Like any author giving birth to a new book, I have read, edited, re-read and re-edited the material many times over. A question that keeps coming to mind is why the title The Duel.  To answer the question simply and honestly, these were the words going around in my head the morning I woke knowing I had a book to write.  A host of other titles would have been appropriate for this work; examples I have considered are:

1. What Fundamental Error does the Church and the State Constantly Make?
2. How to Break Free from the Opinions of Others
3. Discovering your True Identity and Purpose in Life
4. How a Terrorist is made.

Strange as it may seem at first glance, this little book is about all the things mentioned above.  Naturally not every book will appeal to everyone, but I am confident that if you are an earnest seeker of truth and have unanswered questions that over time you have put on the ‘back burner’ of life, but are questions that keep on flaring up from time to time to trouble you, this book is certainly for you.

The Duel is about a conflict, a fight, primarily between two schools of thinking.  In this book, the two schools are ‘Traditional Thinking’ and ‘Original Thinking’.  ‘Traditional Thinking’ is based on history, the popular accepted viewpoint of the day, on dogma and fundamentalism.  ‘Original Thinking’ is simply to think outside the box of history, to question the popular, dogmatic accepted view of the day and fundamentalism.  In everybody’s life there will come occasions when these two views will clash.  These significant times in our experience are what I have called The Duel.  At these crossroad points in our experience, we must fight.  The outcome will determine whether we advance in our life, merely mark time or (worse still), go backwards.

You can experience this Duel almost at any time you like.  Simply find a question that has never been fully answered to your personal satisfaction, now begin again to seek the answer.  Make it a diligent search in which you will promise to be totally open and honest with your heart and conscience.  Does your honest search lead you outside the box of Traditional and Popular Thinking?  Does it call into question accepted dogma and the fundamentalist viewpoint?  If it does, at this point The Duel begins.  Your Original Thinking and search will be opposed and met with opposition.  Press on and the objection will become ridicule.  Press yet further on following your heart and conscience, and the ridicule will turn to hostility.  Like any duel, there comes a final showdown where one view must die to give full acceptance to the other.  Choose wisely my friend, the outcome of eternity is bound up in the answer.  Only stop your search for truth when every ‘i’ is dotted and every ‘t’ is crossed to your total satisfaction.

Honesty with yourself is the answer you are seeking.

Very often if you look closely enough, you will see that those that give way to Traditional and Popular Thinking preferring to stick to the fundamentalism viewpoint, often work in the realm of theory.  Those who are at home with Original Thinking, work in the realm of reality.  They need to see it and experience it for themselves.  The Duel therefore is not only Traditional and Popular Thinking versus Original Thinking, but also a choice between theory and practice.

This book is primarily aimed at all those who go to church and would consider themselves Christians and hence I have quoted the Bible as the main reference.  Secondly, those who used to go to Church, but no longer attend should read this book.  Thirdly, those that do not go to Church, but maybe cannot quite put their finger on why they do not attend should read it.  Finally, those who oppose the Church and what it represents should read it.