A girlfriend emailed me this little essay this morning:
THE BUZZARD: If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and Is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner or life in a small jail with no top.
THE BAT: The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.
THE BUMBLEBEE: A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.
PEOPLE: In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up! That's the answer, the escape route and the solution to any problem! Just look up.
Our Creator has given us so many clues in creation about our relationship with Him. I’m not sure how well the BUZZARD and the BAT fit the writer’s particular PEOPLE conclusion. Seems like the BUZZARD and the BAT wouldn’t gain anything by looking up. But maybe there’s a different message with them. The BAT, for instance, may hint that we must suffer a fall in self-esteem before we can approach His throne as He commands, in humility.
But assuming that it could fly upwards in such confinement, the BUMBLE BEE may fit the “look up” advice perfectly – and may be a beautiful reflection of Proverbs 3:5-6:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct your paths.
In our pet-full household, I think often of cats and dogs and their relationships with us as metaphors for our relationships with God.
Mindy our Persian has nothing to do with us unless she is hungry. She would be happiest if we left her totally alone, which is a real problem with a cat with a cottony coat; we have to comb her and cut out the mats for her own good, in spite of the fact that it is torture for her to be held and touched. She considers herself supremely independent, and us, food dispensers at best.
When she is awake, Lucy the Basset has separation anxiety even if we simply close a door on her. A real surprise, considering how she ignores our commands when anything more interesting is going on around her.
Sir Wally the Oriental Shorthair follows us around, sleeps on us, sleeps on my desk all day long, and comes running when we call him. He talks to us constantly. He has no use for the other pets, except he seems to like Shad the yellow lab. Shad is very similar to Wally, in that he sticks close to us and obeys us even when he’d rather not. Shadow's only flaw is his fear of nail trims, fallout from a traumatic trim a few years ago, but of course we have no choice – he just can’t bring himself to trust us to be doing what’s best for him.
I think the lesson is that God wants us to be like Wally and Shadow – always with our hearts turned towards Him, responsive, obedient, and wanting to be near Him more than anything in the world.
I don’t know anyone else’s heart, but I’d guess that most authentic Christians are probably more like Lucy, wanting to be close to Him but wandering far away during the course of most days; perhaps that’s why He set aside Sunday as a day for us to concentrate on our relationship with Him.
And I’ll bet that most cultural or cafeteria Christians (those who pick what they like out of what little they know about God, and ignore the rest) are more like Mindy -- turning to Him only when they have an immediate earthly need for Him, and otherwise thinking of Him as someone entirely different from who He really is.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Looking for the perfect Mother's Day gift?
What better gift could you give your mom than the promise of spending eternity together in heaven?
Just a decade ago, I was a feminist atheist who laughed at those who thought we could even know for sure that heaven exists.
If your mother is like I was then, it’s my fervent prayer that you’ll give her the tools she needs to begin investigating this question. I recommend as a good starting point my own book, Heaven Without Her (Thomas Nelson, 2008). In fact, I wrote it in large part to persuade rational skeptics that absolute truth does exist, and to provide a solid itinerary for discovering it.
If you don’t think she’d be interested in my story, I hope you’ll check out my bibliography, and consider giving her one or two of the 40+ books highlighted there. Among those I recommend most highly is The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog by James Sire. If it weren’t for this outstanding volume, I might still be floundering around in search of the truth.
Just a decade ago, I was a feminist atheist who laughed at those who thought we could even know for sure that heaven exists.
If your mother is like I was then, it’s my fervent prayer that you’ll give her the tools she needs to begin investigating this question. I recommend as a good starting point my own book, Heaven Without Her (Thomas Nelson, 2008). In fact, I wrote it in large part to persuade rational skeptics that absolute truth does exist, and to provide a solid itinerary for discovering it.
If you don’t think she’d be interested in my story, I hope you’ll check out my bibliography, and consider giving her one or two of the 40+ books highlighted there. Among those I recommend most highly is The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog by James Sire. If it weren’t for this outstanding volume, I might still be floundering around in search of the truth.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Evangelistic Icebreakers
We all want to share the Gospel, but it can be tough to swing a conversation to the things of God. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be difficult; we just have to train ourselves to spot opportunities and apply the appropriate evangelistic icebreakers. Here are some idea-starters.
Pets. Try animal talk to reach the hearts of pet-lovers. I often share this thrilling fact: “In the original Hebrew, the book of Genesis uses the word nephesh, or ‘living soul,’ for both man and vertebrate animals. Our pets seem to have souls, according to the Bible -- which means they may go to Heaven!”
Prophecy. Turn the topic to current events in Israel, and you can drive it to God’s word. Chatting with a long-retired general and lifelong agnostic recently, I showed him what the 2500-year-old book of Ezekiel says about Persia conspiring against Israel in end times. “Persia is Iran,” he said, obviously stunned. “And Persia was always a friend to Israel.” He looked at me through tears. “Until now.”
Opinion. To cut to the chase, try this: “I’m doing an informal survey. Could I ask you what you think it takes to get into heaven?”
Awe. Start collecting and sharing God-glorifying facts. Here’s a gem I’ve used to get people thinking about our origins: “Did you know that all the DNA in your body would fit into an ice cube, but if you could stretch it out it’d reach at least 10 billion miles? Talk about evidence for intelligent design!”
Culture. Our culture may ignore the Lord, but you can use it to glorify Him. I recently saw a dreary but acclaimed movie about Alzheimer’s. The theme? Our utter hopelessness. I now share the story with local nursing home residents, emphasizing that for the Christian, just the opposite is true: A joyful eternity awaits born-again children of God!
Once you start looking for potential icebreakers, you’ll find them everywhere – in the books you’re reading, in the creation around you, in art and music, history and science. In short, everywhere.
Once you start using them, you’ll become adept at steering conversations straight to the Gospel whenever you have a receptive audience. For instance, the pet example could lead to something like this: “Of course, we have to make sure we get there ourselves. Are you certain that you’ll go to heaven when you die? Have I got good news for you!”
Pets. Try animal talk to reach the hearts of pet-lovers. I often share this thrilling fact: “In the original Hebrew, the book of Genesis uses the word nephesh, or ‘living soul,’ for both man and vertebrate animals. Our pets seem to have souls, according to the Bible -- which means they may go to Heaven!”
Prophecy. Turn the topic to current events in Israel, and you can drive it to God’s word. Chatting with a long-retired general and lifelong agnostic recently, I showed him what the 2500-year-old book of Ezekiel says about Persia conspiring against Israel in end times. “Persia is Iran,” he said, obviously stunned. “And Persia was always a friend to Israel.” He looked at me through tears. “Until now.”
Opinion. To cut to the chase, try this: “I’m doing an informal survey. Could I ask you what you think it takes to get into heaven?”
Awe. Start collecting and sharing God-glorifying facts. Here’s a gem I’ve used to get people thinking about our origins: “Did you know that all the DNA in your body would fit into an ice cube, but if you could stretch it out it’d reach at least 10 billion miles? Talk about evidence for intelligent design!”
Culture. Our culture may ignore the Lord, but you can use it to glorify Him. I recently saw a dreary but acclaimed movie about Alzheimer’s. The theme? Our utter hopelessness. I now share the story with local nursing home residents, emphasizing that for the Christian, just the opposite is true: A joyful eternity awaits born-again children of God!
Once you start looking for potential icebreakers, you’ll find them everywhere – in the books you’re reading, in the creation around you, in art and music, history and science. In short, everywhere.
Once you start using them, you’ll become adept at steering conversations straight to the Gospel whenever you have a receptive audience. For instance, the pet example could lead to something like this: “Of course, we have to make sure we get there ourselves. Are you certain that you’ll go to heaven when you die? Have I got good news for you!”
Thursday, December 18, 2008
What's the real reason for digital TV?
Last night I turned on WVCY-TV, our wonderful local Christian station, and saw a message to this effect: "Do you receive TV via antenna? Call this number for information about digital TV ..."
I have been wondering for months why we need digital TV transmission. Don't we have more pressing needs in this country? Never mind that this change could be financially crippling for non-profit, non-gov't-supported stations like WVCY-TV; most people don’t care about that. But aren't children in this country going to bed hungry? Aren’t people going without medical care because they have no health insurance? Aren't we all just one paycheck away from being homeless, as Bill Clinton famously warned?
Our federal government's DTV web site gives the following reasons for mandating this enormous expense and, for many Americans, not-so-minor inconvenience:
1. To give us a clearer picture (It's more important to have a clear picture of the latest greatest slasher and sex shows than it is to allow small independent stations to survive? Besides, we now have a digital TV picture in our home; it looks no different to me and the Packers are still losing, so what good is it?)
2. To give us more programming options (I thought the goal was to get Americans, kids especially, to watch less TV? Why do we need more programming options?)
3. To free up airwaves for use by emergency responders (Hmmm. I'd never heard we had a problem with this. Are we running out of frequencies?)
It certainly can’t be a question of reliability, as anyone with digital phone service will be happy to tell you.
I have toyed with the idea that this mandate was designed to crush Christian TV, but that doesn’t really make sense – our government’s going to do that much more easily and cheaply by restoring the Fairness (sic) Doctrine. Once that passes, it may be all over not only for Christian TV, but also profitable (i.e. conservative) talk radio. Welcome back, Carter!
What sense does this make?
But now, having seen this notice about "Do you receive TV through antenna?" it becomes a little clearer: Antennas use the airwaves ... and no one can really control the airwaves, as Radio Free Europe proved.
So now we will get all our televised information via a new kind of transmission infrastructure.
How tough would it be for a democratically-elected tyrant to get control of this new system, at the first whiff of national crisis? And is it true that whoever controls the news controls us?
Consider what Pravda did to the Soviet Union, with its “truth is whatever is good for the Party” approach to news reporting; could that happen to us?
It's not that I think this is a conspiracy of men -- I don't. I think that it’s all Satan, and that he is using, for his own purposes, gullible people who don’t have a clue what they’re really promoting.
Suddenly Revelation 11:9 becomes even clearer: For three-and-a-half days, the whole world will see the dead bodies of the two witnesses in Jerusalem – because there won’t be anything else on TV, and most of us just can’t bear to turn it off!
And as my niece just reminded me, this may give new illumination to Ephesians 2:2’s description of Satan as the prince of the power of the air.
Crazy idea? Or a germ of the truth? Guess we’ll find out soon enough.
I have been wondering for months why we need digital TV transmission. Don't we have more pressing needs in this country? Never mind that this change could be financially crippling for non-profit, non-gov't-supported stations like WVCY-TV; most people don’t care about that. But aren't children in this country going to bed hungry? Aren’t people going without medical care because they have no health insurance? Aren't we all just one paycheck away from being homeless, as Bill Clinton famously warned?
Our federal government's DTV web site gives the following reasons for mandating this enormous expense and, for many Americans, not-so-minor inconvenience:
1. To give us a clearer picture (It's more important to have a clear picture of the latest greatest slasher and sex shows than it is to allow small independent stations to survive? Besides, we now have a digital TV picture in our home; it looks no different to me and the Packers are still losing, so what good is it?)
2. To give us more programming options (I thought the goal was to get Americans, kids especially, to watch less TV? Why do we need more programming options?)
3. To free up airwaves for use by emergency responders (Hmmm. I'd never heard we had a problem with this. Are we running out of frequencies?)
It certainly can’t be a question of reliability, as anyone with digital phone service will be happy to tell you.
I have toyed with the idea that this mandate was designed to crush Christian TV, but that doesn’t really make sense – our government’s going to do that much more easily and cheaply by restoring the Fairness (sic) Doctrine. Once that passes, it may be all over not only for Christian TV, but also profitable (i.e. conservative) talk radio. Welcome back, Carter!
What sense does this make?
But now, having seen this notice about "Do you receive TV through antenna?" it becomes a little clearer: Antennas use the airwaves ... and no one can really control the airwaves, as Radio Free Europe proved.
So now we will get all our televised information via a new kind of transmission infrastructure.
How tough would it be for a democratically-elected tyrant to get control of this new system, at the first whiff of national crisis? And is it true that whoever controls the news controls us?
Consider what Pravda did to the Soviet Union, with its “truth is whatever is good for the Party” approach to news reporting; could that happen to us?
It's not that I think this is a conspiracy of men -- I don't. I think that it’s all Satan, and that he is using, for his own purposes, gullible people who don’t have a clue what they’re really promoting.
Suddenly Revelation 11:9 becomes even clearer: For three-and-a-half days, the whole world will see the dead bodies of the two witnesses in Jerusalem – because there won’t be anything else on TV, and most of us just can’t bear to turn it off!
And as my niece just reminded me, this may give new illumination to Ephesians 2:2’s description of Satan as the prince of the power of the air.
Crazy idea? Or a germ of the truth? Guess we’ll find out soon enough.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Witnessing to the feminist baby boomer
Step # 4: Share the Gospel
"Come now, and let us reason together," Says the Lord,
"Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
--Isaiah 1:18
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,
for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes,
for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
--Romans 1:16
It has become fairly easy for me to bring up the things of God with just about any lost person, and to wonder aloud over the amazing truths of the Bible. I find it much more difficult to share the Gospel with him or her, because I’m in effect confronting him with the only choice that matters in this life: heaven or hell.
Yet tell him we must, if we want to obey our Lord. And we can’t put it off indefinitely; we don’t know that we’ll ever see him again (something that has become abundantly clear to me over eight nears of visiting residents of a nearby nursing home).
I’ve taken James Kennedy’s “Evangelism Explosion” class at church, and have studied the Way of the Master techniques taught by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron (www.wayofthemaster.com) -- they’re each excellent for specific situations. In essence I try to convey these facts:
- We’re all sinners, having spent our lives rebelling against a perfectly holy and perfectly just God and deserving death – which means eternal punishment in hell.
- Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.
- Eternal life is a free gift of God; we don’t deserve it and we can’t earn it.
- To receive this gift, we must repent (turn from our sins) and trust in His sacrifice to have covered our sins – in short, to rest assured that “Jesus paid it all.”
What if we fail to share the gospel with someone? Well, I suppose the Lord will send in someone else to do this all-important job … and then we can explain to Him later why we found it so difficult to talk about His supreme sacrifice, why we thought there was anything more important than bringing Him what one preacher so poignantly called “the reward of His suffering.”
Witnessing to the feminist baby boomer
Step 3: Draw the conclusions
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
--John 17:17
--John 17:17
During my personal journey to Jesus Christ, I found myself amassing an amazing amount of scientific, historical and prophetic evidence pointing to the Bible’s accuracy. But I was so busy looking at the details that it took me ages to sit back and survey the big picture.
Which is too bad, because once I did, I came to the most stunning conclusions of my life – to wit:
Which is too bad, because once I did, I came to the most stunning conclusions of my life – to wit:
- The Bible is true from first word to last.
- It is the word of the God who created the entire universe and everything in it, and He was perfectly capable of giving us a “life manual” that was, at least in its original manuscripts, entirely accurate. Infallible, in fact.
- I can trust what He said about Himself, about us, and about where we came from, what we’re doing here and where we’re going.
I might have come to these conclusions weeks or even months earlier had someone presented me these claims as something to challenge or prove. So I suggest sharing them with anyone we’re witnessing to – especially if it’s a feminist baby boomer who has been well-schooled to believe the opposite.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Witnessing to the feminist baby boomer
Step 2: Gather the evidence
For since the creation of the world
His invisible attributes are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made,
even His eternal power and Godhead,
so that they are without excuse …
--Romans 1:20
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal
but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
casting down arguments and every high thing
that exalts itself against the knowledge of God …
--2 Corinthians 10:4-5a
Salvation is of the Lord, of course. No one comes to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ apart from the Holy Spirit of God transforming his heart.
But I’m convinced that many of us have spent our lifetimes erecting intellectual and emotional obstacles to belief – obstacles that can delay our accepting the gift of faith, or maybe prevent it altogether (I’m sitting solidly on the fence on this particular issue).
That’s why Christian apologetics may be so important. It seems to me that they can be like bulldozers capable of destroying “every high thing that exalts itself again the knowledge of God,” as the apostle Paul put it in 2 Corinthians 10 – bulldozers capable of clearing the way for the faith that’s prerequisite to eternal life.
Here’s a high-level overview of the evidences that convinced this feminist atheist of the truth of biblical Christianity. Maybe one or more of these subjects will help you make the case to the lost feminist baby boomer in your life.
Bulldozer #1: Science
It was just after the turn of the millennium that I started my personal journey from atheism to faith. For me, a technical copywriter with an interest in science and a long-held conviction that science had proven God at best unnecessary, perhaps the most important leg of my journey was the scientific path.
It was here that I learned about the Darwinism-busting truth of the anthropic principle and irreducible complexity. Here, that I learned that additive genetic mutations are only a myth, incapable of providing evolution with that raw material it would need to transform one sort of creature into another.
Once I’d taken off the blinders and looked at the facts, I quickly came to the only logical conclusion: Even a fairly superficial study of the issue would show any objective observer that there’s no way this universe, or life itself, came into being through time plus chance. There has to have been an intelligent designer – AKA God.
The question then became: Which God?
I spent a year on this question, searching far and wide for evidence that might prove any of the non-Christian religions true. (I did not want to become one of those dreary Christians, you see; I did not want my good times permanently put to rest.) But I discovered no such evidence – just a bunch of statements like “Buddhism is true because there are so many of us” and “Hinduism is true because we have a sacred book.” These statements didn’t even approach truth.
At last, there was only one religion left standing: biblical Christianity. Once again, science came to my rescue, showing me the rock-solid proof I’d been looking for over the past 12 months.
The vehicle was my realization of the Bible’s stunning scientific accuracy. While it’s not a science book, its enemies have yet to point out a single biblical passage related to science (or anything else, for that matter) that’s inaccurate. What’s more, the Bible contains scores of scientific that could not possibly have been known by any of its 40-some writers -- many of them confirmed only in recent centuries or recent decades. Just to cite a couple: the fact that the earth hangs on nothing (Job 26:7, written about 4000 years ago) and that the sun has an orbit of its own (Psalm 19:6, written about 3000 years ago and confirmed in 1999).
These evidences took me very close to having absolute confidence in the existence of a Creator God, and the Bible as His infallible revelation of Himself to us. And I’m not the only one; I’ve heard testimonies from many other scientifically minded people who took this route to the Lord. Perhaps some of the lost people you know would find this line of reasoning persuasive; for an overview of the proofs I found most persuasive, see chapter 18 of Heaven Without Her. And for much much more, visit http://www.answersingenesis.org/ and http://www.icr.org/ .
Bulldozer #2: History
Like many of my contemporaries, I was quite the history buff when I was younger. Even though I’d always had a totally human-centered view of world history, this was what ultimately closed the case for me.
Here’s what happened.
When I finally started reading the Bible at the turn of the millennium, I was surprised to learn that it’s all based on history. I was amazed when I found out that not one spec of its history has ever been proven inaccurate, and that every year more and more of it is instead confirmed. And I was astonished when I eventually discovered that it purports to be the history of the universe from first day to last – and that Genesis and Revelation are as historically reliable as the accounts of Moses, King David and Jesus Himself.
That’s the big picture. What was really shocking to me was the close-up view of the Bible’s prophetic accuracy – especially when I learned several things that put these truths into perspective:
First, that only the Bible among sacred books even offers prophecies.
Second, that there’s nothing to Nostradamus’s predictions, which were mostly vague and have been artfully re-arranged and re-interpreted to mimic prophetic accuracy.
Third, that the “psychics” of our day have been largely abysmal at soothsaying, wrong more than half the time even about events in the near future.
Not so with the Bible, which contains thousands of detailed and specific prophecies. As the Lord said via the prophet Isaiah, recorded in Isaiah 42, “I will tell you the future before it happens.” And that is exactly what He did: About 80% of these prophecies have already been fulfilled with 100% accuracy; the rest refer to the end of time.
Take, for example, the Old Testament predictions about the Messiah – there are hundreds written over many centuries, and Jesus fulfilled every last one. Mathematicians have calculated the likelihood of one man fulfilling just 48 of those prophecies at a number beyond our imaginations. In a word: Impossible – unless those prophecies were written about Jesus, by Someone outside of time who knew exactly what would transpire.
Or consider the prophecies about the nation of Israel – how the children of Israel would be scattered all over the world, but would ultimately have their land restored to them along with their ancient language. Every last one has come to pass, down to the smallest detail.
Bulldozer #3: Logic
Logic has never been my strong suit. When I try to follow it personally, I tend to take the long way around logical deductions and then forget how I got there, which doesn’t make for very confident conclusions. Or, when I read someone else’s solid argument, I wind up doubting their conclusions, not being confident in my ability to detect logical fallacies.
Still, most people are clearer thinking than I am in this area, so don’t neglect logic as a witnessing tool.
Consider C. S. Lewis’s argument about Jesus’ claims to deity: He was either:
A liar, falsely proclaiming Himself to be the Son of God and God the Son.
A lunatic, believing Himself to be the Son of God and God the Son.
(If either of these explanations were true, then just about every other religion has joined in the charade, too, by calling Him a great teacher or a prophet.)
Or He really was the Son of God and God the Son.
Or think about what I consider the best argument for Jesus’ resurrection: His apostles spent a great deal of time with Him after He rose from the grave. They couldn’t have been fooled. Nor could they have been lying: All but John died martyrs, proclaiming to the end that Jesus had risen from the grave. People will die for a lie when they think it’s the truth; but they will not die for a lie if they know it’s a lie.
Prepare your defense
There are no doubt many other areas of investigation that might help a feminist baby boomer find her way to the truth. There’s manuscript evidence, for instance. Biblical responses to today’s psychobabble. And great analogies and explanations for the toughest questions, such as those beginning, “How could a good God …?”
I think it’s important for us all to have at least this top-level understanding of such logic … and then know where to look for the details that can help clear away the obstacles standing between a lost feminist baby boomer and God’s truth.
But I’m convinced that many of us have spent our lifetimes erecting intellectual and emotional obstacles to belief – obstacles that can delay our accepting the gift of faith, or maybe prevent it altogether (I’m sitting solidly on the fence on this particular issue).
That’s why Christian apologetics may be so important. It seems to me that they can be like bulldozers capable of destroying “every high thing that exalts itself again the knowledge of God,” as the apostle Paul put it in 2 Corinthians 10 – bulldozers capable of clearing the way for the faith that’s prerequisite to eternal life.
Here’s a high-level overview of the evidences that convinced this feminist atheist of the truth of biblical Christianity. Maybe one or more of these subjects will help you make the case to the lost feminist baby boomer in your life.
Bulldozer #1: Science
It was just after the turn of the millennium that I started my personal journey from atheism to faith. For me, a technical copywriter with an interest in science and a long-held conviction that science had proven God at best unnecessary, perhaps the most important leg of my journey was the scientific path.
It was here that I learned about the Darwinism-busting truth of the anthropic principle and irreducible complexity. Here, that I learned that additive genetic mutations are only a myth, incapable of providing evolution with that raw material it would need to transform one sort of creature into another.
Once I’d taken off the blinders and looked at the facts, I quickly came to the only logical conclusion: Even a fairly superficial study of the issue would show any objective observer that there’s no way this universe, or life itself, came into being through time plus chance. There has to have been an intelligent designer – AKA God.
The question then became: Which God?
I spent a year on this question, searching far and wide for evidence that might prove any of the non-Christian religions true. (I did not want to become one of those dreary Christians, you see; I did not want my good times permanently put to rest.) But I discovered no such evidence – just a bunch of statements like “Buddhism is true because there are so many of us” and “Hinduism is true because we have a sacred book.” These statements didn’t even approach truth.
At last, there was only one religion left standing: biblical Christianity. Once again, science came to my rescue, showing me the rock-solid proof I’d been looking for over the past 12 months.
The vehicle was my realization of the Bible’s stunning scientific accuracy. While it’s not a science book, its enemies have yet to point out a single biblical passage related to science (or anything else, for that matter) that’s inaccurate. What’s more, the Bible contains scores of scientific that could not possibly have been known by any of its 40-some writers -- many of them confirmed only in recent centuries or recent decades. Just to cite a couple: the fact that the earth hangs on nothing (Job 26:7, written about 4000 years ago) and that the sun has an orbit of its own (Psalm 19:6, written about 3000 years ago and confirmed in 1999).
These evidences took me very close to having absolute confidence in the existence of a Creator God, and the Bible as His infallible revelation of Himself to us. And I’m not the only one; I’ve heard testimonies from many other scientifically minded people who took this route to the Lord. Perhaps some of the lost people you know would find this line of reasoning persuasive; for an overview of the proofs I found most persuasive, see chapter 18 of Heaven Without Her. And for much much more, visit http://www.answersingenesis.org/ and http://www.icr.org/ .
Bulldozer #2: History
Like many of my contemporaries, I was quite the history buff when I was younger. Even though I’d always had a totally human-centered view of world history, this was what ultimately closed the case for me.
Here’s what happened.
When I finally started reading the Bible at the turn of the millennium, I was surprised to learn that it’s all based on history. I was amazed when I found out that not one spec of its history has ever been proven inaccurate, and that every year more and more of it is instead confirmed. And I was astonished when I eventually discovered that it purports to be the history of the universe from first day to last – and that Genesis and Revelation are as historically reliable as the accounts of Moses, King David and Jesus Himself.
That’s the big picture. What was really shocking to me was the close-up view of the Bible’s prophetic accuracy – especially when I learned several things that put these truths into perspective:
First, that only the Bible among sacred books even offers prophecies.
Second, that there’s nothing to Nostradamus’s predictions, which were mostly vague and have been artfully re-arranged and re-interpreted to mimic prophetic accuracy.
Third, that the “psychics” of our day have been largely abysmal at soothsaying, wrong more than half the time even about events in the near future.
Not so with the Bible, which contains thousands of detailed and specific prophecies. As the Lord said via the prophet Isaiah, recorded in Isaiah 42, “I will tell you the future before it happens.” And that is exactly what He did: About 80% of these prophecies have already been fulfilled with 100% accuracy; the rest refer to the end of time.
Take, for example, the Old Testament predictions about the Messiah – there are hundreds written over many centuries, and Jesus fulfilled every last one. Mathematicians have calculated the likelihood of one man fulfilling just 48 of those prophecies at a number beyond our imaginations. In a word: Impossible – unless those prophecies were written about Jesus, by Someone outside of time who knew exactly what would transpire.
Or consider the prophecies about the nation of Israel – how the children of Israel would be scattered all over the world, but would ultimately have their land restored to them along with their ancient language. Every last one has come to pass, down to the smallest detail.
Bulldozer #3: Logic
Logic has never been my strong suit. When I try to follow it personally, I tend to take the long way around logical deductions and then forget how I got there, which doesn’t make for very confident conclusions. Or, when I read someone else’s solid argument, I wind up doubting their conclusions, not being confident in my ability to detect logical fallacies.
Still, most people are clearer thinking than I am in this area, so don’t neglect logic as a witnessing tool.
Consider C. S. Lewis’s argument about Jesus’ claims to deity: He was either:
A liar, falsely proclaiming Himself to be the Son of God and God the Son.
A lunatic, believing Himself to be the Son of God and God the Son.
(If either of these explanations were true, then just about every other religion has joined in the charade, too, by calling Him a great teacher or a prophet.)
Or He really was the Son of God and God the Son.
Or think about what I consider the best argument for Jesus’ resurrection: His apostles spent a great deal of time with Him after He rose from the grave. They couldn’t have been fooled. Nor could they have been lying: All but John died martyrs, proclaiming to the end that Jesus had risen from the grave. People will die for a lie when they think it’s the truth; but they will not die for a lie if they know it’s a lie.
Prepare your defense
There are no doubt many other areas of investigation that might help a feminist baby boomer find her way to the truth. There’s manuscript evidence, for instance. Biblical responses to today’s psychobabble. And great analogies and explanations for the toughest questions, such as those beginning, “How could a good God …?”
I think it’s important for us all to have at least this top-level understanding of such logic … and then know where to look for the details that can help clear away the obstacles standing between a lost feminist baby boomer and God’s truth.
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