Dear Christians,
I don’t mean this this to be insulting or incendiary. I am
merely trying to start a conversation, and perhaps even learn something new.
Really. But it was been my experience during my career as a pastor (20+ years)
that very few Christians know their Bible - because very few actually read it.
I can’t tell you how many times a church-attender has confessed to me how
difficult it is for them to be consistent in the reading of God’s word (“It’s
hard to understand” or “It’s boring” or…). In fact, I have heard it said (and
also found it to be true) that, “If you want to make a Christina feel guilty?
Ask them how much they pray and how often they read their Bible.” Resonate with
anyone out there? Again, this is not an indictment, just an observation.
Ok now, that being said (and stick with me here, and try not
to get mad at me simply for asking an important and honest question), for those
of you who consider yourselves Bible-believers…
Why? Why do you believe that the Bible is the word of God?
Why? Why do you believe that the Bible is the word of God?
Someone once said, “That which can be asserted without
evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
So for you, what is the evidence (proof?) that gives you
certainty that God (by inspiring holy men through his holy spirit) has indeed
delivered a written message to mankind?
I’m honestly and sincerely asking.
Go.
There isn't evidence, or even exact certainty(at least for me anyways)..my belief in God comes from what I can't help, my inner conscience. To me, there must be a creator, and I believe its Him that creates that inner feeling. It's Him thats inside me that let's me know right from wrong. I truly believe his ultimate message of right and wrong is inside all of us. Whether you believe in Him or not, you still know when you've done something right, and you still know when you've done something wrong. You have done something very very wrong, and with your disbelief, you had better hope He doesn't exist.
ReplyDeletePosted some comments on Facebook, seems to have moved. I'll post here until you get a new Facebook profile.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the purpose of writing this. Are you trying to make the ones who do believe see it your way. I have admired you as a man and leader since I first met and listened. To you speak.being raised a Catholic I learned to not believe everything because all the sins I was going to hell for was not true a more I would just go to purgatory. I stopped attending mass but never stopped believing in God and the Virgin Mary.Jim I have so many unanswered questions and some are even scary. Your personal life is none of my business,but if I didn't have God in my life I might as well be dead I have known his love and his strength and the peace he gives me when I close my eyes at night. Looking in my grandchildren eyes and the love I feel can only come with growing old
ReplyDeleteOk now, that being said (and stick with me here, and try not to get mad at me simply for asking an important and honest question), for those of you who don't consider yourselves Bible-believers… (insert drumroll)…
ReplyDeleteWhy? Why do you believe that the Bible is the not word of God? I’m honestly and sincerely asking.
Go.
Jim, an earlier post was lost, so here goes - J. Warner Wallace lays out excellently in his book "Cold Case Christianity" the definition of evidence, the difference between direct and circumstantial evidence, the power of circumstantial evidence, the nature of evidence, and more. As a homicide detective (Wallace, not me) he has made a very successful career out of the study of evidence and solved many cold cases. The story of the death of the Jesus is perhaps the most famous "cold case" out there. After showing you how to think like a detective, and how to honestly and objectively study the "facts" of a case, he uses those tools to talk about how we should examine the "facts" of the universe in which we live. There is an element of faith in all of our lives, I am assuming now that you have faith that there is not a God and you basically cease to exist when you die, that there is nothing left to do. I am assuming you believe that there is not a Creator for you to be reconciled with, and if there is not a Creator, life on this earth is just that, "life". Nothing more, nothing less and it should be lived to the fullest in the best way you see fit. C.S. Lewis would argue that there is a very real and moral way that we should all be living. A way that has been "written on our hearts" and that we all know and experience every day in our lives. A standard that exists beyond ourselves that is very real and if that is true, someone set this standard. Taking it one step further, we are constantly, every day either aligning ourselves with this standard and it's Creator, or we are setting ourselves up as an enemy of that standard and it's Creator. As someone who says, there is no God, in my opinion they have to then believe three major things, 1) Something came from nothing (the world just came about from literally nothing), 2) Life came from non-life (where there was previously no life at all, now there was life) and 3) Intelligence came from non-intelligence (the mind just appeared from nothing as well). In my opinion, those are 3 huge hurdles a non-believer has to jump over in answering the major questions about reality. As a believer, I have hurdles to jump as well. I believe that the universe was created by a Being who exists outside of the universe, I believe that what we understand as life was given by that Being, and I believe that Being gave us the mind to understand facts about the world He created and to know Him. The problem I usually get with this time of logic is "Who made God?" - Super God? Who made Super-God? Super-Duper God? and so on and so forth. I believe that the this Being would have to be eternal and exists almost necessarily, something that I'm not sure I can really even fathom or understand fully, but I can see evidence in nature that suggests a designer, I know that when someone commits murder, I just know that it's wrong, I don't need someone to teach me, I instinctively know it. There are facts about reality, certain truths that all humans know and seek to know. In my opinion, a non-believer has their 3 hurdles to jump over, I just have one, that God wasn't created or caused, He is eternal and always was. Both views require faith and uncertainty, but I feel that belief in God isn't a huge 3 hurdled jump, but a very small step.
ReplyDeleteFaith is not about head knowledge but heart knowledge. Faith in the Bible is not about blind faith either. There is plenty of evidence out there if you truly want to find it. Look at Daniel and it's lay-out of the future empires. Look at the archaeology that corroborates the Word. But ultimately, the Bible isn't a history book or a book of evidence, it's a faith book. I hope your search is legitimate but I also hope you'll not try to destroy other people's faith. I'm afraid the latter may be the case.
ReplyDeleteI might disagree that faith is exclusive from head knowledge, they should go hand in hand. The Bible says that we should always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us (1 Peter 3:15) and it also says that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart as well as our MIND. To diminish the importance of knowing WHY you believe what you believe is one of the main reasons people leave the faith. If you came to a decision through emotion, it's easy to walk away through emotion.
ReplyDeleteJim I would right an entire book here but I don't have the time or the space. But that is O.K. many have already been written. From Josh McDowell's Evidence that Demands A Verdict and on the other end of the spectrum Inspiration and Incarnation by Peter Enns. What it comes down to for me is this, Science is answering a lot of things, and people are afraid that science may one day completely disprove the Bible's creation story or they flip out about supposed inaccuracies and contradictions in scripture and with science. The scripture was written by humans, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and although I don't believe it to be true, there MAY be some inaccuracies, more than likely these stories are simply allegorical but DON'T miss the forest for the trees.
ReplyDeleteGod created man, Man disobeyed God which brought Death and Destruction God sent Jesus to bring forth Life and Restoration. Science may give us a lot of answers but it doesn't give us the answers of WHY are we here, WHAT is the purpose of living, HOW are we supposed to lead our lives. Or give us peace in our lives now and healing and restoration when Jesus returns.
I see the the Bible as the Word of God through the words of men. Through that lens, the Bible contains Gods Word, but it's alongside the stories of people. What makes us different from animals. Basically two things, 1. we're self aware and 2. we have been able to pass on information "intelligence" through storytelling verbally and written, summed up that means we have a big brain, explaining why we often think we're Gods. I see the word of God at the very least a collection of books and writings assembled by the Church that chronicle a people group's experiences with, and understanding of, God over thousands of years. EVEN IF that is a comprehensive definition of the Bible, study of scripture is warranted to understand our culture and the way in which people come to know God.
You have for years tricked people out of their money for your personal gain.....drum roll!!! Now you non believer are you willing to repay the money you stole from God. You stole from God. You Jim will be in my prayers and your family that you left behind.
ReplyDeleteWell Jim, you said you wanted to "start a conversation" and that usually involves more than one person. You also said perhaps, "learn something new". Well, what are your thoughts? Anyone said anything "new" for you to digest?
ReplyDeleteI wasn't asked to believe a written word to be a Christian (Christ-follower). I was asked to believe in The Word, who is Jesus Christ. He is the only perfect complete revelation of God. The Bible points us to Jesus. The Bible is the human witness to Jesus, and sometimes humans report their witness differently. Could God have made sure they wrote it perfectly exactly the way God wants it? Maybe, but that's not how God works. It's against God's character to force our every move. God loves, so God gives free will. We humans use that free will sometimes for God's love, sometimes for love that is less-than perfect or even harmful. Sometimes, we are so trapped and programmed by culture/society/empire it is almost impossible for us to love as God would have us. Indeed, on our own, it often is impossible. So, while the biblical authors had the best intentions, there was probably some stuff that was not meant to be seen as straight from the mouth of God, but rather, "This is what I think God is speaking to me and us in this situation." Overall, I trust and believe in Jesus Christ, The Logos (Word) of God. When God really wanted to communicate with us, he didn't just say some words. No, he came to earth as a human and showed us who he is. Do I have evidence of this? Just the generations of witnesses who go before me and my own experience of his presence.
ReplyDeleteI struggled with my faith for a long time. I grew up in the church, I knew some of the books and some of the saints. My grandmother prays to saint Anthony any time she needs something and it works. The very first night I came to the Edge you and several others sat around praying... Praying for the church and for guidance. I wanted so bad to come into the church and sit in the back and just here what you had to say...I wanted to blend in. That didn't happen I sat in that small group and prayed. I had chills all over my body and tears in my eyes as I felt that God was telling me I would not and could not sit in the back any more. It was time to learn about my Faith. I was saved... not because that is what I wanted or because I in somehow needed it. I was saved because I believed. If you don't have something to believe in, something to have when no one and nothing wants you...you loose hope. There is a REAL feeling that comes when you trust that God has a plan. There is real peace KNOWING that its not all on you. God loves us just as we love our children...unconditionally. I pray for you often. I wish you well and hope you know that no matter what hateful words are spoken, you are always welcome in the house of GOD.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that...I needed to hear it
DeleteDo you have evidence that God doesn't exist or is it just opinion? Let's say out of all of the knowledge in the universe that there is to know....which would equal 100% right, you know maybe 10% of all of it. Ok let's go 25% James, you are a smart guy. That being said there is 75% of all of the knowledge in the universe that you don't know about. As it goes, you don't know what you don't know. It could be entirely possible that the knowledge of God exists for you in that 75%, and as smart as you are, you haven't tapped into that knowledge yet. I believe there are two different types of people in the world "book smart" and "street smart". I believe that for years you led a life (and others followed you) of "book smart" and in agreeing with you, giving a story of something that you read but didn't really absorb (didn't believe in). You are very street smart. Praying that you are able to just tap into a world where you can gain about 5% - 10% more knowledge and see that BE.HERE.NOW is another wrapper for THANKFUL.FAITHFUL.BELIEVER
ReplyDeleteNo one can prove a negative. I cannot prove that bigfoot does NOT exist (or the easter bunny or aliens).
DeleteThe burden of proof rests on the shoulders of those making the assertion.
he person who states that bigfoot is real must show evidence to substantiate that claim.
So... you say there is a god (I assume you mean the god of the bible). Prove it. Present evidence that the god of the bible exists.
As far as your logic about "god existing in the unknowable"...
I suppose I must then, by that same logic, also believe in the Loch Ness Monster and leprechauns?
And, by the way, I did not merely have a "book smart" relationship with Jesus. I was a head-over-heals in love, sold-out, and die-hard believer.
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