goal has always been to make an argument for approaching all of God’s Word with the symbolic perspective, so that others would at least reconsider their literal historical perspective of scripture, much like Stedman’s thoughts did for me. Think for yourself, but consider another perspective.
The final thought that I hope you will consider is that the tone of my effort is more offensive than I had originally intended. Frankly, when I first began to perceive the mere existence of the symbolic perspective, while I was not seeking confirmation of my conclusions, I thought that it was reasonable to expect that my close friends and family would consider my thinking and respond with thoughtful questions. Instead, I was mocked and dismissed by everyone, and the consequence is that I am now sadly responding in much the same way as I was received. Therefore, rather than just making a positive argument for the symbolic perspective, my effort has become a very aggressive attack on all aspects of religious thinking. Notably, since I once held most of the perceptions that I will vilify, I do feel that I have a right to attack beliefs that I fully understand. However, I know that it will be difficult to overlook my negative tone, so please accept my apologies for my confrontational approach.
Here’s the thing that irks me more than anything. What I will describe is truly not rocket science, and the only reason that I discovered my understanding is because I made a decision to fully immerse myself into God’s Word with an open mind. So, while the understanding is a gift from God, arguably that same understanding is also given to anyone who diligently seeks and deeply meditates on the biblical images. As such, I do feel a certain disdain towards the wise men who supposedly dedicate themselves to seeking the truth of scripture. Because, as I will argue vehemently, even though Christianity has evolved over the centuries, such that the modern belief systems are nothing like the original church, everyone still seems willing to blindly accept what the wise men claim to be God’s truth. Yet, does it make sense that an absolute truth should evolve? If not, then should you foolishly follow along? Frankly, the more I learn, the greater my animosity towards all religious thinking.
Simply stated, my argument is that God intended His story of Israel to provide a “parabolic” representation of the eternal existence of every person’s individual spiritual life. Such that, as depicted by the promise to Abraham, the birth of the nation from Jacob, the exodus out of Egypt, the journey day and night through the wilderness, and the establishment of shalom in the land of promise, God is symbolically depicting the events of your entire existence through this life and the next. Critically, it required thousands of hours of thought energy before I felt highly confident in that overall conclusion, and all subsequent understanding is based on that same perspective. Arguably, if you were to similarly approach scripture with that same overall symbolic perspective, then you would derive exactly the same understanding as I have obtained. Because, just as 1+1=2 is an absolute truth with no uncertainly or inconsistency, there is an absolute truth hidden in scripture that is internally consistent, profoundly meaningful, and totally irrefutable. As I will argue, every single person who is ever conceived will ultimately come to understand that same truth in their eternal life.
Certainly, I have no doubt that you will claim that you do not believe what I believe; however, please recognize that what you are actually saying is that I do not believe what you believe. Obviously, you cannot disagree with my thinking until you have thoughtfully considered it, and only if you can find fault with even one of my conclusions. Of course, you will likely say that my conclusions are either foolish or impossible to accept as reality, but I challenge you to find any errors in my thinking. Arguably, every thought that I will express is a logical outcome based on one consistent symbolic perspective, whereas religion suggests that you can arbitrarily decide whether to approach scripture with either a literal or a symbolic perspective. I have tried both approaches, and only one makes sense to me.
Importantly, while I am questioning the wisdom of everyone’s thinking, I am not questioning anyone’s heart. People wear a cross or go to church for a variety of well-intentioned reasons; and most people, religious or not, are very kind. Yet, I would challenge everyone to consider their passion for reading God’s Word, because ultimately that might be the best indication of a heart that is seeking the true God.
Ultimately, my hope is that people will begin to read the bible for themselves, and to seek understanding solely from within God’s Word. My argument is that each generation has allowed the previous generations to define the meaning of God’s Word, such that today’s religion is blindly following the teachings of the early church without questioning the original wisdom. Of course, many people are questioning the wisdom of religion, and the typical result is that people leave organized religion, while forming an image of God based on whatever parts of the bible that they deem acceptable. Yet, can anyone feel confident in their understanding if it is not supported by all of scripture? Sure, it is one thing to say that you disagree with religion, but are you perceiving what God intended to convey by His Word? I totally agree that you should ignore everything you were told by others, but that includes even your preconceived notions. Because, if you approach scripture with the same perspective, then should you really expect different results?
This is my third attempt to argue that God intended a symbolic perspective instead of religion’s literal historical perspective. My first two attempts focused on how the symbolic approach consistently works, yet I realized that no one could, nor should, accept my symbolic understanding, so this attempt begins by focusing on the reasons why another perspective is logically demanded in order to perceive God’s line of thinking.
Chapter 1 introduces this new line of thinking by discussing how God’s Word should be perceived at the highest level. Specifically, did your Father give you a history book to tell you how to live your present life, or a story to symbolically depict the major phases of your current and your future experiences? Chapter 2 discusses the huge implication of making the wrong assumption regarding the overall purpose of God’s Word, and how every current understanding should be placed in doubt if you are approaching scripture with a different perspective than what God intended. Chapter 3 discusses how your imagination builds an understanding of life, and how everyone has allowed the wrong sources to form their own understanding. Arguably, scripture should be the only source of information for forming your understanding of yourself, your purpose, and your future life. Notably, I will suggest a depiction of your life after death which I know everyone will patently dismiss, but my hope is to reasonably support those images by the end of this effort.
Chapters 4 and 5 discuss how man’s wisdom created “rules” for approaching God’s Word, however I will argue that God clearly depicts that we should be approaching the biblical images with one symbolic perspective. Chapter 6 delves into the topic of logical thinking by discussing two essential concepts that are necessary for gaining an understanding. Arguably, by ignoring these two basic principles of logical thinking, you are allowing religion to keep you deceived by its perceptions of God’s Word. Chapters 7 and 8 discuss how people typically perceive the images, and the worldview that results from those perceptions. Arguably, religion turns the wonder of God’s Word into a yolk for proper behavior, and a tool to judge the lifestyle choices of others. Hopefully, by the end of Chapter 8, I created enough doubt in your mind regarding the literal historical perspective that you will at least consider another perspective.
Chapter 9 begins the argument that scripture consists of two parts depicting one continuous story, instead of the common perception of two distinct testaments depicting two different religions (i.e. Judaism and Christianity). Chapter 10 focuses on the images of the end times, and how the symbolic perspective provides an understanding of your future life in the kingdom of God, rather than religion’s vague understanding of life after death and the nature of the second coming of Jesus. Notably, I will argue that God profoundly depicts the metaphysical nature of our consciousness, and that all perceptions of reality should be reimagined based solely on the truth of His Word. Critically, both the “problem of evil” and “God’s divine hiddenness” are moot when you perceive the intended meaning of the images. Chapter 11 is simply titled the perception of sin, but it argues how scripture depicts the nature of your spiritual existence so that you can understand not only why you do what you do, but also God’s eternal plan to transform your human nature into the divine nature of His Son. Ultimately, your life is all about your “works,” and how your words and deeds impact your relationships with God and with all others.
Finally, Chapter 12 provides an overview of the story of Israel by depicting the critical images being conveyed from Genesis to Revelation. My argument is that religion has hidden God’s intended message by focusing your attention on Jesus and the cross, whereas the story of Israel is obviously intended to be the primary image being depicted throughout scripture. Again, my goal is not to convince you of my perceptions of the images, but rather to make apparent the larger images being depicted. Because, once you can perceive that the story of Israel is God’s intended image, then you will be more likely to question why God gave you that story, and how that story should be logically approached as discussed in Chapter 1.
My journey forward
As stated, my primary objective has always been to promote that God intended His Word to be perceived symbolically, and not to argue what any particular image was intended to depict. For reasons of selfishness and sincere concern, I wanted you to do the hard work to discover the meanings, and to experience the joy of having your inner voice leading you to the meanings. Also, to be very frank, when I started, I had no idea whatsoever of the deeper things, so I did not appreciate the significance of what was being revealed. My goal was to demonstrate that God intended a different perspective, and that all religious thinking based on a literal historical perspective is absolutely wrong. So, the first eight chapters were written to achieve that objective, but I realized that there is a much larger message to deliver.
The scope of my effort has evolved because I realize how many people are being deceived by the wise men of the world. Sadly, not only does the secular world deny any value of scripture, but they have formed their own gods, even if they do not call them god. And, whether it is naturalism, materialism, panpsychism, idealism, or whatever “ism” is given to a philosophical opinion, the wisdom of man is leading people further from the truth of God and reality. Consequently, just as there are many religions today for people to choose, the modern wisdom of science is also providing sophisticated gods for the people to worship. Of course, they do not call their god “Zeus” because they consider themselves to be modern people, but they are still worshipping “nature” just as the cave men did.
Arguably, many people are forming as much skepticism about science as they have about religion, so they now rely on various social media voices to form their lines of thinking about life. And, I have been led to consider many of those voices, such as Joe Rogan, Rhett McLaughlin, Alex O’Connor, James Tabor, Curt Jaimungal, Britt Hartley (No Nonsense Spirituality), Hans Busstra (Essentia Foundation), Sabine Hossenfelder, and particularly Robert Lawrence Kuhn. I could not admire more both their good natures and their well-intentioned desires to seek the truth about reality. Yet, every bit of wisdom voiced on their shows about the nature of reality has missed the mark, whether regarding our consciousness, free will, the cosmos, quantum mechanics, or God; because they have not considered the truth of reality as depicted by scripture. I could be wrong, but I think they have all denied the God of religion. However, if I could instill into their thinking my new perceptions of God and reality as revealed by God’s Word, then they could literally begin to change the world into what God had intended.
When I started this effort, the only encouragement I received was from Tony, and he suggested that I should also promote my ideas on social media. As Tony knows, I absolutely love to discuss the images being depicted in scripture, and the biggest source of my battle with depression is because my friends and family robbed me of that joy. Yet, I resist the idea of joining the voices on social media, because I do not want people listening to me, nor reading my book, rather to be reading God’s Word, albeit with a different perspective. So, whether or not you ever claimed to be a Christian, pretend that you are on an island without any other voices in your head, and just read scripture. If you must, read my first two chapters, so that you can begin to imagine the logical purpose for God’s Word, and to consider the significance of assuming the wrong perspective. Arguably, it is senseless for me to debate my understanding with others if they insist on maintaining a literal historical perspective, but I know you will be amazed when you consider God’s perspective.
Again, my original goal was to topple all religious thinking, but that goal was expanded when I realized how scripture was also being falsely employed by those critical of religion. Certainly, depictions of slavery, sons being stoned, women being burned, and the genocide of nations are horrific if perceived literally, and it saddens me greatly when I witness Christians foolishly answering that we cannot understand God’s way, as if those actions could ever be justifiable, and that our ignorance of God is an acceptable response. Yet, I realize that often those most critical of religion are former Christians who have supposedly “deconstructed” their faith, and now they are on a mission to open the eyes of Christians such that they can also perceive the foolishness of their faith in the God of religion. As evidenced by the decline in church attendance, the advent of social media has given power to what are being depicted as critical thinkers, but they are no different than “the pot calling the kettle black.” Sure, they can claim the wisdom of a critical approach to God’s Word, but the end result is just as foolish if they are assuming the same wrong perspective. God is not dead, but He is hiding.
Understandably, with many people leaving organized religion, the great concern is the potential loss of meaning and purpose. Because, the apparent choices are either to reimagine the old ways of religious thinking to form a new philosophy of religion, or to assume that God does not exist such that there is no hope in man’s quest to find a deeper meaning for life. Notably, I had never considered the philosophy of nihilism, and I am thankful that I have never experienced any form of nihilism. However, the answer is not to form yet another manmade philosophy of religion or another new atheism, rather to perceive the lines of thinking that God is depicting in His Word, such that everyone can meaningfully answer the great questions of life. Seriously, could anything be more important than understanding life?
Finally, please realize that the remainder of my life is devoted to further exposing the story of Israel hidden within scripture. So, while this first edition of my effort is focused heavily on the notion that religion does not perceive the nature of sin nor the symbolic nature of scripture, future editions will focus more on the various aspects of the story of Israel. Therefore, my goal is to greatly consolidate my arguments regarding the absurdity of relgious thinking, and to further expand the images in chapter twelve such that they become what you perceive of this effort. Again, I am not proud of my many expressions of incredulity because I know they detract from the critical message at hand. And, while it feels good to vent my frustrations, my true desire has been to produce a simple yet deep set of images that enable children to perceive scripture as God intended, rather than the perception of scripture as religion suggests.
My effort is not about a mysticism, nor about a philosophy of religion, and certainly not about my perceptions of the images. I am a scientist at heart, and a fanatic of logical thinking, and this effort contends that God intended His Word to allow you to logically consider His line of thinking regarding His nature and the nature of reality. So, if you do not want to think, then read no further. But, if you want a head start on understanding the nature of life, then read on such that you can thoughtfully consider for yourself the wisdom that God is trying to convey, rather than what others told you to imagine.
Blessings on your journey into God’s Word. It is your very life.
Brother Paul