A Reasonable Faith

So often I run across forum posts that question the Christian faith in a negative way, or that simply cut it down as something unjustifiable and therefore for the weak.  I have to wonder at this hostility, ranging from mild to great, regarding faith in Jesus Christ.  I don’t know everyone’s motivations for responding like this, but I can answer them in a couple of ways.  One, that their hostility is sad from a moral and ethical standpoint, and even self-defeating, and that two, faith in Christ can be defended rationally and logically, making their hostile wordplay look calculated or immature.  (However, the information below can of course be used for, and by, friendly seekers too!)

There are many book-length resources on this subject (and on the sub-subjects), so keeping the evidence down to article-length is a real challenge.  But I’ll give it a go.  First off, I’m going to start at the point where I assume that you, the reader (or the people you will be debating with), think that there is a God of some sort.  Second we’ll look at the reliability of the bible and Jesus Christ, since, if they are reliable then you should be able to accept what they’ve communicated.  Third, I’ll try to answer some common concerns that are, for many, stumbling blocks to full faith.  As a bonus, I’m including an Appendix with a quick guide to logical fallacies.  If you don’t recognize some terms and types of arguments in there, it won’t be long after you join the apologetics fray with real people that you will.  Enjoy!

The Reliability of the Bible and Jesus Christ

The Old Testament

The bible itself claims that it is the word of God, hundreds of times.  There are other religious texts that claim this, but they are either unverifiable or do not corroborate the bible (see “other religions” sections below).  For this claim to have meaning, however, the bible needs verification outside of itself.

·      Jesus said the bible is the word of God.  Scholars do not refute Jesus’ existence, and evidence for the New Testament is overwhelming (as we’ll see in the next section).  So was Jesus lying or mistaken? 

·      The Old Testament’s accuracy was confirmed when the Dead Sea Scrolls were found and translated.  The OT texts were found to be astonishingly accurate.  Archaeology has confirmed the OT many times, including the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, the conquest of Jericho, and various things written about by the Assyrians.

·      The prophets were convinced that it was the word of God, and many died for their convictions.  No other religion has documented prophecies that have come true, yet there are many OT prophecies that have.   Many of these relate to Jesus and so will be given in that section.  Some examples OT prophecies that have been fulfilled are:   the destruction of the city or Tyre (Ezekiel 26:3-14, 21); the desolation of the Kingdom of Edom (Jeremiah 49:17-18); concerning Cyrus and the restoration of Jerusalem (Isaiah 44:24-28); and, concerning Alexander the Great (Daniel 11:2-4).

The New Testament

·     The New Testament documents were virtually all written by Jesus’ apostles or their associates, therefore they were written by actual witnesses or persons close to them.   Documents that were found to be false or heretical were kept out of the canon at the councils of Carthage (393) and Hippo (397).

·      There are some fragments of documents dating to the time, and near to the time, of the apostles.  There is a complete works of Paul dating to AD 180, and a gospel of John from around AD175.  The earliest whole documents are from the 300s, though we know that the NT was written between the 40s and 90s (Jesus was crucified somewhere between AD30 and AD33).  Of the earliest Greek translations, there are ~5,300 (Latin and other ancient languages account for ~17,200 more).  Compare these data to Aristotle.  He wrote in the 300s BC, but the earliest copy we have is from 1400 years later, and there are only five ancient copies of his work.   Homer wrote the Iliad about 900 BC and there are 643 ancient copies of it, but the oldest copy is from 500 years later.  The NT is by far the best documented ancient work we have.

·      Because of the amount and type of ancient NT copies, scholars can recover 97%-99% of the original content; the 5,300 earliest texts substantially agree 99.5% of the time. 

·      Archaeology and ancient writings confirm the NT.  Persons who wrote about Jesus or the Christians are:  Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia (109-111); the historian Tacitus (55-120 AD); Emperor Hadrian’s (117-138 AD) secretary, Seutonius; Josephus (37-100), a Jewish historian; and the satirist Lucian (2^nd century). 

Jesus Christ

·      His claims to diety.  This one is easy, although some people who don’t want to believe what’s written in the bible will say that much of the NT is just made up.  If you want to continue to believe that, despite much evidence to the contrary, then we’re at a dead end here.  However, if you believe that the NT is reliable, then there’s not much choice.  Jesus claimed to be the Messiah and the son of God, and even the “I Am” (the “name” that God revealed to Moses for Himself) many times.  As CS Lewis wrote, you can’t simply accept Jesus as a good moral teacher.  Since he claimed to be the son of God, he was either correct, crazy, or a liar.  He was either telling the truth, or he was someone that we shouldn’t trust.

·      His resurrection.  The ultimate miracle is Jesus’ resurrection, and it is probably the most difficult for nonbelievers to accept.  If a person doesn’t want to believe the eyewitness testimony about it found in the NT, there is circumstantial evidence too.  Presenting it would indeed take no small amount of space, however.  One can consider Paul—only one person, for sure-- but a very very compelling one regarding this subject.  Before his conversion, Paul (then named Saul), had everything going for him.  He was trained by the best Jewish teachers, was highly educated otherwise as well, and was a Roman citizen.  A very unusual combination!  He was a Pharisee who was very zealous in his persecution of the new Christians, even happy to see them put to death.  However, he had a conversion experience with the resurrected Jesus and he found himself on the “other side.”  It took a while for the other apostles to accept him, but eventually they did, and his writings now make up a great amount of the NT.  In the end, he died for his faith, just like most of the apostles and early disciples.  In 1 Corinthians 15:17 he wrote:  “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”  Jesus’ contemporary followers and his post-resurrection followers all believed he was resurrected because either they were witnesses to it themselves, or they believed these witnesses along with all the other evidence.  One-third of Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ is devoted to looking at the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection, so the reader may want to check that out.

Stumbling Blocks to Faith

Evil, Suffering and Catastrophes

Why is there evil and suffering, both natural and manmade?  And if God is good and all-powerful, why doesn’t he stop it?  Even Christians question God about these issues sometimes.   

·      Natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, and tsunamis all happen based on natural earth and atmospheric properties and conditions.  A study of these properties shows that they are necessary for life on this planet.  We don’t know why God doesn’t save more people from dying in these disasters, but we trust in His omniscience to know what is best for everyone at every time.  Perhaps if we could see how many people He does in fact save during these disasters, we would be amazed.  The fact is, too, that we all die.  Some die while young, some die old.   Some die alone, some die in groups.  Some believe, too, that when evil came into creation, it influenced nature to become less hospitable to man.

·     Since God created the earth and everything in it “good,” we find that “evil” was brought into the creation.  When the first humans rebelled against God, evil was allowed a foothold in creation and in us.  God gave us free will, for his pleasure in creating such creatures (I’m sure) and for having creatures that will freely love Him.  A consequence of having free will is being able to make choices that are harmful to us, both physically and spiritually.  All the manmade evil in the world stems from our own choices, however much or little Satan may influence us.  As for the innocent victims of this evil, such as a child who is raped and murdered, no one can say why God did not save her.  If you talk to enough Christians, however, you will hear stories of God’s intervention in people’s lives during life-threatening situations.  Just because we don’t understand God fully, or know why He moves in such mysterious ways, doesn’t mean that He isn’t kind, loving, and gracious.

Other Religions

Besides the monotheistic religion of Islam, the other religions out there are those that are pantheistic or polytheistic.  These religions do not have documents with verified prophecies.  They may describe miracles or miraculous occurrences, but one has to look at the relevance of the miracle.  Is it just for show or self-aggrandizing?  Or does it point to and glorify God?  Biblical miracles do the latter, while nonbiblical miracles do the former.  Since these religions are based on works, many people might be attracted to them because they think that they may be able to control their destiny.  But none of them offers a sure afterlife; only Christianity claims a sure and happy afterlife.

·     Pantheistic religions include Buddhism, Scientology, and New Age.  They believe that God is everything and everything is God, and that the same reality is in all.  They do not believe morality exists in reality, yet they use it to become more divine.  This is quite illogical.  They believe the universe is eternal and that it doesn’t change, but both of these ideas go against current knowledge (see the Second Law of Thermodynamics).  They believe evil is an illusion; in fact, your existence as an individual is an illusion too.  It that’s so, why try do anything that would make you “better” by some measure that isn’t even real in the first place??

·      Polytheistic religions vary, and include Hinduism, Shinto, and Wicca.  In a religious or spiritual sense, a main purpose is to please the gods.  Morality is important in Hinduism, as one’s right actions help one to move up the Karma ladder.  Depending on the specific religion, you will be either reincarnated or have the possibility of moving on to a spiritual afterlife when you die.  Reincarnation is wholly incompatible with the biblical belief that you die once physically (for some, there is a second type of death at the time of judgment).

·      Islam.  In AD 610, when Mohammad was 40, he began receiving revelations during convulsions or seizures.  At first Mohammad thought they were from demons, but then said that they were from the angel Gabriel.   Mohammad was familiar with Judaism and Christianity, and his early writings reflect a humbleness and friendliness regarding these faiths (see Surah 73:10, 2:256, and 29:46).  Later, when Mohammad attacked Mecca, his writings completely changed and he called for attacking and killing all who oppose Islam (see Surah 2:191, 2:193, and 9:29).  Allah is portrayed as judgmental and ready to afflict sinners; the God of the bible sent His son to save us from our sins.

 Mohammad claimed that he was presenting God’s ways again, since the other religions (Judaism and Christianity) became corrupt.  Yet the writings of Mohammad contradict the bible in many ways; God does not change and contradict himself.  Islam claims that: (1) no atonement for sin is necessary; (2) Your salvation is based on your good deeds outweighing your bad deeds; (3) Jesus was a prophet and is not God’s son (God can’t have a son or manifest Himself in any other way), therefore, virtually the whole New Testament is false; (4) Jesus did not die on the cross because it would be too disrespectful; (5) the bible is corrupted (there is a great deal of contradiction about this in the Quran itself), yet there are many known instances of Muslims changing the Quran purposely.  See Halverson, pp 111-118 concerning some of these issues; see also Al-Araby for a concise, overall view of Islam and its relation to other religions.

Naturalism and Man’s Self-sufficiency

For man to feel that he is in control of things, basically, is quite unrealistic.  For a man to want to control his own life is pretty natural, however.  He knows that he can’t control nature, of course, but he can learn more and act accordingly and thus control things “enough.”  Enough to not need God.  The more self-sufficient we get, the more we seem to be explain God away, as with evolution.  The more we explain God away, the more relaxed we get about doing all those so-called pleasurable sins.  We want to be in control—we don’t want God to have control over us.  We want to go have fun while we can without feeling all guilty about it.  And, since we’re here today and gone tomorrow, which makes us uncomfortable (in truth), then we better go out and sin some more so as to try and forget about it.  This kind of worldview is just about being overly pleased with our intelligence and/or overly interested in pleasure; it has very little to say in the way of proof against God.

Why does sin feel so good? 

This is kind-of the opposite of the first issue.  We recognize evil and suffering as bad things.  However, we often have a hard time thinking that things we may naturally want to do, and that may make us feel good, can also be bad in God’s sight.  I think I can say with confidence that the most discussed one today is homosexuality.  Others include adultery, drunkenness, and gluttony.  Interestingly, all these sins are based on an original good thing made by, or endorsed by, God:  sex, wine, and food.  In using and enjoying these things, we have a free will responsibility to use them wisely. 

I think we all realize that if you’re promiscuous, you suffer the consequences of unpleasant relationships and possibly some very unpleasant, even life threatening, diseases.  If you drink too much, you’ll probably feel ill and do things you wish you hadn’t, even causing injury or death.  If you eat too much, you become unhealthy.  We know these things are wrong, or else we soon learn.  God lets us know ahead of time, through His word, that these sins will have bad to very bad consequences.  It’s up to us to listen.  Regarding homosexuality, it’s pretty clear throughout the bible that God does not approve of it.  He does not favor it more highly if a homosexual couple “gets married.”  Since God created Adam and Eve to be together, to “get married,” doesn’t it seem really audacious for homosexuals to come along and tell God that His meaning for marriage is wrong?  We need to learn about God and love Him for who He is, not try to remake Him in our own image.

Final Words

So, the age and authenticity of the bible has been verified.  The existence of Jesus has been verified and believing what he said makes logical sense.  The reliability of the bible, combined with the prophecies that it has fulfilled (no other religions come close to this kind of combination), make it the most obvious choice to believe in.  Stumbling blocks to faith are based on our own free will actions, the natural order, and mystery.  Are you willing to stake the fate of your soul on the positive evidence of God and the bible, or on the complaints and mystery of the stumbling blocks?

For anyone who thinks this all makes sense and that you can keep your mind while maintaining faith, I encourage you to read the bible.  There is no better source for all of this than the bible itself.  I suggest also that you start with the book of John.  There are parts of the bible you won’t understand, at least at first, and that’s OK.  All believers learn new things each time they read the bible, and if it weren’t that way wouldn’t it be boring?  The Old Testament will no doubt be harder to understand than the New Testament, and there are mysteries that will remain mysteries until the Lord is pleased to reveal their meaning to us.  To further learn about the bible there are many commentaries and references to bible difficulties available.  To help you understand, remember that Jesus meant for us to have a relationship with Him and that’s what faith and Christianity is (or should be) about; it’s not really about practicing “religion,” but practicing our love for him.

References and Resources

Al-Araby, Abdullah.  Islam Unveiled.  The Pen vs. The Sword, Los Angeles, CA and Voice of the Martyrs, Bartlesville, OK (2000 [1987]).

Geisler, Norman L. and Ronald M. Brooks.  Come, Let Us Reason:  An Introduction to Logical Thinking.  Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan (1990).

Halverson, Dean D., General Editor.  The Compact Guide to World Religions.  Bethany House Pub.s, Minneapolis, Minnesota (1996).

Hindson, Ed, and Ergun Caner, general editors.  The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics.  Harvest House Pub.s, Eugene, Oregon (2008).

Strobel, Lee.  The Case for Christ.  ZondervanPublishingHouse, Grand Rapids, MI  (1998).

APPENDIX I:  Logical Fallacies

This information on fallacies is taken primarily from Ed Hinson and Ergun Caner, general editors, The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics, pp. 326-328.  There are actually more types of logical fallacies than listed here, but this should serve as a useful introduction.

Inductive Fallacies

An inductive fallacy occurs when someone has much data and draws a conclusion, but the conclusion is faulty because important information is left out. 

·      One type of inductive fallacy uses an unrepresentative sample of data.  If you read in the paper that “95% of all people love sour gummy worms,” you might wonder at the research methods.  You look closer and find that the sample of persons asked were all under the age of 18.  Either the research or the conclusion is faulty. 

·      A deceptive type of inductive fallacy, that of exclusion, is often called “cherry picking.”  Information is purposely left out of the argument or not considered since it does not support the person’s conclusion.

·      A term you might hear often is the “straw man argument.”   This means that your opponent brings something into the argument that is not actually part of the argument.  He starts arguing against something that is close to the premise, but is actually irrelevant.  In this sense he’s “putting words in your mouth” and moving the argument away from the original premise. 

·      “Begging the question” refers to the assumption of a truthful conclusion within the premise.  In theological arguments, this might be like saying that the bible, or any other scripture, is divine because it says so.  Outside evidence needs to be presented.

Informal Fallacies

Informal fallacies are the most common, and “plainly stated, an informal fallacy is one that is designed to change the subject” (Hinson and Caner, p. 327). 

·     The Red Herring has nothing to do with the proposition.  If a person says that all Christians are hypocrites and therefore s/he can’t become a Christian, the person is making two red herrings.  For one, the person can’t say that all Christians are hypocrites.  For another, that people are or may be hypocrites has nothing to do with the claims of Christianity.

·     A common informal fallacy is an appeal to an unqualified authority, or even popularity. 

·     A very common informal fallacy that Christians run into is the ad hominem attack.  The attack is simply an assault that has nothing to do with the subject, and is an act of desperation.  Christians should not partake in this type of assault, of course.

Formal Fallacies

·     Argument begins with an unstated assumption, which may be obvious.  The person may start with a broad generalization and apply it to something specific.  A theological fallacy of this sort says that Muslims believe in “God” and Christians believe in “God,” therefore Muslims and Christians worship the same God.

·      A conclusion may have little to do with the original premise, making it a fallacy of inference.  It will appear illogical.  It can go like this:  The average American family has two children; my neighbor lives in America; therefore, my neighbor must have two children.

·      A third type of formal fallacy is a verbal fallacy.  It uses terms that are not necessarily defined the same way by everyone.  For someone to claim that Christians and Buddhists both pursue “good” would be deceptive, since goodness to these two groups means different things.

APPENDIX II:  Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Here is a list of 44 prophecies fulfilled by Jesus.  The italics are for distinguishing lines and have no other meaning.   The first verse is from the OT, the second verse is where it is written about in the NT, and they are in order of fulfillment.  This list is taken directly from William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary, pp. xviii to xxiii. 

Genesis 3:15, Galatians 4:4                         Seed of a woman

Genesis 12:3, Matthew 1:1                          Descendant of Abraham

Genesis 17:19, Luke 3:34                              Descendant of Isaac

Numbers 24:17, Matthew 1:2                       Descendant of Jacob

Genesis 49:10, Luke 3:33                              From the tribe of Judah

Isaiah 9:7, Luke 1:32                                     Heir to the throne of David

Psalms 45:6, 7, Hebrews 1:8-12                    Anointed and eternal

Micah 5:2, Luke 2:4, 5, 7                               Born in Bethlehem

Daniel 9:25, Luke 2:1, 2                                 Timing of his birth

Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:26                                    Born of a virgin

Jeremiah 31:15, Matthew 2:16-18                Slaughter of children

Hosea 11:1, Matthew 2:14, 15                      Flight to Egypt

Isaiah 40:3-5, Luke 3:3-6                                The way prepared

Malachi 3:1, Luke 7:24, 27                             Preceded by a forerunner

Malachi 4:5, 6, Matthew 11:13, 14                Preceded by Elijah

Psalm 2:7, Matthew 3:17                                Declared the Son of God

Isaiah 9:1, 2, Matthew 4:13-16                       Ministry in Galilee

Psalms 78:2-4, Matthew 13:34                        Speaks in parables

Deuteronomy 18:15, Acts 3:20, 22                   Is a prophet

Isaiah 61:1, 2, Luke 4:18, 19                            Heals the brokenhearted

Isaiah 53:3, John 1:11 and Luke 23:18             Rejected by His own people, the Jews

Psalms 110:4, Hebrews 5:5, 6                         Priest in the order of Melchizedek

Zechariah 9:9, Mark 11:7, 9, 11                       Triumphal entry into Jerusalem

Psalms 8:2, Matthew 21:15, 16                       Adored by babes (children!)

Isaiah 53:1, John 12:37, 38                              Not believed

Psalms 41:9, Luke 22:47, 48                            Betrayed by close friend

Zechariah 11:12, Matthew 26:14, 15              Betrayed for 30 pieces of silver

Psalm 35:11, Mark 14:57                                 Accused by false witnesses

Isaiah 53:7, Mark 15:4, 5                                 Silent in accusations

Isaiah 50:6, Matthew 26:67                             Spat on and struck

Psalms 35:19, John 15:24, 25                           Hated without reason

Isaiah 53:5, Romans 5:6, 8                              He’s a vicarious sacrifice

Isaiah 53:12, Mark 15:27, 28                           Crucified with criminals

Zechariah 12:10, John 20:27                            Pierced through hands and feet

Psalms 22:7, 8, Luke 23:35                               Sneered and mocked

Psalms 69:9, Romans 15:3                               Received reproach

Psalms 109:4, Luke 23:34                                 Prayed for enemies

Psalms 22:17, 18, Matthew 27:35, 36             Soldiers gambled for his clothing

Psalms 22:1, Matthew 27:46                           Was forsaken by God

Psalm 34:20, John 19:32, 33, 36                      No bones were broken

Zechariah 12:10, John 19:34                            His side was pierced

Isaiah 53:9, Matthew 27:57-60                        Buried with the wealthy

Psalms 16:10 and 49:15, Mark 16:6, 7             He was to be, and was, resurrected

Psalms 68:18, Mark 16:19 and

I Corinthians 15:4 and Ephesians 4:8               He ascended to God’s right hand