Author: Joseph K. Pak
Located in: Fishers, Indiana
Submitted: November 07, 2024
Tell us a little about yourself. I am professor of biblical studies at Taylor University in Upland, IN. I have a PhD in New Testament studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. I am the author of False Believers in the New Testament (2011), numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and dictionary and encyclopedia articles.
What was your motivation behind this project? Self-deception is a topic that has been discussed a lot among philosophers, theologians, and psychologists, but many discussions are scholarly in nature and difficult to understand for average people. Also, self-deception is an important topic in the Bible, but there has not been any exegetical study of the biblical passages that discuss this topic. I wanted to average believers and church leaders to benefit from the insights from philosophers, theologians, psychologists, and especially biblical authors in learning and understanding this important concept.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? I want people to understand what self-deception is, how everyone practices it to one degree or another, and what are its dangers if left unattended. I hope this book will help them see Bible's warnings against self-deception and what measures Bible provides in dealing with it.
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? It helped me see connections between self-deception and pride, selfish-desires, and idolatry. It also helped me to see God's sovereignty and goodness as he deals with humanity steeped in self-deception with grace, patience, and love.
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? I was influenced by the historic Christian belief, reformed tradition, Brother Lawrence, and C. S. Lewis.
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: I was a nominal Christian for three years before I was saved, so I have a personal experience of self-deception and a desire to help nominal believers to become genuine believers.
