There is this notion that to believe, you have to make this gigantic leap of faith, and "just hope against hope" the Christian faith is true. It's said by some that, "No truly rational person could ever believe" and "You practically have to commit a kind of intellectual suicide to believe."
This past week, Bill Maher described religious people as extremely insecure. Their faith in one big ole' house of cards. They fear is that even the slightest criticism could jostle their faith, causing the entire house of cards to collapse.
One of the things I love about the Christian faith is that doubters are welcome. The skeptic is invited into sincere dialogue. We tolerate cynics and satirists, even those who may blaspheme our Lord, desecrate His cross, or burn Holy Scripture. If you are exploring matters of faith, I want to put you at ease. The Living God welcomes you to satisfy your mind, not just your soul. God is plenty big enough to handle your questions. You aren't the first, and you won't be the last, to question your faith.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 says, "Test everything. Hold unto the good." In Acts 17:11 the believers in Berea were complimented for having "noble character" because "they examined the Scriptures every day" to discern what was true. When you examine your faith, it takes on a certain character, depth and richness.
Eric Metaxas says, "True faith is not a leap in the dark; it's a leap into the light. We shouldn't be afraid of the facts. If God is God, he is the God of reality and facts and science and history."
Last week we began with questions about who God Is... Does God exist? Is there a Powerful Creator, Loving Sustainer, and Brilliant Designer who has fine-tuned everything in our universe for life, including subatomic matter? This morning we turn our attention to the Bible, and what the BIBLE IS...
To begin, let me share some general thoughts about the Bible
James Kennedy, in his book Skeptics, says, "The Bible is the best-selling, least understood, and most criticized book in history." He couldn't be more right! People have scientific objections to Scripture. They have theoretical objections--that there are truer explanations to things than Biblical explanations. Evolution is a theoretical objection to the Bible. Evolution has not been proven true by the hard sciences... evolution is still just a theory, and a highly speculative theory at that!
People raise moral objections against the Bible. For example, how can the Bible speak against homosexual behavior or marriage? People raise theological objections against the Bible. How can a good God allow suffering or death? How can there be a hell if God loves everyone? How can there only be one way to be saved? How can the Bible be right and all other religions wrong?
People raise grammatical, linguistic, cultural, historical, archaeological, and a host of technical objections to the Bible. The Bible has been public enemy #1 to scientists, secularists, socialists, Islamists, dictators, educators, and activists. Instead of whining about it, let's engage the Bible's detractors... objection by objection.
This past week Royce Kirkpatrick, one of our Elders, sent me a Newsweek Magazine article called, "The Bible: So Misunderstood Its a Sin" attacking the veracity of the Bible. The author uses the "shock and awe" attack method. Shock and awe is when you overwhelm your enemy's defenses in so many ways at one time... they literally don't know where to begin their defense! This is often what happens in classrooms, in magazine articles, on cable news shows, or even in the workplace. It's ten against one, or it's this saturating blitzkrieg of objections at one time.
Here are some examples of people responding to the Newsweek article: Albert Mohler, CNN News, Patheos Blog
Some advice on responding to Bible Difficulties...
(1) Breathe. Seriously. Just relax. Nothing unusual is happening. We should expect to be challenged about our faith. Lean into the moment.
(2) Discern. Is the attacker sincere about exploring matters of faith? If they're not sincere, the Bible tells us not to throw our pearls to pigs, less they get trampled on. If a person isn't being respectful, wait for a more opportune time.
(3) Triage. Make a master list of all the person's objections and then divide and conquer. Systematically investigate them one by one. Which objections are more severe, and which are minuscule? If you take care of the big objections first the little ones often evaporate.
(4) Study. Whenever I asked pastors or professors about Bible difficulties, they were often busy, and gave me glib answers. Instead of getting discouraged, get online, get to a bookstore, go to the library, and don't stop digging until you're completely satisfied. 99% of the stuff you read in Newsweek has been regurgitated year after year, for centuries. You'd be hard pressed not to find scholarly research on most any Bible objection or difficulty out there. Bible difficulties should be resolved carefully, methodically, logically, faithfully, humbly, with curiosity.
Instead of handling specific objections to the Bible, I want to summarize seven basic premises found in Scripture.
The 1st Big Idea is that GOD "IS" ... As in GOD "EXISTS"
The first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created..." That is the big idea, the premise, the presupposition, the foundational truth upon which all Scripture stands. The things found in Scripture are ONLY plausible if there is a God who is the Powerful Creator, Loving Sustainer, and Brilliant Designer of all things.
A way you can read Genesis 1:1 is like this: "Suppose for a moment... that in the beginning God created..." Suppose there is a Powerful Creator. Suppose there is a Loving Sustainer, a Brilliant Designer. Consider the idea of God. Try it on. Take it for a test drive. See if your world makes sense through the worldview lens of Scripture.
A 2nd Big Idea... God is PLEASURABLY INVOLVED with creation
Colossians 1:16-17 says, "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things and in him all things hold together."
The big idea of Scripture is that we are not alone. There is a living God who actively delights in his creation, and delights in his special creation of mankind. God both creates us, but then he relates to us. Though God is over us and above us, he is near us, he is a personal God, with a personal name, and he is present with us.
God created all things, and made them beautiful in their time, for his pleasure. God delights in the smallest, most delicate nuances of creation. God delights in the grandest, astronomical, cosmic things. He delights in the visible and invisible, the earthy and heavenly. But mostly, he delights in the creation and redemption of all mankind (sinful though we are).
A 3rd Big Idea... God is UNDENIABLY REVEALING himself by creation
In other words, the existence of God is the worst kept secret in creation. God's fingerprints, the strokes of his artistic brush, are on everything! Romans 1:20 says, "God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."
Psalm 19:1-3, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."
One reason we have so many religions is because people have speculated on the nature of God from the very beginning of history. Most religions reach similar conclusions about God. He is eternal, powerful, good, and great. But natural revelation can only take us so far in our knowledge and understanding of God. So...
A 4th Big Idea... God is SPECIFICALLY REVEALING himself to creation.
The most profound declaration of Scripture is that "God has spoken." He didn't create us, only for us to speculate and war over our opinions about him. God has specifically revealed his character, nature, identity, purpose and plan in time, space, and history. And he has revealed himself consistently throughout all generations.
Take the rival ideas about God for instance, that existed in the Mesopotamian cultures. They believed in the supernatural, but thought perhaps there was a sun god, moon god, weather god, sea god, animal god, fertility god, etc. In Genesis 1, the Bible reveals the specific truth that instead there is ONE GOD who is the creator of all things--the sun, moon, stars, animals, etc.
Or take the rival ideas about morality that existed. The famous Code of Hammurabi, of the ancient Mesopotamia culture was found. It was people's best approximation of what is right and wrong. But in the Torah (the first five books of the OLD TESTAMENT) God specifically reveals the LAW. His shows how his own holiness is the specific basis for what is to be moral and right and good among men.
Josh McDowell was a man who set out year ago to disprove the Bible. As a young man he set out to amass all the evidence he could in order to discredit the Bible. In the end he amassed so much evidence he had no choice but to believe instead of disbelieve. In his book, in Evidence that Demands a Verdict, he summarizes the special way God revealed himself throughout history in the Bible. (see his video testimony)
The Bible was written over a 1,500-year span, over 40 generations, by 40 authors from every walk of life including kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, scholars, etc. Moses, a political leader, trained in the universities of Egypt. Peter, a fisherman. Amos, a herdsman. Joshua, a military general. Nehemiah, a cupbearer. Daniel, a prime minister. Luke, a doctor. Solomon, a king. Matthew, a tax collector. Paul, a rabbi.
The Bible was written in vastly different places. Moses in the wilderness. Jeremiah in a dungeon. Daniel on a hillside and in a palace. Paul inside prison walls. Luke while traveling. John on the isle of Patmos. Others in the rigors of a military campaign.
The Bible was written at different times: David in times of war, Solomon in times of peace. The Bible was written during different moods. Some writing from the heights of joy and others writing from the depths of sorrow and despair.
The Bible was written on three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe. It was written in three languages:
1.Hebrew: Was the language of the Old Testament.
2. Aramaic: Was the "common language" of the Near East until the time of Alexander the Great (6th century B.C. - 4th century B.C.) 32/218.
3. Greek: New Testament language - was the international language at the time of Christ.
Summary: The Bible was written over a 1,500 year time span by 40 different generations coming from radically different backgrounds and cultures. It was written from different places, at different times, in different languages by writers on different continents, yet it contains an unmistakable thread of continuity throughout its pages.
A 5th Big Idea... God is PROPHETICALLY INSPIRING his creation
In 2 Peter 1:19-21, the Apostle Peter talks about the nature of God's word. "We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
So how do we know whether a prophet was truly inspired by God or a fraud? In Deuteronomy 18:19-22 God provides a litmus test. "I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death."
You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?" If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed."
The ultimate litmus test for all the law and prophets is whether the Christ, the Messiah would appear in exact manner/circumstances foretold by the prophets. More on this next week... but here is a preview... Hebrews 1:1-3 says, "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word."
A 6th Big Idea... God is MIRACULOUSLY INTERVENING in creation
Without a doubt, the greatest miracle ever known is creation itself. In his book, Miracles, Eric Metaxas describes how "Science today teaches the universe came into being via the Big Bang, approximately 14 billion years ago. According to this generally accepted theory, all matter in the known universe--more than one hundred billion galaxies, each of which contains hundreds of billions of stars and many more planets--exploded out of something smaller than the period at the end of this sentence."
"If we believe that God created the universe out of nothing.. how can we possibly quibble over smaller miracles... Believing that God could create the universe but not perform any infinitely smaller miracle is illogical."
"If God could speak the universe into existence, could he not afterward speak into that existence?"
So what is a miracle? The Greek word for miracle is "simaios" which means sign. Signs never point to themselves, but to always something beyond. Miracles always point back to God. They are only plausible if God exists, and the he is who the Bible says he is. Bill Nye in his book Undeniable attempts to dismantle the miracles of the Bible by pointing out how impossible they are from a naturalistic viewpoint. But nobody is saying the miracles of the Bible happened naturalistically. The miracle of the Bible were supernatural occurrences--explainable and plausible only if God exists.
Speaking of miracles as signs. When you post a sign, do you not post it in full view for everyone to see? The miracles of the Bible aren't "little." Gen 1-2 Creation is a huge miracle. A miracle that big couldn't be concealed. Noah, a world-wide flood? Cultures all over the world have accounts of an epic flood, not just the Hebrew Bible. Destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah? Israel's exodus from slavery in Egypt? The Plagues? The parting of the Red Sea? The conquest of the Promise Land? David and Goliath? Jonah and the Whale--the repentance of the entire city of Nineveh? The miracles of Jesus? His death, burial, and physical resurrection? Jesus prediction of the temples destruction in A.D. 70? These things didn't happen in a corner. And when they did happen the reality of God's power was undeniable to the people of that time and culture.
I like what Eric Metaxas says about the virgin birth. "If God could insert the entire universe from "outside" the system, why couldn't he insert a sperm cell into the otherwise "closed system." The head of a sperm cell is approximately five millionths of a meter by three millionths of a meter. And the size of the universe? (I'd encourage you to snag this book if you struggle with big idea of God's miraculous intervention).
A 7th Big Idea... God is PATIENTLY WAITING us to trust Him
The Premise of Scripture isn't just that GOD IS... but that the BIBLE is the STORY OF GOD... but more than that, it's a story we are part of. There is a season for us to investigate God's existence, the claims of the Bible, and the identity of Christ. But at the end of the day, we don't get to opt out of the story. God is patiently waiting for us to trust his Word, and grow in the grace and knowledge he's afforded us. Curiosity is great. Investigation is great. But not at the expense of commitment. God chose to create us so we could relate to him as the God He Is.
[Read 2 Peter 3:2-15, 17-18]