Apologetics Creativity Faith Personal Theology
R. L. Solberg  

A Party for a Book

We threw a party for a book, and boy was it fun. My first book, Torahism: Are Christians Required to Keep the Law of Moses? was released on Williamson College Press on November 5, 2019. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a wonderful evening at Williamson College in Franklin, TN. Williamson College could not have been more supportive and encouraging. Thanks to everyone who came out to support me and the college! It was an evening I won’t forget.

The event began with some lovely music courtesy of a string quintet made of five musicians from the Nashville Praise Symphony. Their music set a beautiful tone for the evening with lots of great selections including what I believe was a theme from the Narnia movie. It was an honor and a blessing for them to lend their time and talent to the evening.

A selfie with the string players.

As the players played, the minglers mingled and I got a chance to hug a few old friends and meet a few new friends. Plus, there was cake.

(Funny thing is I never ended up getting a piece of this tasty-looking cake! I ended up otherwise distracted for the bulk of the event.)

Also in attendance was my amazing family, including my daughter Sami who flew in from Florida to surprise me and attend the event.

Me and my boo, Debra.
Me and my boo.
Proud Dad! These are two amazing young women. And, yes, single young men, I am armed.

After some far-too-kind remarks from Williamson College President Ed Smith, Ph.D. and professor and apologist Paul Wilkinson, Ph.D. (who wrote the forward to my book), I took the stage and shared the story of how the book came about. I also read a few excerpts from the book and fielded some questions. (I hope to post some video of the remarks soon.)

R. L. Solberg Speaking
“A priest, a rabbi, and a shaman walk into a bar…”

Afterward, I got a chance to meet more folks, including a couple who are dealing with some friends who seem headed down the same heretical path discussed in my book.

Researching and writing the book was challenging. Especially since I had no idea where I would end up on the issues I tackled. The project began as a personal attempt to process my thoughts and work through where my positions on the issues. It was a process of testing my own assumptions against Scripture and history. There was a tremendous amount of material to absorb and organize and, as hard as the process was, I loved it. It was personally rewarding. But then to also learn that the book was helpful to other people was, really, what it’s all about. It’s been my prayer from the beginning that the book would help to strengthen the faith of a few Saints and help a few lost souls find their way back to Jesus.

The book was inspired by a long conversation I had with some friends (who I call Bob and Sue in the book) who walked away from the Christian faith and decided, instead, to follow the Law of Moses. So it was very rewarding for me to get the following message:

My brother is Bob. I’m glad you have written this book so that we can have a clear insight into their new ‘religion/cult’ so that we can properly debate scripturally with him. This issue had divided our family as some of them have followed Bob and Sue into this cult. My sister has sent me many of your posts over the past few months. She has read your book and is giving it to our dad tomorrow. I will be ordering a copy. Had I known about the book signing I would have enjoyed attending and meeting you. My husband and I live in NC and could have driven to see you. Thanks again for writing the book!

—Bob’s Sibling

It’s been a fascinating journey so far, and I feel like it’s only just beginning. I am honored to be working with Williamson College (where, by the way, I am currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Theological Studies) and excited to see how God is going to use me and this book.

Me defacing books for my friends.

What do you think?

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