The Bible History Guy: Finding Faith Through Facts
By Alex Murashko
James Moseley, also known as “The Bible History Guy,” admits that it was his insatiable thirst for facts and knowledge that fueled his desire to know God before he actually accepted Jesus – in his heart first, then his mind, he said.
As the author of 26 books under categories such as biblical theology, religion, cuisine, humor, political satire, folk tales, fiction, and history, as well as three screenplays, Moseley shared his testimony with Think Eternity at this year’s National Religious Broadcasters Convention. His book, The Duke of D.C. – The American Dream, is scheduled for release in August.
“I always thought there was a God from the age of 12-years-old,” Moseley said. “However, my story [of coming to faith in Jesus] didn’t look like one coming from Christian tradition at all.”
As a young man, he went to Oxford University and studied philosophy “because I thought the dons (tutors) would be able to lead me to God. That didn’t turn out the way to go.” He then traveled the world searching for answers.
IMAGE: The Bible History Guy / Facebook
“I was constantly seeking a pathway to the divine,” Moseley said. “I traveled throughout Europe and the Middle East and I studied the Koran and I got to know the Koran, but I didn’t become a Muslim because there were too many contradictions in the Koran and too many moral problems in the life of the prophet Mohammed. So, I decided to go farther East and I got a job that took me to India.”
It was in Bombay where he met with an elderly man in order to discuss business but the conversation veered towards a question of faith instead.
“He asked me, ‘Why have you come to India?’” Moseley explained. “I said, ‘You know why I’m here. I’m here to create a joint venture between my American company and yours.’ He said, ‘No. Why have you personally come to India?’ Now, we had never spoken, but I knew what he was getting at. I said, ‘Well I’m looking for God.’ He said, ‘I thought that might be the case.’”
Moseley said the man then reached behind his desk and brought out a big brown box filled with books on all the religious traditions in India. The man said, “You may want to read through these and find your way but I want to warn you: Do not become a metaphysical tourist. We see too many Westerners come over here and get completely lost.”
Moseley then realized that his journey, at the time, was not bearing any fruit.
“It was like having a phone and wanting to pick it up and find God, but there was not only no voice on the other end of the phone line, but there was also no dial tone,” he said.
When he returned to the U.S., his sister suggested he attend a church. He decided that attending church would be a last resort for him.
He “heard an altar call” and didn’t know if he really believed the message but he reasoned that he’d been all over the world looking for God and that he’s “scientific enough to walk down to the front of this room and find out if it’s true.”
So, he did. Moseley said he opened himself to Christ but still had a lot of questions.
“A light went on in my heart and it just never went off,” he said. “I began to tear the Bible apart. I found that my over-educated brain could not withstand the majestic inerrancy of the Bible. Little by little, my head joined my heart. That’s how I became a life-long student of the Bible and now a teacher of it.”
Moseley considers “The Bible History Guy” as his ministry with a mission of “finding faith through facts.”
When he first began writing The Duke of D.C. – The American Dream a decade ago, he said he felt the timing wasn’t right to publish the book. Moseley said the book is about a man that discovers he owns a deed from one of his ancestors that is to all the territory that Washington D.C. is built on.
“The man leads a crusade against a rogue government to reignite the American Dream. It’s really quite a funny book, so I hope people will read it and not get too serious about it.” The story is a “real life meets time travel meets comedy” kind of a book, states CBN’s David Brody, who read an early excerpt.
“Ten years ago, our country had not gone as crazy as it has today,” Moseley said. “The book seemed improbable to me. I was never satisfied. Now, where we are, where we see lies by everybody, the media won’t talk about Christianity, they won’t talk about conservatism, we really have to go to other media to find the truth.
“I’m hoping that even progressives will read it and laugh, and then suddenly it may hit them at the end of the story that ‘Wait a minute, maybe I’m laughing at myself.”
Alex Murashko is lead writer for the Thinke writing team. He highlights Christ followers within the media industry at Media on Mission.
Connect: @AlexMurashko