Local author sees success with book on validity of the Bible

Growing up in the Bible Belt, Richard Simmons was always told the Bible was the word of God, but he was never told a reason why.

As an adult, he began to research the reasons why he should put his faith in what many believe is an archaic book with no authority.

“If I was going to teach my children from the Bible,” he added, “I felt I needed to tell them why they should put their faith in it.”

The local author’s years of personal research have culminated in a new book: Reliable Truth.

Simmons said his book presents a powerful argument on two pivotal questions: How do you know the Bible has not been altered over time? And how do you know it’s a divine book?

Seven weeks after the book’s release, there is now a need for a second printing. The book is available at Amazon.com, at 256 Books-A-Million stores, and locally at Savage’s Bakery and O’Henry’s Coffee, as well as other retailers.

Simmons noted that several people have told him this is the best of his four books, but the responses that stood out the most were two agnostics who said they found it a compelling read.

Starting the fall of 2011, Simmons gave eight presentations on the Bible’s validity to about 150 men at Saint Peter’s Anglican Church. Following the positive responses he received from these presentations, he decided to share his findings with a wider audience in a book.

“I wanted to write a very scholarly book where a high school student or average man or woman would find it to be a compelling read,” Simmons said. “What I had found in my research was that most books written on validity of the Bible were very scholarly, but there was nothing out there for average people.”

Simmons said his favorite chapter of the eight in the book is on science and the Bible.

“I think most people are not aware of what’s going on in the world of science and how it relates to theology,” Simmons said. “It’s easy to read even if you don’t know much about science.”

Simmons is founder and executive director at the Center for Executive Leadership, a Homewood-based nonprofit ministry that focuses on evangelism and discipleship of men. He works with businessmen with the development of their faith through formal Bible studies, teaching and counseling while also overseeing a group of professional and personal counselors. He is a frequent public speaker and has published three other books.

For more, visit reliabletruthbook.com.