Free Books For Everyone?

I recently received a gentle nudge that suggested I give my books away for free. The sentiment was shared in the nicest of ways. It intoned that because the content and ideas in them were freely received... as in it is God's knowledge and I did not do anything to earn it nor do I have rights to it... perhaps I should give them away for free. I would just like to respond to that in kindness for a moment. 

 

...Please come out meet James at the upcoming book tour...

First of all, I do my best to provide for free to any who ask. 

FOR YOUR FREE COPY OF "SATAN CHRISTIANITY'S OTHER GOD" EMAIL jrbrayshaw@scog.ca

 And is it not also a biblical instruction that we are to ask if we have a need or want something? Yahweh has everything and because He is God, one could say He received it all for free. Yet we are instructed to ask of Him. So that said, it is my privilege to offer for free, copies of my books to anyone who asks, and that has always been my policy.

To take the thinking a little further. I have had others suggest to me I should be giving this for free because it's scriptural teaching and I have received it for free. Without even getting into the hermeneutics of the "freely you have received so freely shall give passage", allow me to ask a couple questions. If the Messiah were a carpenter as some say, and He went to the woods to gather timbers to make into boards; and then He took those boards, milled them, and constructed a table from them; should He give away that table for free? After all the tree which he cut down was God's and it was freely given.

 

So, let me put this another way; 

If a man builds a printing press, and he prints the 1^st book ever printed and the most popular book in the world on it, he uses paper, ink, time and energy, care and concern; shall he given that most popular book in the world away for free? I'm referring here to the Bible. Most of us can look around our homes and find Bibles that were purchased for us or by us, yet those are the words of God directly in many people's thought… And people are selling and have been selling them since the 1^st printing.

 

So allow me to take that thinking just a little further. And I am not dogmatic on this but I like to see the other side of the argument that says “freely you have received so freely give”. In regards to that I ask a rather large question now; 

Have I freely received?

I have spent many hours, weeks, months, years of my time(which I understand is granted by Yahweh) toiling with doctrine and dogma to find a plausibly more correct and accurate understanding of the idea of Satan and Hell. And after receiving a gentle nudge to consider charging noting for some very valuable info, I thought I would take this opportunity to just express my point in writing. BTW, this post is offered to you absolutely for FREE. In this moment and in order to have a response to the "freely give" sentiment, I lay this out on paper that I might offer it to others who pose the same gentle nudging.

So carrying on, have I freely received this? I've already mentioned the time and toil that has been invested in this venture that has spanned over a decade,but what about the time I've taken away from my wife, my kids, my family, my friends, leisure activities, is there no cost to all of those?

And what about the vilification, the vitriol, and unfounded accusations of heresy that are spewed towards me for offering this position? What about losing friends who refuse to explore this in a healthy way so they simply abandon our friendship? Is there no cost to all those? 

What about the infrastructure to develop a 4 volume series of books which dismantles the idea of a supernatural Satan? By infrastructure I mean the warm rooms in my home that I sat in to study and write, the lighting that burns through the night when I stay up late composing, the technology that has become so valuable to a writer and researcher that many of us can't produce material without technology, the many books I've purchased in order to aid in my research, or even...to delve into the ultra mundane but yet required infrastructure... what about the sensible shoes one had to purchase to go walking in, in order to clear his head. The footwear required for the necessary walks that extend the hope that God will "freely give" more understanding about a topic or biblical reference. Walks in shoes that fuel the searching for a more clear perspective on a passage that has another angle to it but is hard to see. An angle which is so hard to see because of the years of indoctrination that has clapped shut the mind to an understanding other than the understanding one may already be imprisoned by? Is there no cost to all of those?

I think you can see I don't one-hundred percent believe the understanding and subsequent production of a book series that shares the understanding that Satan and Hell are not real was freely given. And if we consider the original biblical writings, neither do I believe the scribes of the Bible, those who wrote down the original words, were working for free when they were performing in their professional role as scribes.

So please consider; if you are inclined to question why an author such as me wouldn't give this godly insight away for free, first of all, know that I do often give for free. But as for the the tone underlying this post, I hope you can accept this simply as musings and not as a defense nor as an admonishment. I find it a great honor when asked person takes the time to request a free book in response to one of my several offers. 

I have learned in many areas that things people receive for free are often not valued by the recipient, so I believe there is wisdom in having people pay for a valuable item. Therefore I have come to terms with asking for money for a product I have produced by God's grace, a product that upon a cursory view may appear to have been freely received. But in fact when the tally comes in, there has been a great cost to producing this series. So in a large sense the 4 volume Imagine No Satan Series although given away freely to many was not given freely to me. I have no trouble admitting that I worked within the parameters God has provided and if I must charge a small stipend for people to enjoy the fruit of my labors, then so be it.Perhaps, and I pose this thought not seriously suggesting I'm going to charge more for my books, but perhaps, I am not charging enough for these works. At least that is the suggestion I have had from others in the literary and theological world.

So thank you for taking time to request a copy.

FOR YOUR FREE COPY OF "SATAN CHRISTIANITY'S OTHER GOD" EMAIL jrbrayshaw@scog.ca