What Do You Believe About God and Why Do You Believe It?

 

by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

Have you ever been questioned about your Christian beliefs? Or have you questioned yourself and examined where your beliefs come from?

Why do you believe in God and why do you believe Jesus is His Son?

How do you know the Bible is true?

There are about as many opinions on life and spiritual matters as there are people. Truth is expounded by culture as whatever a person thinks at the time.

As believers we do need to examine our own belief system and know where we stand.

I grew up in a Christian home and have gone to church all my life. Bible stories were told in Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and through reading the Word of God at home.

I never questioned whether any of that was true or not. But as I got older I did wonder how do I know God is real? Just because someone says so?

We can’t see Him, we can’t see heaven, and we don’t hear an audible voice (although this can happen).

After I learned the truth about Santa Claus, I remember thinking, “What if God isn’t real either?” You also can’t see Santa except when someone dresses up like him.

But thankfully, I had enough of the Bible embedded in me that I knew God was real because after I asked Jesus into my heart I knew He lived inside me. I just had that inner knowing.

But that is not enough evidence for those who doubt.

How do we explain this to those in the world who question the validity of the Word of God?

Proof of the Bible’s Validity

There are approximately 25,000 manuscript copies of the New Testament, although some are fragments. Only ten manuscripts of Caesar’s Gallic Wars and only five of Aristotle’s Poetic exist, yet these writings are quoted from as valid historical documents.

Most scholars agree that the Authorized King James version of the Bible is the most pure and accurate as translated from the original languages of Hebrew and Greek.

At the time of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Bible we use today had already been in print for hundreds of years. The Scrolls revealed copies of every book in the Old Testament except for the book of Esther.

The age of the Dead Sea Scrolls was confirmed by carbon dating, coins, and pottery found near where the Essenes lives, (the authors of the scrolls), and through the study of the ancient language. 

These documents were determined to have been written between 300 BC and 100 AD.

The question arises, if we don’t have the original manuscripts but only copies, how do we know they are accurate? 

The writings in the Dead Sea Scrolls were almost identical to the Masoretic texts used to translate the Bible we have today which proved the accuracy of the copied manuscripts that had been handed down. The only discrepancies were minor spelling differences.

Some opposition to the Bible’s authenticity is the belief that the authors inscribed their words years after the exploits they wrote about took place. The theory circulated that people weren’t literate enough to write thousands of years ago. 

Claims that the Hebrew language didn’t exist, and that the authorship of the books was assigned years later by another writer were dispelled in 2008. Pottery was unearthed in Israel that is 3,000 years old and contains inscriptions in Hebrew. This gives credence to the fact that people from that long ago were educated enough to read and write.

Daniel prophesied the exact time period Jesus would appear. He also foresaw the military campaigns of Alexander the Great and the fall of the Babylonian Empire hundreds of years before any events took place. No one could know about these historical occurrences without supernatural insight.

Jesus and the writers of the epistles also validated the Old Testament as they quoted from all the Old Testament books except Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes.

How Can We Know Jesus is Really God’s Son?

Mathematician Peter Stoner calculated the impossibility of one person accomplishing only 48 of the predictions about Jesus as one in 10 followed by 157 zeroes. Yet Jesus fulfilled more than 300 prophecies regarding His birth, life, teachings, death, and resurrection. The only predictions left about Christ are those that refer to His second appearance.

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:14-15 NIV)

The resurrection of Christ was witnessed by over 500 people (1 Corinthians 15:6).

These two questions are among several I examined in a previous article on Crosswalk.com. You can read the entire article here. 

To live in our identity in Christ, we need to be firmly established in what we believe. Our faith should be deeply embedded in what the Word of God says so that when we are questioned we don’t falter in our answers.

Skeptics Will Always Exist

Doubters demand proof even though the Lord says the evidence is before them (Romans 1:18-20).

Our job is not to argue but to defend our beliefs. Only the Holy Spirit can open a person’s eyes.

How have you answered these questions? Join the conversation and share your thoughts.

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Image by LIMAT MD ARIF from Pixabay