Philip J. Skotte

There are six rooms in Rome’s Capuchin Crypt, decorated with the bones of 4,000 departed monks. There are signs in several languages that say, “As you are, we once were. As we are, you will become.” The crypt is a strange and powerful reminder of our mortality. We are all, one hundred percent of us, going to die. There are just six rooms.

This book is the seventh room, about what comes after. It is for us who preserve our youth at all costs, who fear that the sunset is permanent and dread the onrushing darkness.

The seventh room is for us who must gain the whole world before we are gone; for the stressed and unhealthy, misusing the earth and filling it with our refuse. For us who, without belief in resurrection, cannot become saints or martyrs. For us madly doing a thousand things before we die.

In the seventh room we can lose our life, to gain it back in the next world. We can live more simply, consume less, work in slums, generously donate time and money—even die on a cross.

This book is a promise to you, with stories about your future and the things you will do, after you die. This is the seventh room.

How many times have you read a book by a seasoned diplomat in the United States Foreign Service examining the universal drawing power of Jesus? With the advantage of a solid theological education and the privilege of living among communities of people world-wide with vastly different perspectives, Phil Skotte here presents richly woven insights into his studied conviction that we are all hard wired for Jesus: that Jesus is not going away. This book is a gem. Read it! Samuel Hugh Moffett Emeritus Professor of Ecumenics and Mission Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton, New Jersey

It has often been said that humans are hard-wired for belief in God and for religion. In Why Jesus Won’t Go Away, Philip Skotte suggests that we are also hard-wired for Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus is the most globally widespread movement in human history, and it is growing more rapidly than ever before, even in remote and unexpected places. Why Jesus takes us on a world tour to discover the surprising sources of Jesus’ attraction and explores the powerful impact of his attraction on the human race. Written by a seasoned diplomat, Why Jesus Won’t Go Away may change your calculations about humanity’s religious future. It may also change your mind about Jesus.

In the year 2030, humanity is out of solutions. The lies we told ourselves for millennia are killing our poor planet and us. We conquered nature, each other and even God. Many believe the human race was a terrible mistake, that earth would be better off without us. Maybe it is too late—or maybe not. Also in the year 2030, a man dies in a bicycle accident. Being a good Christian, he expects to go straight to heaven. However, according to the boatman of the afterlife, most modern humans aren’t ready for heaven. They suffer from an ignorance called modernosis, so before heaven, they journey to Old Town to be cured. If cured, they go to heaven; if not, well … In Old Town, human history reveals an unexpected solution to human evils. There, our traveler takes a transformative trek. Each successive step rips away a lie on which human history was based. With each moment of awakening, light penetrates more deeply into the darkness. In the end, counterfeits are exposed, and he is confronted with a beautiful and devastating Truth.

Why do we have suffering and death? Why pandemics, unjust killings and economic turmoil? In ,“Begat”, Phil unpacks these problems with the ancient wisdom of our ancestors. This book is a collection of their stories, tales from the ones who begat us. Slow down, lower the volume. If you listen, they will change the way you look at life. The ancestors are speaking.