Thomas E. Blaylock, Jr.
If you are trying to decide whether to read this book or not, let me acquaint you with the HONEST MAN''S PHILOSOPHY. I have taken great pains to make each sentence readable and understandable. This is a new concept when writing about detailed problems of philosophy, theology, or religion. It is easy to read and easy to understand. You can become your own real philosopher! Not only will you be able to understand what is written here, you will be amazed, delighted, and challenged by this philosophy.
Philosophy is certainly the most important aspect of life and living. One’s philosophy is what determines his happiness (or lack there of). One’s philosophy determines what food he eats, how he votes, whom he marries, what friends he selects, what work he engages in and above all, how he thinks and evaluates people and the events of life. In other words, nothing is more important in the life of the individual (or the life of a nation) than the philosophy chosen to guide one’s thinking and activity.
There are three qualifications you need before you buy or read this book. You must be “Curious,” “Willing to think” and “Willing to be honest with yourself.” If you believe you know all of the questions and all of the answers, this book may not be for you. To these three, add a forth, “Courage.” This book is not intended for the dishonest, or for moral cowards.
The HONEST MAN''S PHILOSOPHY is a clear, concise, and complete statement of this philosophy and what it can do for you. It is not new. In fact, it is the oldest, most moral philosophy known to mankind. Every time in the past history of mankind, when this philosophy has been the guiding principle of any group, wonderful things have happened. Among other things, this philosophy is responsible for the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and the founding of this nation as a Free Republic.
The author calls this philosophy, "Clear Thinking.” There are other names for it in use today (mostly false and derogatory). But by whatever name you call it, this philosophy needs to be understood, adopted, and utilized. The present day philosophies and theologies, by which we govern our lives, have made a mess of things personally, socially, nationally and internationally. The time has come for this philosophy to be rediscovered, understood, and put to use. Honest Clear Thinking is needed to help solve our terrible nuclear, social, governmental and personal crises.
Most people believe they know all about this philosophy. But as the author points out, all they usually know has been written by those who try to belittle, falsify, and hide the truth of this philosophy. Not one in a hundred can correctly define it by any of its names. Clear Thinking is the "Pearl of Wisdom" for which so many hope and pray. Others scheme, lie, and work overtime to keep Clear Thinking hidden. Why? They fear the facts, honesty, and conclusions of it.
This book is highly recommended reading for those wishing to improve their happiness and emotional stability. It is for those who are honest - or - who wish to be. The religious of all persuasions will find this philosophy brings Clear Thinking to the everyday problems of life, to belief and differences of opinions. It will clarify many gray and vague areas of both philosophy and religion. Above all, Clear Thinking will help clarify morality for you.
Every college student in the USA should read this book in his or her freshman year, or before. Nothing will give a better foundation for separating fact from fiction than the truths found in this book. Nothing will give the student a better understanding of the type of questions each of us should ask concerning all of the subjects we need or wish to study. The HONESTY MAN''S PHILOSOPHY is honest, logical, clear thinking in action. Read and think. You will discover you CAN enjoy life and be of greater value to yourself and to others. YOU DESERVE IT
Thomas E. Blaylock, Jr., has personally experienced the potpourri of western philosophy and religion. He began life in the superstitious and wildly ecstatic religious regions of the Tennessee and North Georgia Mountains. He was saved as a youth and in time joined four different fundamental churches. He was baptized four times, each using different formulas. He is a graduate of FSU and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Add his twenty-four-years experience as a Baptist and Presbyterian minister, to his study of the Cao Dai, Tao, and Buddhist religions in the Orient, and it seems his book, HONEST MAN’S PHILOSOPHY has been writing itself.
His mother claims he spoke his first words at eight months old when he pointed out the window and asked, “What is that?” Since that time he never stopped asking “What? Why? How? And When?” When asked if he were an expert on philosophy, his answer was, “No, I am only an expert on wanting to know.”
When Blaylock wrote about leaving the church he said, “I am glad I saved a portion of my life for myself. I also saved some of me for you.” When you read the Honest Man’s Philosophy, you will bless the day this book came your way.
If you like hard to the point questions about philosophy, morality and religion and if you like to find answers to the major issues of life, you will read and reread the HONEST MAN’S PHILOSOPHY. Few writers have made philosophy as interesting, lucid and challenging, as has Blaylock.
Thomas E. Blaylock, Jr. was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, October 18, 1931 on the day Thomas Alva Edison died. The sign he was born under said, “DO NOT DISTURB.” It seems Blaylock is still at peace with himself, and the world.
HERE IS WHAT THE AUTHOR SAID ABOUT HIS STRUGGLE
AS HE DEVELOPED HIS HONEST MAN’S PHILOSOPHY.
Looking back, my whole religious life has been based on trying not to do to others what I would not wish done to me and on trying to do what seemed to be right, just and honest. Sometimes, sad to say, I slipped, but I always returned to the right path. I was a Methodist and accepted God’s salvation. I learned the Catechism and believed in and pledged myself to Jesus. The minister baptized me by sprinkling. My soul was well. My faith was strong. I was seven.
At eleven years old WWII began. We moved to Chickasaw, Alabama so daddy could help build Liberty ships. We had to attend a little Baptist church because we had no transportation to get to Mobile and the Methodist church. When we joined, the minister told me I had not been properly saved because I was not baptized under water. Figuring the Bible held the answer, I read about baptism and decided they were right. I also satisfied myself that I was saved. So I was properly baptized. At least I did not have to memorize a catechism because the Baptist church didn’t have one. Once again there was peace and satisfaction that all was well between God and me. Oh, yes. I was beginning to think about girls, so once in a while there was a mental conflict over just how close one could hold a girl without sinning.
The war ended. I was fifteen and we moved to the North Georgia Mountains. My Uncle Ed (who was a very pious and pretentious man) insisted we attend his church way out in the North Georgia woods. The church had about two hundred members. The preaching was all damnation, sin, hell fire and brimstone. The preaching lasted until 12:30 or one o’clock. But the singing was very good. Best of all, the preacher had a pretty daughter. She was a senior in high school and several years older than I was. I was tall, self-confident and had lived in another state close to the Gulf of Mexico. So in these woods, I was special. We began to cast eyes at each other. She told me her daddy would not let us sit together unless I was a member of his church. That was a small thing, so I joined.
According to this preacher, I had never been truly saved or baptized with the correct magic formula. I had only been sorry and ducked under water. To be saved I had to confess my sins (to her daddy no less). It seemed to me the preacher was wrong. I knew I was saved, but his daughter was a very pretty girl. I made up some soft sins and confessed in his office. That was not enough. I had to be sorry enough to cry. Working up a tear or two, I was pronounced, “saved” (again).
Now that salvation was confirmed, I had to be baptized using her daddy’s magic formula. The baptism was in a cold, little muddy creek where a terrible Civil War battle had been fought. The magic formula was, “In the name of Jesus Christ the Son Of God, our Lord and Savior.” Now we sat together and held hands during the prayers. This was great because the prayers went on and on. Anyone could stand and pray at any time - and they did.
Soon I was sixteen and was invited on a fall hayride with several other young people. They instructed me not to bring a tent or anything because all that would be furnished. It was. I was supposed to share a tent with the daughter. It was all arranged by her daddy (the preacher). I later found out the plan was to catch us in some close embrace and a wedding would shortly follow. I spent the night in the hay truck even though she and her daddy pleaded with me to go to the tent.
That was the last time that church ever saw me in spite of the daughter and preacher’s regular visits and insistence. He said they had prayed over it and God had revealed to the preacher and the daughter that I was supposed to be his daughter’s husband. He said it was God’s will. God himself had sent me to them. The preacher said if I didn’t follow God’s will and marry his daughter I could end up in hell, and at the least, I would have a miserable and unprofitable life. Well, the unprofitable part came true. I wondered why God didn’t tell this secret directly to me. It was at that time that I seriously began to ponder these things.
Following this, many nights were spent on my knees as these things swirled through my mind. At one point, kneeling beside mother and daddy’s bed, I made a promise to God and to myself. That promise was that I would seek the truth about these various religious claims and would follow the truth no matter where it led. I was sixteen years old. There have been times when that promise was very hard to keep because it tore away many false beliefs and left me drifting on a troubled sea of doubt and conflict. The only navigational aids available were the Bible, my questions and my honest scholarship. I applied that scholarship to the Bible and the works of some who had traveled these troubled waters before me. There was nothing left for me to do except to keep paddling toward the truth and the light of knowledge and wisdom.
Trouble came with my uncle Ed over my refusal to see and marry the preacher’s daughter (and other things). We moved to Jacksonville, Florida. There were lots of boys and good-looking girls in the Baptist Temple two blocks away. I joined and wouldn’t you like to know? The preacher, who had a very charming personality, said I had not been properly saved and baptized. We argued some about it but he insisted. I liked the church so we did it again. The baptism this time was in a tank of water. He used the magic formula of “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.”
This was a very energetic and growing church. There were lots of activities and daily I continued my interest in studying the Bible using a concordance and reference books. This was not just reading the Bible; that was done every day. I was studying the Bible by searching all the references in the Bible on different subjects like salvation, prayer, revelation, hell, heaven, sin, baptism, prophecy, evangelism and such. Soon the pastor started a class especially for four of us boys who were seriously studying the Bible. I was learning theology and learning how to research and above all, learning how to learn. To find the truth about a subject one has to examine both sides of the matter. My great desire was to be right and do right in the eyes of God.
Soon several of us were preaching in the jail on Sunday afternoon and no doubt, irritating the prisoners. We also preached to the pigeons in the park and bothered the checker players. Of course, preaching was secondary to the fact that we brought our girl friends. There was nominal preparation for what I would preach, but there was much preparation for what I would say and do with my girl friend.
About this time, I went to work for the Rushton Office Supply Company in Jacksonville. The owner, Mr. J. Frank Rushton, became the most important person in my life. He had a brilliant mind. He was an unexcelled speaker and was elected National Toastmaster of the Year - three times. He taught me some secrets of public speaking. He was the first archeologist to dive in the sacrificial wells of South America. He made his own equipment and was written up in the National Geographic magazine. Mr. Rushton was a man of many talents and much wisdom.
Mr. Rushton became my friend and mentor. He loaned me books. Some were translations of ancient Sumerian writings and stories. At first, it was amazing how these writings paralleled the first five books of the Old Testament. My mother was upset when the Jacksonville Public Library became my hideout and I began to read the histories of the Sumerians and the early Jewish histories. The Sumerian writings were over five thousand years old while the Jewish writings were only a little over two thousand years old. By matching and comparing, it became obvious that the Jewish writers had mostly copied many of the Sumerian writings and just changed the names of the characters.
