Toledo, U.S.A. — Long-time street preacher and former convict Rev. “Slim” Lake is expanding into the holy ground of publishing. On July 1, 2012, the minister will release his first book, The Now Testament: Featuring the New Gospel, which he calls the “third testament of the Christian bible.”

Written during a six-year prison term at Allen County Correctional Institution, The Now Testament is a semi-autobiographical story that guides readers through translated Old and New Testament scriptures to an understanding of the Bible’s relevance today. The book blends powerful storytelling with raw evangelism.

“I was inspired by God to write The Now Testament as a way to reach young people and street people in my hometown and around the world,” says Rev. Slim. “It speaks to them using non-traditional words, not normally accepted in religious teaching. When in Rome, you must speak as the Romans speak.”

Convicted of illegal fundraising to match the needs of a poverty-stricken community’s people, Rev. Slim – who ran Toledo’s longest independently operated free Sunday meal program – was released in 2010. Since returning home, he has diligently worked to edit and self-publish The Now Testament, with the goal of having it recognized as the third testament of the holy Bible throughout the world; inviting “haters from all denominations to test the purity of God’s holy word.”

Though he has been one of Toledo’s most controversial figures, due to his criminal record and past drug addiction, Rev. Slim is also widely acknowledged as a champion for the young, struggling and people of weakened faith. Even the judge who sentenced him to his last prison term described Rev. Slim as “a pillar of his community,” in explaining the decision to let the preacher remain free until sentencing.

Rev. Slim reminds readers who question his background that even the more notable figures of the Old and New Testaments had tainted pasts: “If you read the Bible, you know that Moses committed murder, Noah got drunk, and Paul terrorized followers of Christ before he was inspired to write the majority of the New Testament. The Now Testament simply states that the young are chosen to lead God’s army in now time.”

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MIAMI BEACH,U.S.A. – In his latest book, Jesus on Homosexuality (http://www.jesusonhomosexuality.com), author and researcher Michael Wood claims that for 1,900 years, Christian scholars missed an essential fact about Jesus’ teachings. He states that Jesus repeatedly taught about a well-established group of commandments called Justices, a group of commandments that established what was required for eternal life and what would matter on Judgment Day but, tellingly, did not include the prohibition on homosexuality.

If Wood is correct, Jesus’ entire salvation message was based upon this well-defined group of commands that didn’t include the prohibition on homosexuality. In other words, Jesus specifically taught that homosexuality was irrelevant to salvation and judgment.

“Christianity originally began as a sect within Judaism, at a time when their law was divided into Justices and Jobs,” explained Wood. “The second-century writings of Justin Martyr show that when the Gentiles dominated the Faith in the second century, they brought with them the false assumption that the law was divided into morality and ritual. And the rest, as they say, is history.”

The Justices covered philanthropy and ethics while the Jobs addressed ritual observances and sexual taboos. The division was based on the precept, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” For example, the command not to rape was a Justice and the prohibition on homosexuality was a Job.

Wood pointed out that Jesus, Paul and James all used the precept, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” “Now we know that they used this precept to reference a well-established group of commandments — the Justices,” he said. “Each, in his own particular way, used the precept to explain that the Justices alone are the Christian law.”

Wood previously uncovered and wrote about new findings regarding the Bible’s book of Romans and the Dead Sea Scrolls. “Jesus on Homosexuality” (Tubi Publishing, LLC, April 2012) is the result of 10 years of research, and Wood includes numerous footnotes citing historical writings and other scholarly material to document the 1,900-year-old error.

One of the Biblical examples that Wood uses to support his claim that Jesus repeatedly presented the Justices as the entirety of the Law is Jesus’ response to the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-19. “In Jesus’ response he cited only ethical commandments and then quoted, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’– the precept designating the Justices,” Wood said.

“In other words, Jesus stated that only the Justices matter. Every Job — every religious requirement — was excluded. That deliberate exclusion was a clear statement of Jesus’ position on ritual (such as the prohibition on eating shellfish and wearing garments made of two cloths) and sexual taboos (such as the prohibition on homosexuality and having sex with your wife during her menstrual cycle). The discovery of the Justices and Jobs finally reveals Jesus’ original message.”

The 56-page ebook can be downloaded free of charge at http://www.JesusOnHomosexuality.com. Wood encourages readers to copy and distribute the book, provided it is copied in full without any editing or modification. “I wrote the book to kick-start a much-needed conversation. It’s time for the conversation to begin,” Wood said.

About the Author

Michael Wood designed REDOC-II – one of the only unbreakable codes in existence today. Wood then turned his cryptanalytic attention to finding a way to solving the problem of managing the physical infrastructure of the Internet. He designed an artificial intelligent system which instructed a computer how to decode the information flowing through its network wires. The computer then used artificial intelligence to assemble the deciphered information into a real-time map of the worldwide physical infrastructure.

Wood also applied his cryptanalytic skills to monitor the real-time level of human parasympathetic activity by decoding subtle changes in heart rate measurements.

Wood then turned his cryptanalytic skills to finding patterns in first-century Jewish language, culture, and law. After ten years of dedicated effort, this eventually led to the discovery of the Justices and Jobs in the writings of the Apostle Paul.

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There are many teenagers in America who, although they have a Father at home, they don’t have a close relationship at all. These kids build their own world through Internet video games and the latest technology.

But when it comes to relationships, they have no idea because it was not modeled in their home. Many teenage boys do not know what it means to be a man because their example which is their Father is absent from their life.

Courageous is produced by Sherwood pictures. About half the cast and crew are members of Sherwood Baptist Church, who volunteered for the movie. The other half were personally chosen by invitation only to audition for the movie. As with previous Sherwood productions the cast and crew were only members of the church congregation for the first time on this film they have included crew outside of their congregation.

Courageous shows us that it doesn’t matter what great accomplishments you may achieve out in there in the world and if everyone thinks you’re a hero it all comes back to the home , Are you the hero in the home?. The movie tells the story of four police officers who are trying to figure out what it means to be a great dad. Each one is at various stages of fatherhood.

As law enforcement officers they are called to serve and protect. They are focused on laying their lives on the line daily. But now, they have a bigger challenge to face which is Fatherhood. When tragedy strikes at home, these men wrestle with their faith, fears and fatherhood.

They now have a newfound urgency but will this lead them closer to God? Stephen Kendrick, the film’s producer, stated” The desire of the film is that when every man leaves the theatre he will be like Joshua in the bible. In Joshua 24:15 as for me and my house we will serve the lord.”

Protecting the streets and laying down their lives to protect the community is second nature to these men. Raising their children in a God-honoring way is what being courageous all is about to them. Movie-goers should be challenged by these everyday heroes who long to be the kind of dads that have a lifelong impact on their children’s lives.

Being a Christian film and based on Christian values and biblical principles this movie may not be able to identify with a secular audience. It is made with a Christian audience in mind. Although anyone with a family and with a desire to be a strong role model in the home should be able to identify with this film.

Courageous is an upcoming Christian drama produced by Sherwood pictures, the creators of the movies Fireproof, Facing the Giants and Flywheel. It was filmed in Albany, GA and is directed and stars Alex Kendrick. Kendrick also co-wrote the script with his brother Stephen, who serves also as producer.

Sherwood has found success with their previous movies including their biggest success to date which was Fireproof. Which starred Kirk Cameron former star of hit 1980s television series Growing Pains? The film will be released in theaters on September 30.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.courageousthemovie.com/

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