FAQs

What is this book about?
It's a collection of short, fictional stories of various people who ponder their relationship (or lack thereof) with God and others, while living out their lives based on their own identity and convictions. Each story is based on different true stories and quotes. Since each chapter will be fully biased to the beliefs and opinions of the main character, it may contradict the truth implied by another chapter.

Is this book meant to teach me about God or change my beliefs?
The focus of the book is not to push any specific idea about God and religion as truth. That is up the reader to decide (and let's be honest, you've probably already made up your mind, right?). The only premises assumed to be true is that, 1, God exists, and 2, God loves everyone. Although this book is written for those who believe these two premises to be true (in whatever form that may be), any person interested in understanding other people's ideas would probably benefit from reading this book.

Why are you conducting interviews? What's the point of writing so many different opinions as though they were true if they do not agree?
My goal is to help the reader explore all the many ways people see God, and I didn't want to make up different ideas if they aren't my ideas. I want this book to be based on actual ideas and beliefs as they understand them to be true--not how I understand others or what I think they believe.

Conversations about differing beliefs can be difficult and frustrating, so you may avoid or fear having these discussions. This book is a great first step to break down preconceptions of others and love them as God does (and might foster better conversations in the future). My hope is that you will also see the God who loves them all a little better and perhaps even discover your misconceptions about God as well.

I'm an atheist. Why should I care about this book?
People who believe in God are a diverse and sometimes irritating group of people! My hope is that this book would reveal the many various ways they understand God, and you. My book will contain interviews of several atheists (let me know if you're interested!) because I strongly believe that believers can learn from your perspective. Most of us grew up believing that God loves everyone, but have a funny way of showing it to anyone with which we disagree! My heart's desire is that this book will help believers learn to simply love people instead of seeing them as a "sinner" they need to convert, oppose, or avoid. Anyone who reads this book with an open mind will be better able to understand others, regardless of their beliefs.

Are you still collecting interviews? How could I get involved?
At the time of writing this (Feb 2017), I am just getting started! Please comment on a blog post or email me if you are interested in volunteering for an interview! I am eager to gain as many different perspectives as possible. Everyone is welcome and there are no wrong answers! I will be posting on the blog as I begin the publishing process, so check the blog to know if I am looking for volunteers at this time.

If I agree to an interview, how do I know you will accurately represent me and my ideas?
I guess you'll have to trust me! I am very open-minded and new ideas fascinate me. I strongly value putting my personal feelings aside when getting to know someone. I will not try to contradict you or argue with you during the interview process, nor will I add my personal commentary when writing your story, should I choose your story for the final cut. It's your story and your chapter will be totally biased to your ideas!

I may also combine your quotes with a similar story if they align very well, so you might see only part of your story in the final version. I believe it is in everyone's best interests not to seek my contributors' opinions/approval on the final story before it is published, but I humbly commit to giving your story just as much validity and effort as I will to everyone else's, again, regardless of my personal feelings. The moral of each story is, God loves you too (and so should/do I).

Will my identity be private in the stories?
I will include actual quotes to promote authenticity and variety, but the stories themselves will be fictional--I won't be using any actual names and may change minor details about you or your story. Most likely, anyone reading the book will not know whom I have interviewed unless they had prior knowledge or have discussed religion and God with you in such detail that they recognize your quote.

What are the questions you ask in the interview? How long will it take?
I will not to reveal the list publicly because I want the interview answers to be as candid and unrehearsed as possible. However, I can tell you that all of the questions are open to interpretation and are meant to discover a person's religious upbringing, ideas about religion, God, and others. The questions are unbiased to any belief whatsoever, unable to contrive a desired answer or devalue anyone's opinions and beliefs. There are no wrong answers and most of the questions are designed to allow responses to be as long or as short as the person wishes them to be. We can take as little or as much time is you desire.

What if I change my mind about sharing my opinions with you?
At any point during or after the interview, you are free to withdraw your interview from my research. I will keep the original interviews and my notes, and will track where each quote was taken. After I have published, I will not be able to remove information. Rest assured, though, that I will do my utmost to be fair and respectful of both your beliefs and your privacy. I will do everything in my power to accurately represent you, and will be seeking the feedback of a number of people during the editing process of the fictional stories to ensure that the final copy will be as free of my personal opinion as possible.

Did I forget anything? Please comment below!