The Skeptic

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Did you know the Bible is the most accurate and reliable ancient literature on earth? The sheer number of supportive documents proves how its reliability far surpasses anything known to man.

In order to determine the accuracy of a copied manuscript textual critics must examine the way the transcripts have been passed down in their current form. The more consistent the texts are shown to be, the more reliable the current form is proven and the greater the opportunity for accuracy.

2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness“

Conversely, as with any opponent to christianity you’ll likely hear criticism regarding God’s Word. For some people, the objections raised against the accuracy of God’s Word becomes too much for them to consider, accepting the Truth that lies hidden within the Bible is often a first step to hearing the message of the gospel. For the believer that wants to be a testimony of God’s grace, addressing these concerns can be a daunting task if you’re not prepared how to respond.

Arguments against

Some of the most common criticisms I’ve heard include:

1. The Bible was formed by corrupt people during the middle ages.
2. The Bible is full of contradictions.
3. The Bible makes claims that are contrary to proven science.
4. The Bible can be interpreted differently depending on your bias.
5. The Bible is outdated and promotes slavery, prejudice against women, and hatred against homosexuality.
6. The Bible isn’t original, the Sumerians had the idea first.
7. The Bible isn’t accurate since we don’t have original manuscripts.

The list of arguments against the Bible goes on and on, and for those who don’t want to be held to a Biblical standard of morality, the need to devalue the Word of God is as important to denying who Jesus is.

For those who examine the the Bible fairly, it can be shown that it’s formation was made by those who walked with God and were inspired by Jesus Himself. The contradictions found in God’s Word are limited in and show the majority of the text is concise and self-supportive. The original form was very clear in its intent and when considered from a perspective when it was written, it shows support of all classes and cultures of people. The Bible is original, it is extremely accurate and it is life to all who have committed their faith in Christ.

The short list of people who are critics is only the tip of the iceberg, throughout history people like Karl Marx, Aristophanes, Aristotle, Andrew Carnegie, and many more claim either an air of doubt or outright aggressive hatred for biblical Truth.

Thomas Edison—“Religion is all bunk.”

Emily Dickinson—“Faith is a fine invention, when gentlemen can see / But microscopes are prudent in an emergency.”

Even people who were traditionally considered christian have raised their doubts.

Thomas Jefferson—“Question with boldness even the existence of a God.”

Benjamin Franklin–“The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason.”

Does the fact that very famous people in history who have doubted the Church give extra credence to the arguments against the Bible? I’ve addressed many of these questions in my blog I titled proof. I’m not writing another dissertation on answering all these questions, I want to look at these doubters from a different point of view.

Romans 15:4 “For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.”

Who to Believe?

If I’m talking to someone about trends within marriages or about men and women in general, they will often cite the trends they’ve heard among friends or acquaintances to help prove their point. If I show a trend that is contrary to what their friends or family have shown, I must be going against what is a normal expectation. When discussing inclinations it’s prudent to not only consider the sources but I must ask myself if the sources are relative to the situation. We have a lot of friends and family that have been very successful in marriage relationships, does every success story relate to everyone else’s?

I’ve never wanted to just be a follower of the latest trend. If it seems everyone is following a particular person, I tend to look at the trend skeptically and resist the movement until I figure out why everyone is following a certain popular figure.. If the person everyone is following is foolish, I tend to go the other way. I have found that anyone who is worth following is someone who has stood their ground in the face of adversity and haven’t concerned themselves with society’s ideals but rather stood on the foundation of God’s Truth.

Many skeptics in history and today have been a product of their culture. If questions regarding science couldn’t be answered in the Bible, skeptics would look at scientific trends, no matter how unproven they were and find an argument against God’s Word.

If a philosophical debate ended in more questions than answers, a skeptic might doubt the validity of God’s Word based off unresolved conclusions.

The doubter always finds a reason to doubt because it’s what they want to believe.

Today in America, atheism is becoming a popular trend. I have found that atheists want to deny God and no amount of reasoning changes a person who is bent on unbelief. It has been a popular trend in the past 25 years to produce books on apologetics, or the arguments for God’s Truth and many of these books have been useful in showing how following God’s Word is reasonable.

Doubters typically have a reason for their doubt and it isn’t founded in the myriad of arguments, it is usually founded in experiences that galvanized them against the church. Every atheist I’ve ever met had an experience with a ‘christian’, or church denomination that set them against any notion of religion.

A false representation of Christ is repulsive in the church, and the world sees it as well.

Arguments For Truth

When I look at the ways Jesus interacted with the public, I didn’t see Him giving a lot of arguments counter to Greek philosophy that was prevalent in His day. What I read when I hear Jesus speak is revealed Truth—-Jesus not only revealed Truth, He lived it as well.

John 8:31-32 “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

What did Jesus mean by the encouragement to ‘abide in His Word’?

To abide is the greek word Meno‘, it means to tarry like a guest in a lodge. You have been invited to stay and listen, to rest in the comfort of God’s Truth and enjoy the company of the Savior. You haven’t been invited to follow people who misrepresent Christ, nor have you been asked to subscribe to a denomination that might seem more club oriented than Christ oriented.

You have been invited to follow Jesus.

The final argument for Truth is found in the One who established Truth by His Word and God’s expression of love.

Changing your Perspective

If your experiences with religion have been relegated to people who act hateful or are more concerned about maintaining their way of life rather than showing love, your perception of Christ will be falsely misleading.

When I was a kid, my small christian school used our local church as a base of operations. On Wednesday mornings we would have our weekly chapel service in the main sanctuary of the church. When the kids went into the sanctuary they got a perspective they didn’t usually have on Sunday mornings. Throughout the church were pillows sitting in the pews. Large and small pillows had been strategically placed so that the people who attended the church each week could save the spot where they liked to sit. Even as a young man I recognized how problematic this would be for anyone who wanted to visit. Sit in someone’s spot and you might get a glaring response that seemed unloving or unwelcoming. Much of the way the church practiced made it very difficult to invite someone new, particularly if they were new to a Sunday church environment. I wonder how many people who are atheists today have had those same experiences, walking into a church and being received with a glare for sitting in the wrong seat or hearing a worship service that resembled chaos rather than unity of the Spirit.

I look back on those days and wonder how they responded when we moved those pillows all over the church. Our rebellion against that staunch spirit was probably not the best way to respond, if kids can see the hypocrisy then you’d think the pastor would recognize it as well.

Ephesians 4:1-6 “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

If the church wants to be a light to the world, the church must understand how to represent Christ to the world accurately. Jesus embodied all that is good and perfect in the christian faith. The message of the cross regarding sin and grace cuts through the myriad of arguments and false accusations. The church must remember that it isn’t the preacher that saves people, the work of redemption is ultimately relegated to God Himself.

The Bible is accurate and contrary to public opinion, science supports the Bible. Topics such as philosophy only conclude well with a biblical narrative. If you can’t answer everyone’s doubts regarding God’s Word, don’t worry, the only message that will ever ring true in the hearts of the doubters is the hope found in Christ alone.

Being a disciple maker is to lead those who respond to God’s call toward the freedom God has called them to receive.

There are will always be skeptics in this world, answer them as best you can and let God change their hearts.