And God Laughed by Roy A. Teel Jr

 

 

Imagine that you had the opportunity to speak to God and ask Him any questions that you want. What would you ask? Dr. Roy A. Teel Jr. does this for us in his book ‘And God Laughed’ that centers on one man’s on-going conversations with God. And take my word, this conversation and the resulting revelations are nothing short of phenomenal.

The seed for this soul searching journey is sowed when Justin, a computer network engineer discovers a book titled ‘Does God Exist?’ at a library book sale in his small mountain town. Being raised as a Christian, Justin initially refrains from purchasing the book, but the question refuses to leave his mind. Contributing to his need to look for answers is a catastrophic incident that nearly left him and his fiancé Alex shattered. He thus embarks on a journey to prove the existence of God for himself. While Alex, a child psychiatrist and atheist thinks that the conversations Justin is having with “God,” are internally manifested as a result of the trauma, for Justine it is a rebirth of sorts.

The technique that Justin follows is simple: He finds a quiet place to pray then calls on God and lo behold! He answers. From the beginning of their conversations, God’s personality is bold and authentic: He is opinionated and even profane at times. Their initial conversations focus on the teachings of religion and God denies being involved with it at all. His answer: “I’m not religious. That’s your deal.” He goes on to tell Justin that man created religion to control humankind. He also denies most of the religious tenets Justin believes in, except for one: He declares that He encoded the “golden rule” on the souls of humankind. Both Justin and God become frustrated as they argue over the issues of the Bible, Jesus, science, and the failure of God to intervene in the lives of humans when they are most in need. In response, God emphasizes that humans have free will, which they need to use with discretion and then offers the following advice: “One of the most empowering things that you can do as a human is take responsibility for your life and this includes your failures as well as your successes. It’s a sign of true power.”

These sessions, which span several years, reveal an unconventional God who challenges every idea humans have about a higher power. The God presented in this book is not what has been projected by traditional religion down the yeas. Far from being judgmental the God of Teel’s imagination conveys an underlying theme of unconditional love and acceptance. Teel discards the rules and laws of traditional religion that often serve more to separate people from God than to bring them closer to Him. The message Teel wants to convey is both clear-cut and beautiful: God is available to every human being; you simply have to call on Him. His thought-provoking conversations with the Divine will have you questioning your own closely held dogma, lead you down a road of self-discovery, and allow you to find more freedom within your own beliefs. Some of the concepts discussed in this story may be difficult for readers to consider, or maybe not: It depends on your mentality and belief system. This is the type of book that calls for the reader to review his present life and look for meaningful alternatives.

‘And God Laughed’ is truly a magnificent story that will challenge your long held beliefs about human existence, role of religion and God Himself. It is an enlightening, inspiring and edifying story. So, if you are ready for a journey of self discovery and would like to find out more about the ‘golden rule, take this opportunity to do so. You can be sure to have a ‘revealing’ experience!

Teel is an ordained minister and author of non-fiction books about Christianity, including The Way, the Truth and the Lies (2006), which makes the discussions about religion, premarital sex, abortion and death in this fictional piece even more interesting.

Available for free download on January 30th and 31st.

Find it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/VpoCmK