In the October Author Spotlight ...
The Rev. Dr. William Edwin Jacobs, author of
Magnificent Journey  and
Answers to Unanswered Questions of Life and Religion

 

 

The Rev. Dr. Wm. Edwin Jacobs is an extensive traveler with many fascinating and adventurous experiences. Consequently, he speaks and writes from an incredible accumulation of first-hand experience. In his new book, Answers to Unanswered Questions of Life and Religion, Dr. Jacobs ventures answers to vital questions of philosophy and religion from a scientifically enlightened trans-denominational Christian point of view.

Known as scholarly, deeply insightful, and quick-witted, Dr. Jacobs is extremely well read and has been described by several reviewers as the last of the Renaissance men. He has has influenced thousands of people in the course of his career as a minister. Originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, he served in the U.S. Air Force, including one year (1955) in Japan during the extended period of the Korean Conflict. Dr. Jacobs received his Bachelor of Arts Degree magna cum laude in 1960 from Milligan College, the Master of Divinity Degree from Vanderbilt University in 1976, and the Doctor of Ministry Degree from Vanderbilt in 1978. The middle year of the Master of Divinity Degree was spent at the St. Meinrad School of Theology at the Benedictine Archabbey of St. Meinrad.

In 1976 he was ordained to the ministry by the Christian Church (D.O.C.) in Kentucky, and served churches in Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, and Illinois – where he retired January 31, 2000 after serving over five years at a church there. He was married in 1984 and they have one daughter; they continue to reside in Illinois. Edwin served from September 2002 to September 2005 as a volunteer chaplain in the Civil Air Patrol with the rank of captain.

The result of his unique educational background, combined with his military experience in a war zone, plus various travels and years on the front-lines of the kingdom of God, has resulted in a unique, penetrating, and boldly realistic perspective of life from the viewpoint of the Christian faith.

In his first book Answers to Unanswered Questions of Life and Religion, Dr. Jacobs confronts the truly basic questions that are rarely, if ever, honestly dealt with. "The book is strictly informative," he explains, "written in an interesting way with a lot of instances and events that are related."

In the introduction to the book, Rev. Jacobs explains that in this day and age, some people no longer agonize over the critical questions of life. “Evidently some think that to have a definite answer might be offensive to people of a different persuasion, or to those who have no answer at all,” he says. "But for many people, both in and out of the church, answers to critical questions meet a deep personal need."

Dr. Jacobs tackles this seemingly insurmountable task with an honest, no nonsense approach from a Christian perspective. Each chapter begins with a thought-provoking quotation and then moves directly to the heart of the matter: the questions, the evidence, and the answer. Dr. Jacobs doesn't give answers based merely on opinion, but in all cases, supports his conclusions with scriptural, and often historical, evidence. Some of the questions include “Does a person have a right of self-defense?”, “What constitutes saving faith?”, and "Why did Jesus pick bread to represent his body?" "This book has a lot of new information in it," he says.

In his second book, Magnificent Journey, Dr. Jacobs recounts an actual experience in which things took several unexpected turns. It is a welcome positive relief from the pessimism of our everyday life. "All of the events in both the major and minor narratives actually happened; none of this is fiction," Dr Jacobs explains. "Naturally, the theology that is interspersed in the narrative runs the risk of being regarded as pure invention by those of a different persuasion. Nevertheless, the events of the main narrative actually took place that New Years Eve."

Dr. Jacobs is extremely well-read and has traveled extensively through over 11 countries. Among his journeys, he was part of the Vanderbilt Alumni College in Russia, a three week study/travel venture in 1979 at the height of the empire’s power.  He is currently working on a third book, a book of meditations on the Apostle's Creed.

To purchase your copy of Magnificent Journey , visit
http://www.atlasbooks.com/marktplc/02262journey.htm

To purchase your copy of Answers to Unanswered Questions of Life and Religion, visit
http://www.atlasbooks.com/marktplc/02262answers.htm

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