https://www.hesaiditididnt.com/
He Said It, I Didn’t looks like a great book. Can you tell us a little about it?
As the subtitle suggests, this is my version of a book report. I
read the entire King James Bible, cover to cover, and then wrote my reactions
to what I read. I have found in my life that most Christians don’t actually
read the Bible. They just read passages and excerpts suggested to them by
religious leaders, or what is required by various theological courses. I
focussed on the more unknown, unpleasant, and unflattering parts of the Bible.
The real ugly stuff. Things that as a person who was raised Catholic, was
surprised to see. I should also mention that I am not religious (actually
agnostic), and that provided me with the “clarity” to comment honestly about
what I was reading. And none of this would be interesting if I didn’t add my
secret sauce. Humor. Sarcasm. And irreverence.
How long did it take you to write He Said It, I Didn’t?
Well, it took a year for me to read the entire Bible cover to cover. To be honest, I had to take about a three month break because it just really got monotonous at a certain point. But during my break I calculated that if I read just 10 pages a day, I would be finished by the end of the year. And sure enough like a Christmas present, I finished the whole thing on Christmas Day. While I was reading, I would highlight the various passages that I wanted to cover and discuss in my book. Then when I was done I found this website called https://www.biblegateway.com/. This site has over 90 “versions” of the Bible available on it, which in and of itself sent quite a message. And it wasn’t just different languages. It was literally some versions said “this” while other versions kind of said “that”.
So once I found the King James Version (which is the most
commonly read version in the U.S.) I copied and pasted all the passages that I
highlighted into a spreadsheet. I then sorted that sheet in similar themes
which became my chapters. Once everything was sorted, I then reread everything
I highlighted and just wrote every honest and smart-ass thought that came to my
head. That part took about 3-5 months including self editing and things of that
nature. The first draft was over 400 pages.
What inspired you when writing He Said It, I Didn’t?
Well, as mentioned earlier, I’m agnostic. I have no idea how we got here or who put us here, but what I’ve always been sure of is that it’s not that old bearded guy in the Bible. And since most people believe in some sort of higher power, I’ve always had those types of debates/arguments with friends, family, co-workers, etc. And I would usually get the upper hand because logic and reason usually does. One of their normal parting shots would be ask me if I ever read the Bible and I would say no. Then they would say “well if you’ve never actually read it then you can’t really comment on it”. A reasonable position to take, if not a bit thin.
Then one day I came across this “religious group” known as the “Black Israelites” preaching loudly into a megaphone as they normally did at that time on the streets of N.Y. I stopped to listen only because I found them quite entertained with their pseudo Islamic garbs and threats of violence to the nonbelievers who were watching. I found them so entertaining in fact that I decided to film a documentary on them and started shooting some test footage during one of their street rants.
I quickly realized however that while their religious interpretations may sound crazy, they knew their Bible. And I would have to tighten up my biblical knowledge myself to be an adequate documenter of this subject. So I decided to read some of the Bible and I started of course at the beginning, Genesis. Well before I could even finish Genesis I was astounded at what I was reading. Astounded as in, it was so totally unbelievable. I thought to myself, “does anyone else know this is in here?”. And at that moment I decided to put the documentary on the back burner and write my book because I felt that people needed to know what was actually in the book that was governing most of their lives.
Did anything stick out as particularly challenging when writing He Said It, I Didn’t?
The monotony. I had to take a break from reading because there
are parts of the Bible that basically repeat what the previous pages were
saying, just about a different person or group of people. It was quite mind
bending. And this also posed a problem when I had to write my reactions because
my reaction to two or three sections applied to six or seven more sections.
This was a large part of why my page count dropped significantly from the first
draft to the final version. That’s why I say, if you want to test your faith,
actually read the Bible. Or you can save yourself a lot of time and trouble and
just read my book. LOL
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I don’t usually call myself an artist because something is
usually off about those guys, lol. I just refer to myself as a “creative”.
Because I can’t paint, draw, or sculpt, I express myself primarily through the
written word. And the words are usually sarcastic, funny, and clever. I am a
dark humor specialist who expresses himself through screenplays, articles, this
book (of course), stand-up comedy, and lately through short videos and T-shirt
designs. I have a very creative mind and pride myself on being able to “come up
with something out of nothing”. Basically I can make anything at least
interesting, if not hilarious and memorable.
Where can readers find out more about your work?
For more on my book you can go to - https://www.hesaiditididnt.com/
You can check out my T-shirt store at - https://myversialitydesigns.com/