Dear Mary, I am sorry we didn’t get to you this week, but it’s not my fault. Well, maybe it is. I will try to do better!
On Monday, we discussed Faith vs Trust vs Belief. After that, we talked about how to make the case for the validity of the bible.
1. Faith is a gift. We all have it. However, using it is a choice; a function of our free will.
Small “f” faith: We might think of our daily uses of faith as faith with a small “f.” We have faith in what we read in history books, and that humans have been to the moon, etc. In fact, we would not be as advanced without faith; it allows us to operate on the assumption of the truth of things without personal proof. Small “f” examples also don’t generally have a lot of risk connected with them.
The small “f” in faith begins growing into a capital “F” the more risk that is involved. Faith to fly in an airplane when you have a fear of flying, for instance. Or faith in your best friend or spouse. The risk of failure is huge. In the case of a spouse or friend, it is betrayal. If that happens, the pain can be debilitating.
Of course, the largest capital “F: Faith” is reserved for God. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the gift of faith is one of God’s calling cards, because if humans follow faith to its ultimate destination, it leads to God. This is the reason humans have it.
Faith is the doorway to our spirituality and therefore to God. Once you walk through that door, a whole new universe opens up that suddenly sheds light on everything else in life. Purpose, meaning, justice, love, forgiveness, compassion – all unprovable, spiritual characteristics – can be understood and we can begin to master them once we walk through that door.
2. What about trust?
The words faith and trust are similar, to be sure. But you could say that trust is more “how” you practice faith. Once again, you can have a small “t” and a capital “T,” depending on how much you are willing to put your trust out there.
If you’re wondering how to practice faith, it may be easier to start with trust. For example, in order to open your inner door to God, you need to say, “Okay, I’m inviting you in.” Just deciding to do that takes a little bit of trust. That is the beginning of faith.
The fact is, God can’t enter unless you invite him in. That’s because God also gave us free will and he will always honor that gift. So, if you choose not to open the door, that’s your call.
3. Then what the heck is belief?
Technically, belief refers to one’s intellectual assent. That means you believe something is true or real, but it doesn’t mean you have to act on it. The devil believes in God; he just doesn’t follow God :)
Practically speaking, when Christians use “belief,” they usually mean more than just intellectual assent. In the Apostle’s Creed says, we say, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty…” but we also imply that we not only believe it intellectually, but also with our heart and will.
4. What do you say to someone who says the bible is just a bunch of made-up stories written by humans?
Calmly respond that, actually, there are 46 books in the Old Testament, mostly written between 100BC and 1400BC; and 27 books in the New Testament from 40AD to 100AD – that’s 73 books in all; and of course they were written by many different authors: some poets, some prophets, some writing history. God indeed did not write these books – people wrote them, although they were inspired by God to write them. Why? Well, for one, because they are written about God and about the interactions between humans and God.
You can then point out that in the last 50 years, archaeological discoveries have proven many things in the bible to be true! For instance:
First, the nations mentioned in the OT actually existed: the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Philistines, the Babylonians, the Persians, and the Greeks were all real. As archaeology continues to make discoveries, they have found that King David and other smaller groups, such as the Hittites, Edomites, and Moabites, all existed. So we know we are dealing with real people at real times in history. Also, a large number of cities mentioned in the OT existed and their locations fit where the bible says they were. For example, the city of Ur, where Abraham lived before leaving for the Promised Land has been discovered and excavated. Without a single error, the Gospel writer Luke accurately named 32 countries, 54 cities, and 9 islands.
Second, a large number of cities mentioned in the bible existed and their locations fit where the bible says they were. For example, even the city of Ur, where Abraham lived in 2000BC before leaving for the Promised Land has been discovered and excavated. Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Bethany, Capernaum, the Sea of Galilee, and dozens of others, all exist or existed exactly where the bible said they were.
Third, many of the people mentioned in the Old Testament have now been confirmed as historical. King David, for instance, the greatest King of Israel – the one who killed Goliath – lived 1000BC; and the chronology of Jewish kings after him were completely accurate. In the New Testament, Jesus, Pontius Pilate, John the Baptist, and others were written about by Josephus the Roman historian who participated in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD – the destruction that Jesus predicted.
Next, it is sometimes helpful to ask if they know what made Judeo-Christianity so different from other religions? The answer is that all other religions have been efforts by man to find God. And when they fell short, they often filled in the gaps. In Judaism, it was the other way around: God came after man. In fact, man tried to run away from God! Why? Precisely because it was not man’s creation – it was way too hard! Man would never have made such an difficult religion to follow.
If you think about it, if there is an all-powerful God who brought about the Big Bang to create the universe, then this God stands outside the universe, right? How the heck can humans discover this God on our own? As the agnostics say, we can’t! The only way we can know anything about this God is if He decides to reveal himself to us. And that is exactly what is unique about Judaism.
Lastly, you might ask: Why was Christianity so unstoppable? The most powerful empire ever – the Roman Empire – did everything it could to destroy Christianity for its first 200 years. Instead, it grew by leaps and bounds, even when being a Christian meant certain death. Why? Because Christianity said a) that God was all-forgiving (not something the pagan gods did), and b) that all humans were equal in the eyes of God! That meant slaves were equal to their masters, women were equal to men, all races were equal, and shepherds were equal to the Emperor. Nothing like this had ever occurred before in the history of humanity. The Roman Empire considered Christianity a threat because they bowed to God before Caesar, so they had to die. But Rome couldn’t destroy them for the same reason Christianity grew. Because it was based on God’s truth, not man’s.
Please let me know if anyone needs more than this.
Mary, I hope you can see why we didn’t get to your Assumption!
God bless,
Ron
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