| Rush – Faithless Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I appreciate what you're saying. Please know that thought the same way for the longest time. If it's evidence you need, then I encourage you to approach the following with an open mind: First of all, any genuine proof that God exists must come from the Bible. Yes, it is an ancient book, but there is a reason that the Bible has stood the test of time (3000+ years). The Bible is unique in its continuity. If just 10 people today were picked who were from the same place, born around the same time, spoke the same language, and made about the same amount of money, and were asked to write on just one controversial subject, they would have trouble agreeing with each other. Yet, the Bible was written over a period of 1,600 years by more than 40 writers from all walks of life. Some were fishermen; some were politicians. Others were generals or kings, shepherds or historians. They were from three different continents, and wrote in three different languages. They wrote on hundreds of controversial subjects yet they wrote with agreement and harmony. They wrote in dungeons, in temples, on beaches, and on hillsides, during peacetime and during war. Yet their words sound like they came from the same source. So even though 10 people today couldn’t write on one controversial subject and agree, God picked 40 different people to write the Bible–and it stands the test of time. The Bible is unique in its circulation. The invention of the printing press in 1450 made it possible to print books in large quantities. The first book printed was the Bible. Since then, the Bible has been read by more people and printed more times than any other book in history. By 1930, over one billion Bibles had been distributed by Bible societies around the world. By 1977, Bible societies alone were printing over 200 million Bibles each year, and this doesn’t include the rest of the Bible publishing companies. No one who is interested in knowing the truth can ignore such an important book. The Bible has also been translated into over 1,400 languages. No other book even comes close. It is unique in its survival. In ancient times, books were copied by hand onto manuscripts which were made from parchment and would decay over time. Ancient books are available today only because someone made copies of the originals to preserve them. For example, the original writings of Julius Caesar are no longer around. We know what he wrote only by the copies we have. Only 10 copies still exist, and they were made 1,000 years after he died. Only 600 copies of Homer’s The Iliad exist, made 1,300 years after the originals were written. No other book has as many copies of the ancient manuscripts as the Bible. In fact, there are over 24,000 copies of New Testament manuscripts, some written within 35 years of the writer’s death. It is unique in withstanding attack. No other book has been so attacked throughout history as the Bible. In A.D. 300 the Roman emperor Diocletian ordered every Bible burned because he thought that by destroying the Scriptures he could destroy Christianity. Anyone caught with a Bible would be executed. But just 25 years later, the Roman emperor Constantine ordered that 50 perfect copies of the Bible be made at government expense. The French philosopher Voltaire, boasted that within 100 years of his death, the Bible would disappear from the face of the earth. Voltaire died in 1728, but the Bible lives on. The irony of history is that 50 years after his death, the Geneva Bible Society moved into his former house and used his printing presses to print thousands of Bibles. The Bible has also survived criticism. No book has been more attacked for its accuracy. And yet archeologists are proving every year that the Bible’s detailed descriptions of historic events are correct. Again, I was standing in your position not too long ago. But once I finally admitted that I didn't know whether there was truly a God or not, the evidence of which I just spoke made perfect sense. As a former atheist, I encourage you to investigate these claims pertaining to Bible and its authenticity before automatically dismissing them. Be a seeker of the truth. The truth is what thinking people are ultimately after. |
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| Rush – Faithless Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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It's not intelligent to claim that there is no God when you don't have absolute knowledge. What if, in all the knowledge that you don't possess in the universe, there is ample evidence to support that there is a God? It is more truthful of professing atheists to say, "I don't want to believe that there is a God". If we're all honest with ourselves, the most truthful thing we can say about the matter is, "in my limited knowledge of the universe, I don't know if there is a God". Anyone who is interested in discovering truth must come to grips with this. If anyone is unwilling to face this question, he has an ulterior motive. Once I personally came to terms with the fact that I didn't know whether or not there was a God, I noticed my attitude was different. I had accepted the possibility that there could very well be a God at work in the universe. At that point, I said something like, "I'm not looking for a crutch to stand on, but if there truly is a God, I want to know for sure". I'm not interested in religion, I'm interested in the truth. When I humbled myself before the possibility that there could be a God, everything changed. God showed me in a very real, personal way that He is not only the Creator of this universe, but He is my Savior through Jesus Christ's death on the cross (to defeat sin) and resurrection from the dead (to defeat death).God showed me these things through His Word, the Bible. I quit doing what I knew was wrong (repented of my sin) and received God's forgiveness through Christ. Life is different now. I can honestly say I am more "me" than I've ever been. I haven't committed intellectual suicide, I think more clearly and rationally than ever. I encourage you all be real before yourselves and before the possibility that God does exist. |
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