Genesis to Revelation

 Genesis to Revelation: Abraham's Promise - Finding Christ and Seeing God, Michael McPadden, 2023

This book starts with a spiritual jolt. "Everything you and I were ever taught about the story of the creation of man and the universe from the Bible is wrong." The author asserts that the present-day church has become irrelevant because it does not understand its own teachings. The blame for such a situation goes to the early translators of the Bible, especially those who created the English King James Version, about 500 years ago.

If they encountered a section of Scripture that conflicted with the church's worldview at that time, instead of questioning that worldview, they just changed the meanings of the words to fit that preconceived worldview.

In the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis, the names "Adam" and "Eve" are never mentioned. The man was created from the dust of the ground, but the woman is a product of the man's physical body. Why? The woman is called a "helper" for the man, not "mate" or "companion." The book says that the woman was never given the breath of life, and is never referred to as a living soul. She is part biology and part programming code.

This is an eye-opening book. The author took the time to go back to the Hebrew and Greek versions of the Bible to see what the original authors really meant. It is very dense reading, but very worthwhile reading. 

The Unworthy

 The Unworthy, Michael Prelee, Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, 2023

Part three of a series, this science fiction story is about a man named Nathan. Along with his crew, he is an interstellar "repo man," repossessing spaceships whose owners have fallen behind on their payments.

As mankind spreads out in the galaxy, it runs into planets that are not suitable for humans. Instead of changing the planet to fit humans, why not change humans to fit the planet? Xandra, the richest woman in the solar system, wants Nathan and his crew to find a ship that has been missing for the past several years. They are not told that "experiments" with uninformed human subjects, have been happening on the ship (think "crimes against humanity"). 

The crew gets control of the ship, and make a "jump" in the direction of Earth, or so it thinks. The ship's navigation system has been sabotaged, so they, literally, don't know where they are in the galaxy. Does the ship, and its evidence, reach Earth? Does Xandra get what she deserves?

Here is an excellent novel. It has everything a reader could want, including good writing, deep space and monsters. This is a gem of a story.

How to Set Financial Goals

 How to Set Financial Goals, Aryan Chaudhary, 2021

What sort of financial goals do you have in mind? Is it a short-term goal, like saving enough money to purchase a new, big-screen TV? Do you want to start an emergency fund, in case of sudden bills, or some sort of investment account? Is it a long-term goal, like saving enough money to buy a house? This book can help.

What happens if you don't set any kind of financial goals? You may become stuck in life, and your dreams will remain unfulfilled. You will fall into the debt trap, and life will teach you some unpleasant lessons. The chances get better of you dying broke. You will be forced to spend more and more time at work, neglecting your family.

Financial planning, ahead of time, will help neutralize any short-term "wants" and help keep you focused on your overall goal.

Now, start getting specific about your overall goal. What do you need? When do you need it? How will you contribute to it? To give a simple example, you want to create an emergency fund of at least USD6000 in the next 12 months. You need to figure out a way to put aside USD500 per month, every month.

This is an interesting book. Most of it is a workbook, with plenty of space to write down your progress toward your ultimate goal. Yes, it is very much worth considering.