Strategic Book Marketing Official Blog

Article 5 by Hannah Orion

Anybody ever interested in Bible Study or has had a desire to understand the Bible on another level will be interested in Secular Truthfulness. This study guide delves deep into the very heart of meaning of many Bible stories and parables and reveals their true nature. Secular Truthfulness takes the reader on a journey through the myths and parables of the Bible in order that we might find the real truthfulness of its teachings. Because of its generalised tone it is considered to be secular. Being secular is to be worldly but it is only from a worldly viewpoint that one can come to terms with enigmas such as evolution verses creation or for that matter the many miracles found in the Bibles pages. Secular Truthfulness puts aside spiritualism in order to demonstrate the worldly truths of the Bible and the hidden meanings of its stories. Explaining miracles in a worldly manner takes the spiritualism and mystique out of them reducing them to mere actions of a physical nature. This is a good thing as it purges our thoughts and ponderings on these matters. One such metaphor is that of the stone. Stones are used as a metaphor to represent our spiritual house or in other words our heart. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, (1Peter:2:5)” This reference shows us that we are considered to be stones which have a spiritual house but of course this is only one of many such allusions. In Revelation there is another famous verse “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. (Revelation:2:17)” Here in Revelation we are promised a white stone which of course means a new spiritual house. A third quote to do with stones is taken from John and implies the same idea. “he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. (John:1:42)” So we see that the word stone refers to our spiritual house and through this means people in general. So now we can see the meaning in the following verse “And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. (Luke:19:39-40)” It is readily seen that Jesus referred to people when He made reference to stones and this gives us insight into the real meaning of the verse. This is just a small taste of Secular Truthfulness a book that demonstrates the power of words and concepts of the mind.

Article 4 by Hannah Orion

When do we decide that we should stop looking for truth in the Bible? How do we know that the truth we have today will last forever? What is truth anyway? Is the theory of evolution truth or is the view of spontaneous creation of Adam correct? Do miracles really happen, or do people just fool themselves into thinking they do? These are just some of the questions raised as issues in the book Secular Truthfulness. This book searches for truthfulness in the Bible. Its title ’Secular Truthfulness’ is so named because it is secular in nature as it searches for truthfulness in the Bible. To look for truthful statements in the Bible is to put aside spiritualism and adopt a worldly attitude towards the fables myths parables and stories as they appear in the great book. This is not done with disrespect for the holy book or the spirit but rather merely to hold an enquiring mind and an earnest desire to discover its truthfulness. Jesus tells us that there is another meaning to His words in the Gospels. “And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given (Matthew:13:10-11)”. To know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven is to discover the hidden things of the Bible. These truths are covered over by carefully constructed stories and parables the chief of which is the story of Adam and Eve. The Bible confesses that Adam was not the first man in the world but rather a whole population existed previously to him. The Bible says that mankind male and female were created on the sixth day of creation. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis:1:27)” This creation takes place on day six of the creation story but Adam and Eve were not created until much later. If this is so then what exactly are Adam and Eve? Secular Truthfulness goes into detail to reveal the true identity of their creation. In doing this it deals with the problem of evolution verses creation and provides a new respect for the written word.

Article 3 by Hannah Orion

One of the aims of Secular Truthfulness is to portray a glimpse of the mentality of the writers responsible for the Bible including that of Jesus Christ (although He did not write). In this scientific age, it is getting harder to reconcile ancient biblical stories with what we know to be fact. For example, Joshua made the sun stand still in the sky for about a whole day. This we know cannot happen without worldwide consequences even the destruction of all life on the planet but still the Bible clearly states that the sun stood still. (Joshua 10:13). Take the miracle of money in the fish’s mouth for example when Jesus needed to pay His taxes he sent disciples down to collect the fish that first comes up and in his mouth collect the money for taxes (Matthew:17:27)”. This seeming miracle is easily explained away when one realises that the word fish here is a metaphor for a person, especially someone sympathetic to Jesus’ mission perhaps even a disciple. We know it stands for a person because Jesus teaches us exactly that. He said “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew:4:19)” The inference here is that ‘fishers of men’ would catch men instead of fish. How else were they going to build a diocese if they did not ‘catch’ people by enticing them with their nets of doctrine? This is not a new concept for Jesus, the imagery of fishes as men is also seen in Ecclesiastes. “For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, (Ecclesiastes:9:12).” The notion that men or people are caught in a net is consistent with other verses found throughout the Old Testament for example Ezekiel writes, “Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net (Ezekiel:32:3)”. Again people are seen as being caught up in the net of religion just like fish being caught in a net and this idea is also propagated in Matthew “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind (Matthew:13:47)”. So we see that men or more precisely people are caught up in the nets of the religion and this is verifying that the fishers of men catch men or people in their nets of doctrine and such people constitute the kingdom of heaven. Therefore the fish of the miracle might well have been a person willing to give money to pay tax. So the miracle of the money in the fish’s mouth now makes more sense. It was a disciple of Jesus who was the ‘fish’ and who also gave the money for taxes. Secular Truthfulness reveals many such miracles and explanations. This is not demeaning to the miracles because the spirituality of them remain it only means that the truth of them can now be fully appreciated.

Article 02 by Hannah Orion

Secular Truthfulness is a unique book. It is a book steeped in the metaphor of the Bible; metaphors which have a purpose and hide a dire consequence. Bible stories say one thing on the surface but belying their literal tales lays a dark secret. Secular Truthfulness exposes this secret. This is not a new thing. Jesus Himself said “because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given (Matthew 13:10-11)”. He was of course referring to the meaning of the parables and how such meaning was withheld from the general public. Secular Truthfulness asks why was it withheld and what was this mystery anyway? The only way to discover what this mystery describes is through the metaphors of the Bible. One such metaphor is that of salt. Salt always refers to truth in the Bible. Sometimes this truth can be bitter just like salt is to the taste. Matthew 5:13 speaks of salt “Ye are the (truth) salt of the earth: but if the (truth) salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be (made truthful)? salted it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” This same thought is expounded in Mark 9:49-50 “For every one shall be (made truthful) salted with fire (argument), and every sacrifice shall be (made truthful) salted  with (truth) salt. Salt (truth) is good: but if the (truth) salt have lost his saltiness (truthfulness), wherewith will ye season it? Have salt (truth) in yourselves, and have peace one with another”. Another metaphor about salt is found in Colossians 4:6: “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with (truth) salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man”. So we learn that salt is a metaphor for truth and its attribute is bitterness. So Secular Truthfulness outlines all the major metaphors and reveals the truths behind them.

Article 01 by Hannah Orion

A Christian, A good Christian holds truth above all other qualities. After all, the only words Jesus spoke in His own defence to Pontius Pilate was “I seek the Truth”. We are all to seek truth. It is because of this spirit in us to seek TRUTH that we, good Christians, have developed science. Science is nothing more than a method of filtering misconceptions out of our body of knowledge. Our knowledge therefore becomes TRUTH until proven otherwise, in which case we good Christians reserve the right to change our mind. Knowledge and scientific truths however, some think, have turned against us. Our own sword of knowledge is threatening to disillusion us by denouncing the existence of God. Of course such a generalization is far off the mark. The search for truth and truth itself does not deny God. On the contrary truth fulfils the person. This is because it is impossible to be honest unless one is first truthful and one cannot be sincere unless one is first honest. These three qualities TRUTH, HONESTY and SINCERITY are the foundation of a good Christian. So a Christian, a good Christian esteems truth above all other qualities. There is no other way to be a good representative of the Lord than to first be truthful. To deny truth even scientific ones is to deny the God of Truth. God is Truth and the search for truth will lead to the knowledge of God. This is why Jesus said “I seek the truth” in His own defence. When He could have said anything else He simply said “I seek the truth”. We know in our hearts that what is written is truthful. We know in our hearts that civilizations throughout all history have always strived to discover truth in all things. We, good Christians will not be deceived easily or for very long because there is a spirit within us to seek truth. The spirit of truth dwells within the hearts of men and women. It makes its presence known on a daily basis. Whenever one would try to fool us we become suspicious as our senses are sharpened to truth. Even when truth presents us with problems we continue to trust in the sense. The spirit of truth within us gives us no rest until we solve the quandary confronting us. It has come to the attention of many people in the world that Darwin’s theory of evolution confronts us with truth which appears to hold a blatant disregard for the writings of the Holy Bible – both Old and New Testaments. This problem is dealt with in Secular Truthfulness a book about seeking out truth.