Where in history has any researched story of the Bible been proven untrue? Archaeologists are finding more and more evidence for the truth of these stories every year. For example, the Hittites were an ancient people recorded in history and many skeptics believe the people never existed. On the contrary, archaeologists found historical documents indicating the existence of the Hittites and their livelihood.
In this day and age of Information and Enlightenment, we are seeing more and more people turning their backs on God and religion in favor of New Age ideals and Atheism. Why? The reasons are quite simple.
1. People refuse to believe in anything that corrupts their worldview.
2. People believe faith is a sign of immense intellectual dishonesty and therefore it cannot have any grounds for rational thought.
3. Many intellectual advocates for free thought, such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hutchins, are persuading people to think the idea of God is ludicrous and that anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool.
4. People believe the stories in the Bible cannot be true because of their "mythical content".
5. People don't believe in a merciful God because of pain and suffering that continues in this world.
The reasons are almost infinite. What this world needs to understand is that their intellectual prowess is nothing more than a facade. What they think is brilliant, God will turn to utter foolishness. The wisdom of this world is trite compared to the amazing mind of the Lord. His creation and the intricacy of it is overwhelming evidence of not only his brilliance but his sovereignty.
So, if God can create everything that we see with our own eyes then maybe the stories in the Bible are not mere legend or myth but actual truth. When we accept what is written and shown to us, TRUE enlightenment is bestowed upon us.
Reject the truth and you shall surely perish.
About Me
- Millennial Kingdom
- I'm a Christian Metalhead with an inquisitive mind and love for music and literature.
2 comments:
such a wonderful young man you are. for spreading the truth and the way to the LORD. can only happen when the spirit has come into your heart. want what HE wants for you. it's the only way to live. to follow CHRIST. praise JESUS for your heart in belief of the TRUTH AND THE WAY. amen.
Brandon; I have read your June 24 post, “Biblical Truth,” and would like to comment on the five reasons listed therein as to why many people reject the Bible. Reason one states, “People refuse to believe in anything that corrupts their worldview.” With this idea; I agree completely, and it is a major reason behind my view that no religion, country, culture, etc. ought to force and/or coerce itself on another person or group. Legitimate change comes from within people, and few things can be as harmful to real change as interfering with another’s right to self-determination (excepting self-defense and similar matters). Leading a horse to water is one thing, but making her/him drink is another. The power of the Christian message is able to stand on its own, sooner or later making supporters out of anyone who gives it an honest chance. However; few people (understandably) will give an honest chance to a belief system that seeks to impose itself. I believe that God gives us liberty. What God gives, let no human being take away.
Reason two states, “People believe faith is a sign of immense intellectual dishonesty and therefore it cannot have any grounds for rational thought.” That statement touches upon one of the biggest problems to plague Christianity: “What is the proper relationship between faith and reason?” Modern Western history has been dominated by the presupposition that truth must be proven through the methods of logic and empirical science, and this presupposition has done much to limit and discolor the nature of religious truth, in my opinion (see my commentary on your fourth point for more details). In ancient times; a similar debate went on about whether faith produces intellect, and/or intellect produces faith. Paradoxical though it may be; I believe that both these beliefs can be true. Faith involves a relationship with that which is bigger than we will ever totally understand, and so requires some suspension of intellectual disbelief to achieve: to admit, that is, “I don’t know everything.” In this way; we can begin aligning ourselves with a Higher source of power. However; each individual’s faith (and capacity for spiritual growth) is also, to some degree, shaped by their cultural and intellectual beliefs, and so there is interplay between these forces. In many cases; the accumulation of knowledge and wisdom can enable faith to grow—taking progressively higher forms (going “from milk to solid food,” so to speak), rather than leading one astray to egotism. Conversely; scorning intellectual knowledge can also lead to egotism, and stunt one’s faith. It seems to me, therefore, that we ought to be fair to both faith and reason (the Greatest Commandment calls us to love God with all our minds, in addition to other ways), if we are to fulfill our spiritual potentials. Might it be that intellect-reason applies to what we can hope to understand fully, and that faith applies to that which we cannot? If this is so; the nature and power of our human faith changes, improves, and grows in a manner that sometimes parallels our intellectual growth. Faith, I believe, is only dishonest (and usually egotistic) when it unnecessarily seeks to conflict with rational-scientific truth (e.g. “The world is flat!”), and reason-science is dishonest and egotistic when it unnecessarily seeks to conflict with religious truth (e.g. Darwin was absolutely right!”).
Your third reason reads, “Many intellectual advocates for free thought, such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hutchins, are persuading people to think the idea of God is ludicrous and that anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool.” To begin this commentary; I must point out that I have no familiarity with Dawkins or Hutchins, so I will address only the general ideas that “God is ludicrous” and “believers are fools.” I think that anyone who seeks to judge God entirely by the rules of reason is not judging God at all, but rather judging the false god of their conception. The reality of God is beyond the ability of reason to fully grasp. Reason has a part to play in our relationships with God, but cannot account for the whole. Thus; presuming to judge God on the partial component of reason alone strikes me as short-sighted, to put it politely. It would be like saying “Cake is ludicrous,” when all you know about cake is raw eggs. God is not contrary to reason; God is more than reason. Likewise; cake is not contrary to raw eggs; cake is more than raw eggs. As for referring to believers as fools; I confess that it might be right to consider believers in a false god as such, but I differ with those who believe in no God at all.
Reason four reads “People believe the stories in the Bible to be untrue because of their mythical content.” Our modern word, “mythology,” derives from the Greco-Roman terms “muthos” and “logos,” and originally meant “Word(s) of Power.” Today; many people have an almost opposite conception of what “mythology” means, largely because they are taught to judge truth by reason-science alone, and so judge much mythology (Biblical and otherwise) as quite bizarre, because the literalism demanded by some forms of reason-science strips myth of its symbolic character. To say that myth is symbolic is to say that it relays truth in much the same way as poetry, and so includes yet goes beyond the literalistic-grammatical underpinnings of the written word, and conveys its fullest meaning on a level beyond that of the literal (like the full meaning of cake is beyond that of raw eggs). In a nutshell; I say yes, some of the truths in the Bible are mythical and/or poetic, but that is far from a reason to dismiss them.
Your fifth reason reads “People don't believe in a merciful God because of pain and suffering that continues in this world.” I think that the majority of pain and suffering experienced in this world is the result of human-evil, which is itself the unfortunate but temporary by-product of God-given, human freedom. Our liberty is dangerous like fire, but ranks as the greatest of divine gifts nonetheless (in my opinion), though it makes earthly evil possible until humanity reaches a greater stage of spiritual maturity. Thus; the suffering of this world ought not to be treated as evidence that God hates us, but rather as evidence of God’s confidence in our ability to grow beyond such depraved behaviors, and of God’s dislike for controlling us like drones. In the meantime; I think it is our Christian obligation to lessen suffering whenever we can, using our individual talents toward that goal. We must be particularly vigilant against those who seek to inflict suffering on behalf of some alleged “Christian” cause, and against those who seek to take our liberties on behalf of some alleged “American” cause.
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