Reviews
Why You Were Born: A Choice We Don't Get To Make! by Charles Pope
Reviewed by Donna Ford
“We must exert as much effort in how we live as we exert in discovery of the intended way of life.”
Pope shares his frustration as a young man seeking to find his own earthly purpose. Taking the Bible literally, he questioned much of what was being taught in his church. By incorporating secular history into religious research, he made the story of mankind after the flood come alive without having to invent elaborate explanations. Consider two of Noah’s grandsons. The builder of Nineveh was Shem’s son Assur, likely known in history as Sargon II. After God confounded the languages at the Tower of Babel, Cush’s son Nimrod became Egypt’s god, Osiris, and the Phoenicians’ god, Baal.
In another example, the author’s research suggests that while Egypt had one major Pharaoh (like our president), there were lesser Pharaohs ruling provinces who existed at the same time. This shortens the Egyptian timeline so that it agrees with the Biblical record of Noah’s descendants. Pope also claims that two Pharaohs listed may actually be Jacob’s grandson, Job, and his own son, Joseph. These descendants of Shem brought light and knowledge to Cush’s relatives in Egypt, who during their lives were considered great and almost gods.
A student of history, Pope has used his knowledge to diligently match portions of the Bible to historical records that include Egyptian hieroglyphics, writings of middle east kings, and documents of the Greeks, Romans, and Jewish people. The message is skillfully presented in this book, while occasionally hindered by style errors, including point of view shifts, tense changes, and typos. The serious reader will also miss end notes and an index. However, using Pope’s novel approach to expand what we know about the lives of Bible characters, from Old Testament to New, the author has surely found his life calling. He hopes that readers will be inspired to discover, as well, why they were born.
- US Review
Pacific Book Review
The Bible holds many truths for mankind, but only if understood correctly. Charles Pope believes that his study of the Bible has led him to a unique and invaluable revelations of its teaching. It is common today to speak of choices – something we all have and by which we can direct our lives. Pope reminds us that though we do have many crucial choices to make in life, we can’t choose to be born. The fact that we have been born now gives us responsibility to make use of our time here, as the author has, to find our purpose.
In a lengthy explication of Biblical characters and events, seen both in historical and scientific perspective and in the light of what many Christian religions teach, Why You Were Born challenges us to separate faith-based lore from spiritual fact. Some of our misconceptions may be based on our own flawed reasoning and some on outright deception on the part of people who used the words (translations) of the Bible for their own purposes. However, there is real knowledge to be gleaned from scripture if we are alert to it. One example of how the Bible can steer us to the correct course is encapsulated in the meeting of Jesus with the woman at the well.
As Pope demonstrates neatly, in this simple encounter Jesus makes it clear that he is the Messiah, that forgiveness of sin and redemption are available to all, that salvation will come by “believing in God’s holy word and Spirit,” and that from henceforth, “God can be worshiped anywhere, anytime” – not just in the mountains or in the synagogue.
Pope has a clear sight, based on his personal research, that humans will not be saved by churches, nor can any perceived worldly threat destroy the true unshakable faith of those who have repented and want to live with God throughout eternity. The author has built his case with many details taken from Biblical study. He states, for example, that centuries before science discovered the workings of the pineal gland; Job had identified this spiritual energy source.
Another example is seen in the establishment of the church: the author shows through certain translations that Jesus built his church based upon himself, not on Peter, refuting the Roman Catholic doctrine of Peter as the first pope. His points, taken separately, are interesting and at times, compelling.
Nonetheless, there are many important ways in which Pope’s beliefs are consistent with those of many protestant faiths.
Based on the author’s personal research and conviction, Why You Were Born presents challenging ideas about Christian doctrine that many spiritual seekers may find thought provoking.Barbara Bamberger Scott
- Pacific Book Review
WHY YOU WERE BORN
BOOK REVIEW
According to debut author Pope, The authentic teaching of the Bible has either been dismissed by academic historians or hijacked by deceitful churches and religious institutions. Pope aims to offer a rigorously empirical interpretation that clarifies the plan the Bible offers humankind, functioning as a kind of spiritual handbook. The author’s approach is breathtakingly ambitious—-he covers virtually every major theme and personage in the Bible, offering a series of iconoclastic revisions of conventional interpretation. For example, he believes God created the Earth, but the existence of dinosaurs preceded the emergence of man. Also, while Pope harbors suspicions about evolutionary theory, he does find compelling evidence that there was a war between God and the angels approximately one million years ago.
In general, Pope attempts to achieve a harmonization of modern science and biblical theology; for example, discoveries within medical science regarding invisible frequencies seem to confirm the existence of a soul. Also, the author writes, there is ample evidence of supernatural interventions into the natural world, however stubbornly dismissed by professional historians. Pope readings can be provocatively original—he hypothesizes that the Book of Job was written during the time of Joseph, and that Job was an Egyptian Pharaoh. Further, the author’s attempt to rescue the decocted, vital spirit of religion from institutional calcification is commendable.
He finally reveals the grand plan of the Bible for each of us: “The reason I was born is the same reason you were born; to become a literal born of the spirit child of God with a spiritual and eternal existence with the Invisible Creator God who designed this process for us to reach our intended destiny!”
