Guest: Alan Richards

What Is The True Nature of God?

Author Examines Spirituality,
The Bible and The Existence and Divinity of God
Being religious doesn’t necessarily equate to being inflexible.

On the surface, the recent statistics that show more than 70 percent of all people in
America are affiliated with some level of religious belief. It would appear that we’re a
nation of believers, but a deeper look at the numbers demonstrates that people of faith
in the United States don’t strictly adhere to the dogma of their religions.

According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 69 percent of people who
consider themselves people of faith also believe that there is more than one way to
interpret the teachings of their religion.

Alan Richards, author of the new novel The Second Cycle from Emerald Book
Company, believes that this phenomenon is directly related to our continuing search for
the true nature of God.

Discussion Topics

• Do you really believe there is one truth in life that is more important than any
other? Is that truth revealed in your book? What is it?

• Is the message of your book anti-Christian?

• Which character most closely reflects your own views about God?

• Do you believe in reincarnation?

• Do you spend much time thinking about religious issues or learning about
religious beliefs?

• Do you consider yourself to be a religious person?

• Why do you think that we are less informed today even though we are provided
with more information than at any other time in history?

Topic Summary

Most people, even people of faith, don’t put much thought into the true nature of God.
“The simple truth is that most people are ignorant and blasé about the most important
thing in life, that being the true nature of God,” Richards said. “The Bible was written by
men – holy men – but men, nonetheless, which makes literal, dogmatic interpretation of
the Bible unpalatable to many people. It’s not just about whether the teachings and
dogma appeal to them or have a place in their lives or world view – it’s about the
difference between walking the walk and talking the talk.”

Richards draws his conclusions from a series of observations he made in researching

his book:

• History is supposition constructed from fragments of unreliable information.

• Religious belief has little to do with religious fact.

• The more distant in time that an event of religious significance supposedly took
place, the more willing are people to accept the occurrence as fact.

• Although we are provided with more information than ever before, we are less
informed, not more informed.

“The content of the Bible was more likely determined by the political considerations of
men than by divine revelation from God,” Richards said. “There is a famous Biblical
quote in which Jesus tells the crowd to ‘Give to God what is God and give to Caesar
what is Caesar’s.’ Now, given all the stories of the Bible during which Christ’s followers
rallied against kings and emperors and government, many Christians have trouble
swallowing the idea that Christ would actually tell people it’s a good idea to pay their
taxes. Is it possible that feudal lords and governors had some influence in the inclusion
of that passage during the Middle Ages? Who knows? But I wouldn’t bet against it.”

Richards’ book, while a fictional account of how a number of people come to terms with
their individual search for the true meaning of God, is based on the true journey that lies
before all of us, Richards said.

About Alan Richards

Alan Richards, 60, is a Chicago resident, and has been married to his wife, Meridee, for
39 years, and has two children – Kate, age 27, and Zachary, age 23. He was a
practicing attorney for 30 years doing mostly court room work. He holds a law degree
from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and an undergrad degree from
Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He has been included in Preeminent
Attorneys in America, published by Martindale Hubbell, the legal profession’s most
authoritative publication dealing with lawyer competency. He also appears in Who’s
Who in American Law.