EXCITING NEWS!!! POPULAR BELIEFS: ARE THEY BIBLICAL?

CAME OFF THE PRESS ON APRIL 25, 2008

The long-awaited book Popular Beliefs: Are They Biblical? came off the press on April 25, 2008. We are now processing the prepublication orders received for over 6000 copies. If you have not ordered your copy, you can still order the book at the prepublication price of only $5.00 instead of $30.00, until May 31, 2008. Se the details below.

Popular Beliefs: Are They Biblical? was born out of the frequent discussions with Christians of different denominations about their beliefs. Participants at my weekend seminars, as well as subscribers to my Endtime Issues Newsletter, often ask me: Why are some of my beliefs biblically wrong? How can they be unbiblical, when they are held by the vast majority of Christians?

To answer these questions, I have devoted thirty years of my life researching and writing 18 books which examine some of today's popular beliefs from a biblical perspective. Furthermore, a large number of the 200 Endtime Issues Newsletters which I have emailed during the past 10 years to over 35,000 subscribers, examine popular beliefs historically and biblically. This book represents an expansion of the studies posted in my newsletters, which are readily accessible at www.biblicalperspectives.com/endtimeissues/

Reasons for Writing This Book

Two major factors motivated me to spend one year of my life to further research and write this book on Popular Beliefs: Are they Biblical? The first, is my passion for biblical and historical accuracy. An example is the five years I spent at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy, investigating for my doctoral dissertation the popular belief that the change from Sabbath to Sunday worship came about by the authority of Christ and the apostles to commemorate the Lord's Resurrection.

The findings of my dissertation From Sabbath to Sunday are summarized in chapter 6 of this book, entitled "Sunday Sacredness." The study shows that this popular belief of Sunday sacredness lacks both biblical and historical support. Historically, the origin of Sunday observance began approximately one century after Christ's death, during the reign of Emperor Hadrian (117-138), as a result of an interplay of political, social, pagan, and religious factors.

The conclusions of my investigation were well-accepted by the examining commission made up of five distinguished Jesuit scholars. An indication is the gold medal of Pope Paul VI awarded to me for earning the summa cum laude distinction in my school work and dissertation From Sabbath to Sunday. This experience has greatly encouraged me to re-examine the biblical validity and historical accuracy of other popular beliefs, such as those included in this book.

The second factor that has motivated me to write this book is the increasing demand for a study that can help sincere and open-minded Christians to test the validity of their beliefs on the basis of the normative authority of the Bible. More and more Christians today are questioning the biblical validity of some of their denominational beliefs. This is partly due to the new climate of intellectual freedom that encourages people to take a fresh look at social, political, and religious issues. In Western countries most people no longer feel bound to blindly accept the beliefs of their churches. They want to find out for themselves if what they have been taught is based on biblical teachings or on church traditions.

Take for example the popular belief in the immortality of the soul which is examined at length in chapter 2 of this book. For centuries most Christians have accepted and still accept as biblical truth the dualistic view of human nature, as consisting of a material, mortal body and a spiritual, immortal soul. In recent years, however, a host of Bible scholars, philosophers, and scientists have re-examined this belief and found it to be contrary to Scripture, reason and science. Over one hundred studies produced by Catholic and Protestant scholars are cited in my book Immortality or Resurrection? A Biblical Study on Human Nature and Destiny.

The massive scholarly assault on the traditional dualistic view of human nature, will eventually filter through the rank and file of Christian denominations. When this happens, it will cause considerable intellectual and personal crisis in the lives of Christians accustomed to believing that at death their souls break loose from their bodies and continue to exist either in the beatitude of paradise or in the torment of hell. Many Christians will be sorely disappointed to discover that their belief in the afterlife has no biblical basis whatsoever. The Bible clearly teaches that the dead in Christ rest in the grave until resurrection morning.

What is true for the popular belief in the immortality of the soul is also true of other popular beliefs examined in this book: Purgatory, Hell as Eternal Torment, the Intercession of the Saints, the Mediation of Mary, Sunday Sacredness, Speaking in Tongues, Once Saved Always Saved, and Infant Baptism. Most of these popular beliefs trace their origin, not from Scripture, but from the Platonic dualistic view of human nature, consisting of a mortal body and an immortal soul. The adoption of this pagan belief in the second century, has had a devastating impact on Christian beliefs and practices.

The popular beliefs examined in this book have been investigated by scholars of different persuasions. In most cases they found them to be contrary to biblical teachings. Some of the findings of these studies are cited in this book where a chapter is devoted to each popular belief.

There is no question that Biblical scholarship is bound to cause a great deal of existential anxiety to millions of Christians who will be surprised to discover that some of their popular and traditional beliefs lack biblical support. The purpose of this study is not to intensify such anxiety, but to encourage all Christians committed to the normative authority of the Scripture, to re-examine their traditional beliefs and reject those which are proven to be unbiblical. The Christian hope for a personal and cosmic redemption must be grounded on the unmistakable teachings of God's Word, not on ecclesiastical traditions.

Importance of this Book on Popular Beliefs: Are They Biblical?

This research project has been very expensive in time and money. During this past year I have invested an average of 15 hours a day on this manuscript, because I believe it is desperately needed to call out of Babylon many sincere people who are sincerely seeking to know and to do the revealed will of God.

There are million of sincere Christians who do not realize that most of their popular beliefs are biblically wrong, while our Adventist beliefs are biblically right. This book Popular Beliefs: Are they Biblical? is designed to help these sincere Christians to re-examine their beliefs in the light of the normative authority of Scripture.

At this time our Adventist Church has not no scholarly witnessing book written in a popular style that can help sincerely people understand why their popular beliefs are biblically wrong, and our Adventist beliefs are biblically right. This is why Popular Beliefs: Are they Biblical? is urgently needed today. This is an ideal witnessing book to help people understand why their popular beliefs are wrong and our Adventist beliefs are biblically right. 

YOU WILL BE GLAD THAT FINALLY YOU CAN GIVE TO YOUR FRIENDS A BOOK THAT EXPOSES FALSE TEACHING AND AFFIRMS BIBLICAL TRUTHS IN A CALM, DISPASSIONATE, AND OBJECTIVE WAY.

Author's Hope

I have written this book with the earnest desire to help Christians of all persuasions to re-examine their popular beliefs in the light of the normative authority of the Bible. At a time when most Christians still hold to popular beliefs that derive from human traditions rather than from biblical revelation, it is imperative to recover those biblical truths that God has revealed for our eternal salvation.

It is my fervent hope that this book, fruit of many months of dedicated research, will help Christians of all persuasions to "come out" of the Babylonian confusion of popular but unbiblical beliefs, and accept God's glorious plan for our present life and our future destiny.

Special Pre-publication Offer of Popular Beliefs: Are They Biblical?

The book consists of 384 pages with a nice four colors, laminated cover as shown above. It is scheduled to come off the press in a few days by April 15, 2008.

At this time we wish to offer our readers the opportunity to place an order at the special pre-publication prices listed below. Your advanced orders will offer me, not only the encouragement needed to speedily complete this very demanding project, but also an approximate idea of how many copies we should print. Thank you for your encouragement and support. Your order will be processed as soon as the book comes out by the end April.

1 copy of Popular Beliefs: Are they Biblical? at $30.00 per copy. Mailing expenses are included for the USA. Add $10.00 for AIRMAIL postage to any overseas destination.

10 copies of Popular Beliefs: Are they Biblical? at $10.00 per copy, postage paid, instead of the regular price of $30.00. ($100.00 for 10 copies). Mailing expenses are included for the USA. Add $40.00 for AIRMAIL postage to any overseas destination.

30 copies (one case) of Popular Beliefs: Are they Biblical? at $5.00 per copy ($150.00 for 30 copies). Mailing expenses are included for the USA. Add $80.00 for AIRMAIL postage to any overseas destination.

100 copies of Popular Beliefs: Are they Biblical? at $4.00 per copy, postage paid. ($400.00 for 100 copies). Mailing expenses are included for the USA. Add $160.00 for AIRMAIL postage to any overseas destination.

HOW TO ORDER POPULAR BELIEFS: ARE THEY BIBLICAL?

You can order Popular Beliefs: Are they Biblical? at the pre-publication prices given above, in four different ways:

(1) ONLINE: By clicking here: http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/cart/catalog/index.php?cPath=26_35

(2) PHONE:  By calling us at (269) 471-2915 to give us your credit card number and postal address.

(3) EMAIL:  By emailing your order to <sbacchiocchi@biblicalperspectives.com>. Be sure to provide your postal address, credit card number, and expiration date. 

(4) REGULAR MAIL: By mailing a check to BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES, 4990 Appian Way, Berrien Springs, Michigan 49103, USA. We guarantee to process your order as soon as the book comes off the press.