All posts by George

“You have to have a platform George…”

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I do? Says who? Says the self-publishing industry driven by the practices and protocols set forth by those with the knowledge, experience, and measurable success as self-published authors to guide those of us just getting started. Well, here’s another example of me doing things a bit out of the norm by publishing Cows in the Pews and the Atheists Too first and then going about building a platform.

So, I’ve considered, pondered, and procrastinated to the point I couldn’t postpone it any longer. I had to come to terms with the fact that “No, my book isn’t suddenly gonna get picked up by some big publisher and all the hard work of marketing it will take care of itself”.  And “No, the subject matter, “Faith and God” doesn’t speak for itself”. Well, you’d think it would but, that subject, in and of itself,  is a huge platform with many, many people trying to get a piece of the pie.

All of which led me to realize that I’m gonna have to build my own platform; one a bit more nuanced than the broad-brush declaration of: “Hey, everybody, take a listen to what I have to say about God because… well, just because…”  So here I go, I’m going to build a platform that stands apart from many of the forms of religious Christianity that are all seemingly different sides of a multi-sided dice.

So you know, I’m an engineer who likes to build, fix, and tinker with things and I’ve been told that it somehow comes through in my writing style, if that’s what you want to call it. I’ve built a couple of decks, used to be a framer in my younger years, so I have a pretty good idea what it takes to construct a platform and they all start with a solid foundation.

The tricky part of all of this will be for me to successfully build this figurative platform in such a way that it truly stands apart from main stream Christianity so prevalent in our day to day lives.  By now you might be wondering why?  “Why is your aim to somehow discredit Catholicism and Protestantism or “main-stream Christianity” as you call it?”  “Who do you think you are?”  “What right or what credentials do you have that authorizes you to speak such blasphemy against the “churches” that have been in existence for centuries?”  “Furthermore, it’s very rude of you to mock most, if not all Christians as a herd of cows being herded by the many “shepherds” in service to our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.”

Admittedly, it’s a tough and lonely position to hold but, conviction is what drives me. The conviction that comes from the understanding that as  bible believing Christians, I am, and we are ambassadors for Christ as established by a passage found in the King James Version of the Bible. The conviction that I am, in truth, duty bound to proclaim what I am proclaiming.  Here’s the passage:

II Corinthians 5: 20

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

So, my “platform” will be built on a foundation laid by God in His word and in the end you’ll decide whether it’s sound enough to cause you to leave the religious platform you currently stand on and step onto this free-standing platform that is founded by the Word of God, nothing more, nothing less.
For starters, let me offer a couple of pieces of the foundation that must be set in place before you can build anything else.

 

II Peter 1: 20 and 21
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

 

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

 

Romans 10: 17
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

 

Ephesians 2: 8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

 

Romans 5: 1
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

 

And last but not least:

 

I Corinthians 3: 9-11
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

 

That’s nine biblical passages that I understand to mean the following:
1. The bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God stated plainly, needing no “private” interpretation.  In other words, it says what it says and means what He means.
2. There’s no hiding who you really are from God’s word, who is His Son, Jesus Christ.
3. You can’t claim to have faith unless you have heard, which is to say, considered the word of God.  Suffice it to say, sitting in a church service week in and week out does not constitute “hearing” the word of God.  I know, I know.  That’s a rather bold assertion but, hear me out.
4. Through faith and faith alone, we are saved by the Grace of God and not only saved but we are also at peace with God.  What a relief to know that…
5. And lastly, the foundation for the platform I aim to build has already been laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Thankfully I don’t have to do what is probably the most difficult part of building a platform; which is laying  the foundation.  That’s already been done and if I understand the I Corinthians 3 passage above, I’d better take heed, which is to say beware of how I build my platform atop the already established foundation of Jesus Christ.