Why I believe the Bible
It is possible both to be a rational being, and to believe this book is from God!
Religion has been somewhat relegated today to the status of superstition or fairy-tale.
And while it is indeed true that many ideas have come from ignorance, fear, or maybe even the intention of controlling others, it doesn't mean that everything that cannot be seen must be like this.
If there really is a God: who is all-intelligent, who created the universe, along with its physical laws - then perhaps it might be premature to dismiss this without at least thinking about it first.
Can we find evidence of divine revelation?
First, what might be evidence of divine revelation? A way might be identifying a message given that people couldn't know at the time - yet later turned out to be true.
Sometimes there are people who go to the police to confess to a crime they didn't commit. But the police can easily sift out the fabricators: simply by asking them things that were not released as public information. If you knew something about a crime that the public doesn't, then the police would have to take you seriously.
Pasteur and hygeine
For centuries people died from widespread infections. Even in surgical operations many died from infection from unsterilized equipment. That was until the scientist Louis Pasteur (1822-95) discovered what we now know as germs, and formulated procedures for sterilization. Because of his work, deaths from operations decreased to one-fifth of what they were.
Before Pasteur's discoveries, nobody understood hygeine or sterilization.
Except that the Bible spoke about them, in the books of Moses (written about 1400 BCE):
- Quarantine - the isolation of infectied people, and the burning of infected clothing (Leviticus 13:45-46)
- Handling of infectious discharges (Leviticus 15:1-13)
- Sanitary toilet practices (Deuteronomy 23:9-14).
Daniel
In the book of Daniel, the birth of Christ is predicted to occur during the Roman Empire (chapter 2), while future kingdoms are mentioned by name (chapter 8).
There has been controversy over the book of Daniel; some claiming it was a forgery written much later than its stated time and place of Babylon. In particular, skeptics point to the book saying that Daniel was made “third ruler in the kingdom” (Daniel 5:29) ... he must have been the second ruler - after all, according to the historical evidence there was nobody else!
That was until 1881, when archaeologists unearthed clay cylinders which confirmed that one Nabonidus, son of Nebuchadnezzar, was in fact the second ruler. Rather than evidence of forgery, that this fact was lost to history instead more likely places Daniel in Babylon around 600 BCE!
Something Completely Different ... the "Urantia Book"
We might contrast the amazing forethought of a Moses or a Daniel with this book, which came out in the early 20th century. It claimed to come from superintelligent aliens wanting to help mankind. It discusses the galaxy Andromeda, describing it as 1 million light-years away from us. Which is what science thought at the time. The only problem is that our technology has much improved since then, and our measurements now put it at double that distance. Which shows a distinct lack of divine revelation in the Urantia Book.
Surely, the Bible has the right to claim -
This is what Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts, says: "I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God. Who is like me? Who will call, and will declare it, and set it in order for me, since I established the ancient people? Let them declare the things that are coming, and that will happen. Do not fear, neither be afraid. Have I not declared it to you long ago, and shown it? You are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? Indeed, there is not. I do not know any other Rock." (Isaiah chapter 44, verses 6-8.)
Unique among the world's religions and philosophies
The core of the christian religion is what is sometimes called, the doctrine of atonement. This is God, coming down to earth as a man, living like us, tempted like us, so He truly ‘walked in our shoes’, and finally dying in order to pay for our sins (Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 4:14-16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 1 John 4:9-10). As far as I am aware, there is no other religion that teaches anything like this! All other religions teach that we are required to become worthy of God by our own efforts - which, by definition, is impossible.
Christianity is thus both reasonable, and unique.
The Bible speaks of important medical principles long before man's discoveries.
It tells of historical events, while the evidence reasonably places it before they took place.
It teaches about a God who, instead of demanding that man somehow come up to him, humbly came down to serve - and save - mankind.