Category: Jesus

Five Star Reviews for St. Peter's Choice: A Novel by Dean T. Hartwell

4/20/2014

A Marvelous Read

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Rating: 5.0 stars

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for
Readers' Favorite

St. Peter's Choice is a metaphysical novel written by Dean T. Hartwell. It takes place on Judgement Day, the day when the saved are rewarded with Heaven, and the sinners are consigned to lakes of fire. St. Peter is reading the names from the list that God has given him. While he is doing so, he happens to overhear a conversation between God and a non-Christian. This person had lived a good and virtuous life, but did not embrace the concept of Jesus as his personal savior. God faults the man for not confessing his sins and sends him to hell. The man answers that losing one's integrity is worse than being sent to hell. The man then meets two other rejected souls in a place where he hears the crackling of flames. They question the power of those flames, and the flames disappear. St. Peter is intrigued by what he hears and goes to converse with the three.

Dean T. Hartwell's metaphysical/philosophical novel, St. Peter's Choice is a marvelous read. Hartwell contrasts what St. Peter remembers of his time with Christ with what his informants are telling him of the Bible as they know it. Hot-button issues such as gay marriage, women's equality and evolution pop up during the conversation. One particularly interesting chapter is the gospel according to X, wherein X tells what he thinks Christ's story is. This gospel made a lot of sense to me. Other important issues that are brought up in St. Peter's Choice are how some gospels were not included in the Bible as not pushing the church leaders' agenda, and how greedy, mean-spirited and hateful people can be accepted into heaven just because of their belief in Christ as a personal savior. At what cost to your soul and integrity do you walk through those pearly gates? That's the decision St. Peter must make and it's grand reading the dialogue as he makes up his mind.

Rating: 5.0 stars

Reviewed by Melinda Hills for Readers' Favorite

If you don’t believe in heaven, is hell real? In St. Peter’s Choice by Dean T. Hartwell, the traditional concept of the Last Judgment is under careful scrutiny with the application of logic. Inconsistencies in what Christians believe to be the ‘Word of God’ are brought into question and the validity of the Bible itself is examined in light of modern research. By following his curiosity, St. Peter learns of the use of free will to reach decisions about what to believe instead of living life based on blind faith and obedience. He understands that choices have consequences, but is surprised to find that the consequences are not real when there is no belief in them or their alternatives. Heaven may just be how one lives life – not some illusion that is promised as a reward for accepting a particular set of beliefs.

Dean T. Hartwell uses a fictionalized St. Peter to express his opinions about the nature of God and blind belief in what have traditionally been seen as His laws. St. Peter’s Choice essentially outlines what could be called flaws in the logic of Christian dogma and questions why a loving God would keep anyone from the Kingdom of Heaven. He proposes that Jesus was speaking in code and was actually part of a conspiracy to overthrow Roman rule. That leads to the assertion that the Bible should be taken figuratively and not literally, and that to insist on adhering to it word for word is to defy logic and common sense. This is great reading as a starting point for an interesting discussion or as a stepping stone to learn more about the modern quest for understanding other possible stories of Jesus.

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The Government's Secret Weapon

10/20/2013

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When truth does not come from authority, we must seek authority from truth.

We may not completely understand what our government does or why they do it at all times, but we should know one truth about it. A government fears only the revolution.

This fact should not surprise anyone.  Those who run the government and those who benefit from it would lose everything they have staked in it.  These are the same people empowered to put down a revolution.

Two thousand years ago, the Roman Empire feared a revolt from the Jews who believed the empire had taken over land that belonged to them and forced them to pay tribute to the Caesar. The Jews did revolt on several occasions and though the Romans put each of them down, the costs of human lives and resources
mounted.

So what did the Romans do?

According to Joseph Atwill, author of Caesar’s Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus, they set aside the use of force and used a different tactic to solve this problem.  Specifically, they invented a brand-new religion that convinced Jews to adopt a pacifistic attitude towards the Roman authority.  Instead of promoting war and dissent, the new religion told its adherents to “turn the other cheek.” and
to “render unto Caesar what is his.”

The new religion became the official religion of the Roman Empire and spread throughout the world. Billions of people practice it now. Of course, this religion is
Christianity.

Followers believe the New Testament’s account of a man who claims to be a deity and who proves this claim by first dying of a crucifixion and then coming back to life.  Atwill points out that all evidence of this story comes from a single source, Josephus, who wrote forty years after the events described allegedly took place.

The point of the fiction is its message of peace and uncritical acceptance of authority.  It still works today in the United States.

Republicans and Democrats for the most part respect authority even when the other party holds it. Fringe groups like the Tea Party only encourage respect for authority which agrees to Tea Party principles. All of these political groups are prepared to ignore the truth about authority (i.e. the legitimacy of a government) because they are too concerned about being obedient.

When the public hears names like “Lee Harvey Oswald” or “Bin Laden” broadcast (by an obedient media) as criminals, most obey the order to believe what they hear. This docility works to help our government promote official stories which are used as justification to start wars in our name.

These lies should not cause us to become pacifists. These lies should cause us to look for truth from different sources than government or religious sources.  Are you willing to take that leap of logic?

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St. Peter's Choice - A Novel by Dean T. Hartwell out Soon!

6/6/2013

4 Comments

Daring to challenge assumptions about God and the afterlife, the novel St. Peter’s Choice by Dean T. Hartwell arrives soon to an audience of those willing to think freely.

It is Judgment Day. The “rock” of the Christian religion begins to change his mind about going to heaven after he decides to talk to those sent to hell.

When he speaks to God later about the conversations, he finds he has a choice to make between faith and reason.

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Did Jesus Fake His Own Death?

12/30/2011

1 Comment

Here are a series of questions I raised in an earlier essay about this subject. My original answers are first, followed by new answers provided by a book I recently read and reviewed called Open Tomb: Why and How Jesus Faked His Death and Resurrection by David Mirsch:

When Was Jesus Born?

No one has been able to ascertain exactly when Jesus was born. Scholars typically place the year of his birth at around 4 BC (Before Christ) or BCE (Before Common Era).

Open Tomb posits that Jesus was born in 6 BCE.

When did Jesus die?

As with his birth, there is no certain year for his death. Scholars put his death at around 30 CE (Common Era).

Open Tomb points to John 8:57, a verse that implies that Jesus was more than forty years old, and uses the old Jewish calendar and the Biblical indications of when Passover and other events took place to put the crucifixion at 37 CE.

What did Jesus tell people about the coming Kingdom of God?

He told them that it would take place during their lifetimes. (Matthew 23:26 and 24:34)

Open Tomb discusses Jesus’ statements as said in code. Jesus covered his real agenda, revolution, in comments that made reference to people and places. The Kingdom of God was the rule of God, expressed through the Old Testament, coming back to the region of Israel with a king directly from the line of David in charge.

When did the Apostle Paul, one of the earliest Christian writers, begin to preach?

Paul makes no mention in his letters of the destruction of Jerusalem, which took place in 70 CE. It is reasonable to assume he must have written them before that point in time. Paul was an early persecutor of Christians and subsequently had his “conversion” to Christianity some time later. So, it is widely thought that he wrote his letters somewhere around 50-60 CE.

Open Tomb discusses the Apostle Paul as only vaguely mentioning Jesus, almost as though he was another person.

What is significant about Paul’s letters?

Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:6 that there were 500 witnesses to the risen Jesus but gives no names even though he says they are still around.

Open Tomb’s ideas are expressed above.

When were the Gospels put into writing?

Paul never says anything about what we now call the Gospels (of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), so his preaching must have taken place before they were put into writing. Scholar consensus has the Gospels starting around 70 CE with Mark, Matthew and Luke and ending with John in about 90 CE.

Open Tomb places the Gospel starting time as shortly after the crucifixion in 37 CE.

What do you think?

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What Is the Real Story about Jesus?

12/11/2011

3 Comments

The story of Jesus has been one of the most frequently told in world history. But I am a little confused. Did he really say he was going to return? Here are a series of questions I have about this subject:

When Was Jesus Born?

No one has been able to ascertain exactly when Jesus was born. Scholars typically place the year of his birth at around 4 BC (Before Christ) or BCE (Before Common Era).

Was Jesus born before he was born?

When did Jesus die?

As with his birth, there is no certain year for his death. Scholars put his death at around 30 CE (Common Era).

Why wasn’t the year of his death noted anywhere if it was that important?

What did Jesus tell people about the coming Kingdom of God?

He told them that it would take place during their lifetimes. (Matthew 24:34)

Why don’t Christians acknowledge that this prediction was wrong?

When did the Apostle Paul, one of the earliest Christian writers, begin to preach?

Paul makes no mention in his letters of the destruction of Jerusalem, which took place in 70 CE. It is reasonable to assume he must have written them before that point in time. Paul was an early persecutor of Christians and subsequently had his “conversion” to Christianity some time later. So, it is widely thought that he wrote his letters somewhere around 50-60 CE.

What is significant about Paul’s letters?

Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:6 that there were 500 witnesses to the risen Jesus but gives no names even though he says they are still around.

Why didn’t he produce these witnesses instead of giving what sounds like hearsay?

When were the Gospels put into writing?

Paul never says anything about what we now call the Gospels (of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), so his preaching must have taken place before they were put into writing. Scholar consensus has the Gospels starting around 70 CE with Mark, Matthew and Luke and ending with John in about 90 CE.

What is significant about the last Gospel, that of John?

John is the only Gospel to refer to Jesus as God. (Source: Ehrman, Bart D.: Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. HarperCollins, 2005.)

Why don’t the other Gospels say anything about this key tenet of the Christian faith?

There is no discussion in the Gospel of John of an upcoming “Kingdom of God.” (Source: "Biblical Literature." Encyclopedia Britannica Online).

Why did the Gospels stop mentioning the upcoming Kingdom?

Did the early Christians change the message when it suited their interests in attracting converts and establishing their religion?

Christians, help me out here!

READ MY NEW BOOK ON THIS TOPIC!

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A Dialogue, Not a Monologue, about Christianity

11/25/2011

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I have recently written two diaries on OpEd News, "Did God Ask to Be Trusted?" and "The Choice of a Reluctant Messiah."

In the first, I questioned those who assume about Christianity what cannot be proven, such as the Virgin birth, the miracles and the resurrection of Jesus. Many of those who profess to uphold these beliefs often fail to care about the beliefs of others, as was recently the case when members of the House of Representatives re-affirmed "In God We Trust" as our motto.

In the second, I made up a conversation with Jesus in which I "reported" him as one who simply preached the coming Kingdom of God and never referred to himself as the Son of God. This representation of Jesus shows him as compassionate and thoughtful and certainly not vengeful or dogmatic.

I have received some replies about this diaries and was referred to a lengthy article. If you liked my diaries, this is well worth your read. It is called "About Christianity."

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Five Star Reviews for St. Peter's Choice: A Novel by Dean T. Hartwell

The Government's Secret Weapon

St. Peter's Choice - A Novel by Dean T. Hartwell out Soon!

Did Jesus Fake His Own Death?

What Is the Real Story about Jesus?

A Dialogue, Not a Monologue, about Christianity

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