For the first time in my life (thank you Author’s Lounge), I feel like I can call myself, a philosopher. Sounds funny but it’s true. Yes, I have a graduate & undergraduate degree in Philosophy from California State University Los Angeles (CSULA), and I have been a certificated school teacher in California since 2000. I worked as an intern professor at Long Beach City College, where I got my first experience teaching philosophy at the college level. But, that’s not why I feel like I am actively participating in practicing philosophy today. It’s more because of the fact that I am finally getting a chance to express my ideas through writing; here with Author’s Lounge & Readers Magnet, through my own publishing efforts, and with a Canadian based publishing company (Alberta, Canada). My first literary publication, “The Resurrection of Jesus Christ” [published 2013, U.S. Library of Congress], is steeped in Christian ideas, as designated by the title, which in many cases we know, religion, is the cousin of philosophy. There is certainly a branch of philosophy that investigates the existence of God, metaphysics, Taoism and other transcendental ideas inherent to philosophical discussion. So, by chance, with my first publication, I’ve had the chance to research content material that is philosophically based. Second, as a member of the American Philosophical Association (APA), I am planning to publish & submit an essay with the APA (Sept., 2019) called, “The Idea of God”, an argument for the existence of God founded on Rene Descartes’ 3^rd Meditation, and the natural universal phenomenon, cause & effect. So writing has opened the door for me to practice philosophy, and have a real chance to actually make a living from doing it (thank God for teaching).

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, is actually a story about Pontius Pilate. But, what else is Pontius Pilate known for, except his involuntary involvement in Jesus’ trial? Despite whatever the title entails, the way I found the story, was totally and completely by chance. When I was an undergraduate at CSULA, I was in the library late one-night studying hard, as always. So, as I got tired, I would take a break and wonder the halls of the library and look at the plethora of books & titles the university had on file. And, while I was looking, I came across a book entitled, The Lost Books of the Bible. Well, I am a philosophy student, and I was raised in a home where God was still God. Faith was the foundation of my home life with my Grandmother in Santa Monica, California, and our belief in God was unquestioned. So, naturally, being drawn to the title of the book, I took it home and read it, cover to cover. But, it wasn’t until a few years after I graduated, that I went back to reread the book when I found the story that would be the basis for my story, in the book of Nicodemus [Lost Books of the Bible, Random House Publishing, 1979 ed.]. As I was reading it for the second time, I kept telling myself, “Wow! this is a great story. This could be made into a movie.” Unfortunately, there was no money (or equipment) to film a movie, but I definitely could write it into a book, just as well, and get it made into a movie later. So that’s what I did! But, as I was continuing to read and research the Lost Books of the Bible, and outline the book of Nicodemus, I found again two more important sources, relevant to the story of Nicodemus; The Lost Gospel of Peter and The Letters of Pontius Pilate to Herod & Tiberius Caesar. With that, I had a well developed story to tell about Pilate, and from that, my story came to life. My story picks up where Mel Gibson’s story leaves off (a little insight to Author’s Lounge readers).

Pilate, in this story, is a very tragic figure. Who, by chance, found himself litigating a trial of a man who people speculated (some vehemently), was the son of God. Wait, wait. What happened? Yes! The most famous court trial in history (sorry O.J.). We know the story of Jesus Christ, but what we don’t know is the story of Pontius Pilate. Where’d he go? What happened to him in Roman history? No one really knows. He’s lost in history simply as an after-thought to the trial of Jesus Christ. What we also know, is that he was in Jerusalem throughout the time that Jesus lay dying on a cross. And, we do know that he was an eye witness to ALL the events that took place during that time. He was in Jerusalem three days later when it was first rumored that Jesus was alive and had been seen preaching to his disciples in Galilee. Wait, what? Yep, in fact, he sent soldiers to investigate the rumors and to confirm the fact that Jesus’ body was no longer laying in the tomb where he was initially buried. Yes, Pilate was a first-hand eye witness to all of these miraculous events that we have heard about, over and over again, throughout history and through the narrative of religion. The Lost Books of the Bible, which I found relegated deep in the abyss of JFK Library at CSULA, serves as the basis of my story. It’s a story of how chance & circumstance can have a powerful impact on the outcome of a man’s life. It’s an ironic tragic story through the eyes and experience of the Roman Governor of Jerusalem, Pontius Pilate, at the origin and birthplace of modern Christian history.

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