You didn't leave because you stopped thinking.
Most people who walked away from church left for reasons, and some of them were good ones. This book takes those reasons seriously. Then it goes back to the one source most of us were never asked to read closely: the recorded words of Jesus himself.
"But who do you say that I am?"Matthew 16:15
Maybe one of these is your story.
Over 70 million Americans have left organized religion or never joined. They aren't waiting to be argued back in. They are waiting to be heard first. So this book starts where you are.
You were told to choose
Science or faith, pick one. You picked the evidence, and nobody told you the choice was never required.
You were taught to fear God
A God of endless punishment didn't sound like love. You were right to notice that.
You watched Christians look away
From the poor, the prisoner, the stranger. You left because you took justice seriously.
You found God elsewhere
Spiritual, not religious. Meditation, other traditions, the mystics. You never stopped searching.
Someone told you it was God's plan
At a funeral, or in a hospital room. That sentence did more damage than the loss itself.
You walked out of an institution
The structure, the rules, the apparatus. You kept wondering what was underneath it all.
Here is the question almost nobody asked you before you left: setting aside what the institution said, what did Jesus actually say? That question is the whole book.
Readers get more than the book.
Volume 1 is the beginning of a longer conversation. Join the reader list, free, and you're in it from here on, whether you've bought the book yet or not.
Advance chapters of Volume 2
Read chapters as they come together, before the book is published. Your questions and pushback can shape the final text.
Live reader Q&A
Bring your hardest question to a live session with the author. Doubts welcome. Nothing is off the table.
Discussion guide
Questions for each chapter, built for two friends over coffee or a small group around a table. Sent the day you join.
First in line for Volumes 2 and 3
Readers hear first and get the best price when each new volume launches, before it is offered to anyone else.
A book can't replace a conversation with a real person, and it isn't meant to. Every bonus is built to get you talking with someone, whether that's a friend, a group, or the author himself.
How the reader list works
- Tell us where to send it. First name and email, right on this page. Thirty seconds.
- Get the discussion guide. It arrives in your inbox right away, with a short welcome from Edward.
- Read Volume 2 as it's written. Advance chapters and live Q&A invitations arrive as the next volume comes together.
- Get first access at launch. Reader pricing and first copies of each new volume, before the public announcement.
Three ways to get the book.
Trade paperback. Order online from anywhere, or order direct from us in Pahrump and Las Vegas.
ORDER ONLINE · SHIPS ANYWHERE
$19.95
One copy or more, printed and shipped straight to your door by our publisher, IngramSpark. Shipping is calculated at checkout.
PAHRUMP & LAS VEGAS
$10 a book
Minimum 3 books ($30). Order direct from us and we'll get them to you. Keep one and give two to someone who left.
On the form, choose "Local order" and tell us how many. We'll call to confirm and arrange payment.
FOR CHURCHES
An 8-week program for reaching people who left
20 books at $10 each, plus the Facilitator Guide ($49.95) with all 8 weekly Spiritual Workshop sessions, ready for your church to lead.
$249.95 to start
On the form, choose "Church program." Edward will call you personally.
Any bookstore can also order it through Ingram with ISBN 979-8-240828-27-0. Questions? Call or text 775.238.3525.
About the author
Edward Bevilacqua has spent more than 35 years in frontline ministry: in Nevada Justice Court, inside state prison as an instructor, and alongside people experiencing homelessness in rural Nevada. He has sat with people at their worst moments and listened to why they stopped believing. This book grew out of those conversations.
He is a graduate student in pastoral ministry at Santa Clara University, founder of the WDJAS Project, and co-host of The Nevada Frontier on KPVM-TV 25.
J.D. · Certified Community Health Worker · Pahrump, Nevada
Get the bonuses or place an order
Everyone who signs up gets the free reader bonuses. For a local or church order, add your phone number and how many books, and we'll call you to confirm.
Questions readers ask
Do I have to be religious to read this?
No. The book is written for people who left or never joined, and for the people who love them. It asks you to think, not to agree.
Is this a way to get me back into a church?
The book doesn't sell you a denomination. It looks at what Jesus actually said and lets you decide what to do with it. It does argue that faith is meant to be lived with other people, and it's honest about that.
Why is it $10 locally and $19.95 online?
Local orders come from copies we already have on hand, so we pass the savings to you. Online orders are printed and shipped one at a time by our publisher. If you're outside Pahrump and Las Vegas, the online order is the way to go.
What's in the church program?
20 copies of the book at $10 each and the Facilitator Guide, which walks a leader through 8 weekly Spiritual Workshop sessions built for people who have left church or never joined. Choose "Church program" on the form and Edward will call you.
What's in Volume 2, and when does it come out?
Volume 2 is in production now. Readers on the list get advance chapters as they're finished, well before the publication date is announced.
How often will you email me?
Only when there's something worth sending: a new chapter, a Q&A invitation, or a launch. No daily emails, and you can unsubscribe with one click.
What Did Jesus Actually Say? · WDJAS Project, Inc. · Pahrump, Nevada
Questions? edward@whatdidjesusactuallysay.org · 775.238.3525
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
