Yesterday, we produced a list of ten “reasons” that we believe the Bible is what it claims to be – the Word of God. Today we would like to post a bit of clarification, before going into more detail on each of the ten reasons.
First, the foundational reason any Christian believes is because of the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit in his or her heart (number 10 on our list). While the other nine reasons are helpful, they can amount to nothing more than winning an argument if the work of the Holy Spirit is absent. Only He can open the eyes of the blind, and impart life where there is spiritual death. In the words of John MacArthur:
While there are many solid arguments for the authority of Scripture, none of them are of much use if someone doesn’t want to be convinced. . . . Actually there is only one argument that can prove to us that the Bible is true and authoritative for our lives: the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds. (Why Believe the Bible, 23)
With that in mind, the reasons we listed yesterday are really confirmations of the truthfulness of Scripture, primarily intended as an encouragement for those who already believe.
Second, if we are to use biblical evidences, we can only give absolute weight to those that come from Scripture. After all, the Bible itself must be our authority, even when it comes to defending the Bible. John Frame underscores this point when he writes:
I would conclude that it is the responsibility of the Christian to regard God’s word as absolutely certain, and to make that word the criterion of all other sources of knowledge. Our certainty of the truth of God comes ultimately, not through rational demonstration or empirical verification, useful as these may often be, but from the authority of God’s own word.
God’s word does testify to itself, often, by means of human testimony and historical evidence: the ‘proofs’ of Acts 1:3, the centurion’s witness in Luke 23:47, the many witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus in 1 Cor. 15:1-11. But we should never forget that these evidences come to us with God’s own authority. (“Certainty”, Online Source)
Though we have not discussed our ten reasons in detail, we believe that each can be ultimately derived from Scripture. Because this is a critical point, we will do our best (in subsequent posts) to make the case for each first from God’s Word, and only second from extrabiblical sources.
Third, and finally, we must remember that the Christian life is a life of faith. This does not mean it is unreasonable (for in fact it is the most reasonable worldview possible), but it does mean that Christianity is much more than reason alone.
Of course, faith (in the general sense of “belief”) is a foundational part of every worldview. When it comes to religion, everyone believes something. The Christian believes in Jesus Christ. The Muslim believes in Allah. The Hindu believes in Brahma. The Buddhist believes in Nirvana. The agnostic believes in the idea that God is unknowable. Even the atheist believes in his own skepticism; he cannot prove God’s nonexistence, yet he believes it nonetheless.
For the believer, the study of Christian evidences is confirming, because it demonstrates that biblical faith is founded on fact. When these facts are examined, the weight of the evidence is very compelling. Irwin H. Linton, a lawyer, argues that the Christian faith “rests on definite, historical facts and events” which, due to the overwhelming evidence that supports them, must “be regarded as proved under the strictest rules of evidence used in the highest American and English courts” (A Lawyer Examines the Bible, 16). In other words, the evidence for Christianity confirms it to be true beyond any reasonable doubt.
But what about other religious beliefs? Where do they fare? John Ankerberg and John Weldon give us the answer:
Other religions . . . can also be tested by examining their claims and looking critically at the facts—but again, one finds that they are invalidated by such a procedure. [In fact] no genuinely historical or objective evidence exists for the foundational claims of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, or any other world religion [besides Christianity]” (Fast Facts for Defending Your Faith, 44).
Robert Morey concurs, noting that “there is more than enough evidence on every hand from every department of human experience and knowledge to demonstrate that Christianity is true.” On the other hand, “the faith of the non-Christian is externally and internally groundless” (Introduction to Defending the Faith, 38).
Thus, of all the religions in the world, only Christianity has verifiable evidence to support its claims. As believers, we should find that very encouraging.
No comments:
Post a Comment