A couple nights ago, I was lying in bed, fidgeting and sleepless, thinking over a recent conversation I had. The individual I was talking with was challenging my beliefs on Scriptural authority and the assurance of salvation, while I in turn was challenging her arguments that the world is constantly improving due to the efforts of mankind, there isn't necessarily a life after death, and we are currently living in a heaven of our own design.
I was upset after the conversation, not because I felt like I wasn't able to debate articulately, but because I felt like without some common ground, we were arguing semantics. When she said "good" it meant one thing to her, and when I said "good" it meant something else to me. There was no point of reference as to what her beliefs were (she did make a reference to her college philosophy professor), and although my source was the Bible, she didn't believe that the Bible was true, which threw out my arguments. I was frustrated internally, she probably felt like I was intolerant and narrow-minded, and, the interesting part...both she and I are professing Christians.
It was my first experience with someone who says they are a Christian, but doesn't believe the Bible. I knew in my mind that many, many people have rejected Scripture as God's Word and an authority in their lives, but I had never personally experienced a conversation/debate on the topic.
So back to my sleepless night. I was lying awake asking myself, Why do I believe the Bible is true? My alter ego and I wrestled back and forth with the question.
Alter ego: What makes the Bible so special? Why do you believe it's true?
Me: Because it's the Word of God?
Alter ego: Say's who?
Me: Well, God, and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit...and, everyone
Alter ego: No way, lot's of people don't believe it's true.
Me: Well, I believe it's true because Christianity is founded on beliefs supported by the Bible
Alter ego: But there are lots of people who are really nice and do really good things and say they are Christians but don't believe the Bible is to be taken literally, and after all, you can't really know God can you?
Me: If you don't believe the Bible is 100% true, then you might as well throw the entire thing out, but if you say you're a Christian, then that means you're claiming to follow Christ, and in order to follow Christ you need to know about him, and in order to know about Him you need to read the Bible. And in the Bible, Jesus says that He came to fulfill Scripture.
Alter ego: Yeah, but back to my first question, why do YOU believe that the Bible is true, and none of that "Because it's true" stuff. Really, why?
Me: Okay, okay, I obviously need to do some thinking and studying and praying, but can I do it tomorrow? I'm tired!
Alter ego: That's fine, thanks for talking!
Me: Always a pleasure *Despairing sigh*
My personality tends to be rather accepting. So when someone I trust tells me something, and it "feels" right, I usually accept it as true. That is a good attitude in some cases, and a very dangerous one in other situations. In recent months and years, I've gotten much better at being skeptical, but there's still that underlying thought in my mind that "I believe what I believe because I believe it's true."
Raised in a Christian home all my life, there was never any argument that the Bible was true, my parents were to be obeyed whether I thought they were right or wrong, and Jesus came to save me from my sins and give me eternal life. End of story.
But then I began encountering people who challenged my beliefs, who asked valid questions, made convincing arguments. That's when I began examining my convictions, and realized that I was doing some things just because in my mind they were the "right" things to do. The problem with that kind of reasoning is that the moment your mind changes on that subject, your "convictions" really aren't convictions any more, and your principles shift in a different direction.
I learned the hard way that living a certain lifestyle because it's the "right" way to live is not a good reason at all. "Right" and "wrong" are completely subjective in today's society. My standards and practices need to be based on the Bible.
So back to my original question, why do I believe that the Bible is true?
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