How Skeptical Arguments Strengthened My View of the B-I-B-L-E
I often like to tease my four younger siblings that they exist because of what a wonderful first child I was. In reality, I'm learning, my parents are fairly hearty people. Turns out, their first baby (me) was extremely fussy and pretty prideful and rebellious. Apparently, once as a 9 year old I ran through the neighborhood yelling: "Call children services, my parents are abusing me!" (ha not true at all)
Now that I'm a mom and some stories of my childhood have been dug up, I'm somewhat mortified over what I put them through.
Several times when I would mess up as a kid, I would read the Bible. It made me feel better and if mom would see me she would express pride over my right response to failure.
Growing up, I had every reason to believe that the Bible corresponded with reality. My parents lived out their faith, I witnessed God provide for our family financially and answer really detailed prayer requests.
Overall the good book made sense, and told a story of redemption and love.
There was really no reason to question the validity of the Bible and I so wanted it to be true.
Even still, I never really held any ambitious desire to read regularly. There seemed so much else worthy of my time and attention. I read when I had to or when I was told to or when I messed up.
The good book to me, was something I was expected to read, something I was told was good for me.
Is it just me or do you do this too? If someone tells you it's best for you, your knee-jerk reaction is one of annoyance. I tend to think I know what's best. I don't need wisdom or insight. Don't tell me my body can't handle just carbs and cheese and coffee.
Studies show that learning does not readily happen unless the learner is somewhat interested or engaged. I don't read books about cats because well I don't have them (Truly they scare the heck out of me-give me a mangy, slobbery retriever any day) so it's obviously not an apt subject in my life.
The Bible may seem that way for the vast majority of people. Some people go through their whole lives and never consider why there are good reasons to believe that the good book is NOT a myth or fairy tale. I've also seen self-proclaiming Christians admitting that the Bible is seemingly dull or even irrelevant.
I've been there and I get it. For me, I needed a different thought. Even though I could attest that the Bible was speaking to me, I still needed to see why to read for myself.
Ironically, one of the reasons I now am more motivated
to study the bible consistently has been studying the arguments for atheism.
Atheists/agnostics/skeptics can be very intelligent and often incredibly assertive. I initially held the perception that listening to atheists arguments would dismantle my faith.
Have you heard the idea that faith is just wishful thinking? Yeah, me too. What we put our trust in should never be a blind leap in the dark. I want to argue that you should place your faith in what is trustworthy. What is based on evidence and reason.
Before my daughter would ever get on a roller coaster she needed to sit down and see that it was ok. She needed me to say: "I would never allow you to get on the Sea Dragon unless I thought it was safe." She then could make the choice to trust me and climb in and take the risk.
It can be so hard to determine what can be found to be true. A simple google search tells us "that Jesus never existed". Spoiler alert: Googling does not always equal truth. Non-Christian and Christian scholars agree that the claim that Jesus never even existed is unambiguously false.*
It's also important to recognize that there is a distinction between an assertion and an argument. Assertions are loud and emphatic. They are often intimidating. Arguments are tethered to evidence and reasons. Arguments help us see the why.
In a tik tok- quick- you tube- video-retweet kind of world, it is no easy thing to fully research two different cases of what's true. But what could be more important to determine.
Just like witnessing a defense's story in a courtroom, knowledge of the best arguments for no deity has made the prosecutor's evidence and position all the more apparent.
Meaning, both sides of a story can sometimes help to clarify which is more reasonably true.
If you study the cumulative case for Christianity (with as much objectivity as you can muster) and the arguments for no Creator, I believe that it will become apparent that it is more plausible to believe in the God of the Bible than we are all here as a result of matter + chance + time.
For the Bible tells me so is the real thing. For the Bible tells me so, is no joke.
So this topic could be discussed at great length but for time's sake I'll highlight just three of the intelligent reasons I've found that indicate the bible is certainly worth more than a mere glance.
1) The Carbon Dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
So in the 1960's there were these boys and they went out exploring you know like boys do and what they found was incredible. If you maintain this common notion that the bible is a fairy-tale book, then a good starting place is with the dead sea scrolls. Bottom line: these documents exemplify that God in His wisdom preserved the writings that show Jesus's life and death was predicted. Carbon dating does not lie. We can accurately see that the manuscripts were very carefully copied. And the writings occurred over a hundred years prior to Jesus. This is the kind of thing that I geek out about. Fascinating, simply fascinating.
2) The New Testament is a highly scrutinized piece of historical literature. Again a lot to be said about this but for now let's focus on two quick points: the science of textual criticism shows that the New Testament is 99% accurate. The variations that do exist are often spelling errors like how in Canada they spell honor: honour. Skeptical and Christian NT Scholars agree: No major doctrine is effected. So this idea of a resurrection and an empty tomb and Jesus coming as our rescuer? Yeah that's world history. True story.
Secondly, Roman Historian Colin Hemmer chronicles 84 details that are congruent with the book of Acts.* Details such as specific cities and bodies of water. The accuracy demonstrates that the author of the book of Acts(the apostle Luke) would only be capable of communicating the details if he were truly an eyewitness to the events recorded.
3) The Criterion of Embarrassment If someone is making up a story what is their tendency? Mine is to make myself look good. For real. Well the New Testament authors (eyewitnesses to all the events) included several very embarrassing details about themselves. No insta highlight reels here. For instance, they booked it and hid when their friend(you know who I'm taking about) and teacher was sentenced to die. (And ahem, may I just note that the loyal women stood by) A historical record's authenticity is increased when details that don't paint the author in a pretty light are recorded. And these embarrassing details are recorded consistently. The best explanation? The writers were committed to the truth.
The miracle attested in the dead sea scrolls, the historical accuracy of the New Testament and embarrassing stories.
If there's a God we can wholly figure out, He's probably not a pretty big God. If there's a God that we all can alter to fit into our own finite mind he's probably not an ultimate all-powerful, infinite being. Perhaps that is why we struggle to open the good book. It is difficult. It often is humbling. We want to go our own way and do things ourselves. There may be moral implications that follow.
But I am so thankful for God and His word.
I am so very thankful that I am not just a molecule in motion.
I think that often we confuse things about God. People can be awful. Life can be horrendously hard. We may wonder if He cares.
And if this life is all there is, He would not care.
But let us not forget about heaven.
Let us not equate an all good, all knowing God with finite, broken people.
Let us not think we are just God's pets, here on this earth to live a comfortable, luxurious life.
Let us not claim He does not care and actually never see what He promises and what He says about us. May we never actually turn our attention to Him and miss the point of our existence.
To know God and make Him known.
Realizing that the Bible tells the story of the world and is truly God's letter to me changed everything.
It means that His mercies are new every morning.
It means that all people are redeemable. That I can let so much go in this life.
That I can strive to bring God glory and not live for my own glory.
It means I know what to invest in, and that I am never never alone.
That I have hope and I have a lucid picture of how to raise my kids.
That the most important thing I can teach them is that they too can know God deeply and live a life making Him known.
The smallest acts of love and kindness can have meaning on into eternity.
Several years ago my husband and I had a huge fight. Remember that pride and rebellion I was talking about it in my life? Yeah that played a role...Maybe it was an immature move, but I was so hurt I left home for the night with our newborn baby. He sent me an email in the middle of the night and I read and re-read what he wrote. Because it gave me hope and it was a testament to his love.
The Bible is like that email. Only so much more.
A perfect God desires a relationship with imperfect us. Even if you reader were the only person to walk the planet. The way to relationship and eternal life is a gift.
Jesus freely gave us His life so we would could choose to not be punished for our sins. Love is not always a feeling after all.
What do you have to lose by reading?
Or even more so, read both sides of the arguments. It is so so good to see both sides. Is it more reasonable to believe in the God of the Bible or are there good arguments that God doesn't exist?
As Blaise Pascal says: If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite.
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