Profile: Martin Whitehouse

About This Author

A Brief History of God was originally inspired after trying to discover some of the answers to my own faith. I was often asked how Jesus the Messiah was able to save men from their sins? While this is a common and reasonable question unfortunately I didn't have a complete answer. I knew what the Bible said about Jesus saving humankind by dying on the cross and being raised from death - this was what Jesus did and why he did it, but not how He did it! There was obviously more to all of this than met the eye and so began a personal search to find the answer. I have to admit it took me a lot longer than I expected and grew into much more than I could of imagined. Perhaps unlike most authors I didn't begin this project with the intent of writing a book. As my research progressed I repeatedly edited and refined my findings and the volume of information grew. It was then I began to realise this could be written down in booklet form. While praying about this I believe that God provided me with a scripture of confirmation that this was the right thing to do. It was from the Old Testament, Habakkuk 2:2-3. "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay." As my writing progressed I further realised that in order to make the information valid I would need to show that the biblical texts on which the study was based were themselves reliable. This in turn led me to thinking about what scripture had to say about God the Father as creator as well. In the end I had a collection of information which took me from considering what the biblical texts said about the earliest moments in creation, through to God's plans for humankind and the risks He took on our behalf, including examining some of the rich and colourful history of Israel - the Jewish nation. The role of Jesus the Christ is considered and how all of humankind are affected, including children and those disadvantaged by either geography or mental ability. I discovered Scripture provides an ancient message that remains relevant for all in today's modern world. Scripture informs us that this message includes you and me - in fact all of us - as we do not stand apart as observers but are a part of the continuing weave of history and the created order. By the time I completed the project I found I had over 40,000 words! Now I have to say as a person who struggles to put a 3.000 word essay down on paper, this has been a long-term project for me. I began this work while I was single. In the mean time I got married to Anna, brought our first home and gained a beautiful daughter, Katie. Around 16 years later A Brief History of God was finally finished after being put down, put on the back burner, picked up again and wrestled with - phew! Even after all this time I still feel very strongly that God inspired me to write and grapple with finishing this book. I hope if you decide to read it you will discover the wonderful truth about the ancient, yet gracious creator God that I seek to follow each day of my life.