Thanks Jason.
The book I have written (and read many, many times) is “The Really Good News About God” and is available in various formats and from several online bookstores.
Paperback ISBN 978-0-9942627-3-8 from amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, etc.
Kindle ISBN 978-0-9942627-1-4 from amazon.com.
Epub (for all eReaders except Kindle) ISBN 978-0-9942627-0-7 from smashwords.com.
Snippets from the book’s introduction …
Although there is a large variety of beliefs and practices within the Christian world, there are, quite remarkably, two particular views that seem to be predominantly held (and passionately defended) with which I disagree.
The first is, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to this planet to be the Saviour of the world, will almost totally fail in his mission.
And the second is, that everyone who does not become “a believer in Jesus” in their lifetime on this planet will be sentenced to misery in a place usually called hell – and for eternity.
Put together, it can be said that mainstream Christianity, by and large, promotes a God of conditional love whose attempt to save the world at Calvary was not good enough to overcome Adam’s sin for the vast majority of creation.
Although its leadership might not openly admit it, the institutional church believes that God can’t or won’t save the whole world, even though he originally said he wanted to.
I wish to show that the God of love who created and is in control of our world has a loving purpose for it and has the power and determination to see his purpose accomplished.
It is a most exciting story.
Most sections of mainstream Christianity preach what they call the good news.
But, in many of these, it really is a mixture of good news for a few and very bad news for the majority.
This book will show you that the Bible, read with an open mind and through the twin lenses of God’s love and sovereignty, describes what the good news really is.
The book has a prologue and seven chapters.
◊ Prologue — “The Grand Stage Production” — is an invitation to imagine our world as a theatrical stage production.
◊ Chapter One — “God’s Unconditional, Unfailing Love” — discusses God’s extravagant love as the motivating factor for all that he does.
◊ Chapter Two — “God’s Supreme Sovereignty” — explores God’s sovereignty — his ability to do whatever he decides and to fully achieve his purpose for his creation.
◊ Chapter Three — “God’s Awesome Plan” — describes this purpose, and the plans God has to achieve it.
◊ Chapter Four — “God’s Champion Lifesaver” — examines the role that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, plays in achieving God’s purpose.
◊ Chapter Five — “God’s Merciful Judgement” — investigates judgement and punishment, and shows how God uses these in his plans for restoring the creation to its original position and condition.
◊ Chapter Six — “God – The Perfect Parent” — uses the metaphor of a perfect parent to draw the conclusion that God really has good news for all of us.
◊ Chapter Seven — “Our On‐Stage Role” — discusses how special we are and how we might respond to knowing this really good news about God.
It should be easy reading — not weighed down with theological or religious terminology. But it might not be a super fast read, as some serious thinking mixed with old‐fashioned common sense will be required along the way.
From the back cover …
The Really Good News About God uses everyday language to address some of the deep questions most of us wrestle with at some point in our lives.
Who am I?
Why am I?
What is life?
What is death?
Is there a God? If so, what is God like?
Does life on this planet have any purpose?
It is an easy, refreshing read, written in an informal, conversational style, not weighed down by theological or religious language, and a good place to start exploring these important questions, as the author offers positive, uplifting answers from the Bible that challenge the good news/bad news dualism usually promoted by much of mainstream Christianity.
It would be silly for me to offer a review of the book, but I have had many positive responses, especially from people who have never thought about the theology they have unthinkingly adopted. I have also had some hostile responses. People who have offered these have not been able to find fault with the presentation, but just don’t like the result that Jesus will draw all to Himself eventually.
Blessings, Barry Tattersall