It is much too outstanding to say that I am making here a presentation of the new book, on Philippians, of Dr. Michael Carl Moss.
And this is because actually this is only a gesture of high common sense, we have to deal with the Man of the Year of the USA more times after the year 2000, with a personality of high popularity and appreciation from many parts of the world. Religious traveller for many years in Greece, Romania, Scotland, Jordan, he came to teach in Ohio Valley after a sound experience as Professor of Bible in Nashville at the Lipscomb University. Well known as an emerit Professor, family and student educator during years, -of an invaluable modesty at the same time, I should say he will become soon-if he did not already, the friend of the mankind.
And now, here he is coming with a new book. It starts from the fact that we try to find happiness every moment-otherwise we are not doing anything anymore-and the same is stated in the Declaration of Independence of the USA which shows us the way to...happiness.
But in his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul, even from arrest in Rome, speaks all the time in terms of joy-about joy-and not of happiness. All we do, being together with our brothers and sisters, welcoming the Lord in our lives, the union between believers, the contentment for finding special people-produce us...JOY.
We will see in these pages where and how joy can be found and how significant it is for the believer. But isn t joy the same for the unbeliever too...? Why are believers content when they are together ? Why are they full of joy when find special people ? Who determines this feeling, where does it come from ? And which is the difference between joy and happiness ?
Reading the book, we can also guess the situations of joy feelings when they are not named, so as it was for example the moment of gratitude Lydia had for being baptized. Aren t we joyful too once with the feeling of gratitude ?
And who knows, showing all these things to the entire world, it will help maybe also everyone to realize that Religion is the same for everybody, the same way as Philippi was positioned by its historical part as a special crucial moment and place in the evolution of church, and the differencies of nowadays between nations come from different interpretations only, the essence being actually the same, and that one and only one God exists for all.