PREFACE: What is the intent of this Treatise?
I would hope that everyone who reads this will agree that this understanding
of the Bible makes sense in terms of both the observable facts and the Bible
text. My goal is to show that there is at least one model of the Biblical
accounts that consistently makes sense to prove that the Bible is credible and
worthy of its long-standing reverence. I would then like to see Christians
teach this model along with a compatible system of beliefs, that even
scientists could follow.
A few years ago a national periodical included an article entitled, "The
Startling Beliefs of Our Future Ministers". It documented the results of a
survey taken among several Catholic and Protestant seminaries. Here is how a
few of the questions were answered:
- Do you believe in a physical
resurrection of Jesus Christ ? 54% No
- Do you believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ? 66% No
- Do you believe in a literal heaven? 71% No
- Do you believe in the deity of Jesus Christ? 89% No
- Do you believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ? 99% No
I think that we should expect this result considering the profound lack of logical rationale taught in support of Christian beliefs. No one seems to agree on the interpretations of the Bible. One would think that these beliefs are not supposed to be logical, because we would not be capable of understanding them anyway. So, any interpretation is equally suspect. The next step is to say the Bible must be symbolic only, since many of its accounts are too improbable to be taken literally. Altruistically, isn't it easier to find some common ground that all denominations can agree on than to argue about beliefs, which seem to contradict the observable facts? This leaves us with a nominal Christianity that is like the seeds thrown on the rocky ground. It withers over time in the face of opposition because it lacks strong roots built on faith and logic. When you only accept or reject what you like in the Bible, you're just believing yourself, not the Word of God.
Although miracles may be possible and may be the rationale answer in some cases, the exclusive use of miracles to prove a point is unscientific. I intend to present a model where everything the Bible relates about God and His Creation can make sense and not conflict with the observable facts. Any miracles we find must fit into this model without violating the Big Picture. Some faith is still required because we cannot fully describe God or even all of our universe in only 3D. Yet the faith remaining can be "reasonable". It need not be "blind". Reasonable faith is defensible as we dig deeper into it, because it fits the observable facts. The scientific approach requires investigators to adjust their theories as new facts are discovered, so that what they believe does not fly in the face of what they can observe. Conversely, blind faith is based on mysteries that are not supposed to be understood. As such, is unlikely to change as more evidence/facts are uncovered. The passion-only approach, which is fundamental to cults, encourages believers to close their eyes to new observable facts. This leaves the passion-only approach vulnerable to criticism. Faith must not find refuge only in unexplained gaps in human knowledge. Those gaps have a habit of closing suddenly, sometimes on the fingers of those clinging to them.
That said, let me add a qualifying statement. All the facts must be examined logically to certify their validity, but then each individual must make their own decision as to how they will respond to those facts. That final decision is necessarily an emotional one.
The ideas presented here are not just things I thought sounded clever. They are as observable as electricity. Personally, I now firmly believe in the logical, internal consistency of the Bible record, and I feel the ideas/theories I'm presenting here totally agree with it. While this presentation is just one logical, possible explanation, I think you will find that it does fit the observable facts, as well. I'll challenge the readers to propose some better and more complete explanation, if they can first find some serious holes in this view.
The Bible is not a science book, but that does not mean it is unscientific. It's primary focus is not the scientific explanation of the events it presents. If it were, then it would have had to be tailored to the scientific understandings, which are always changing with each new generation. It does claim to be the unerring Word of God. Does this mean that it must be taken literally? Clearly some passages are intended to be symbolic, and sometimes the authors used poetic license, similes, metaphors, and even hyperbole to make their points. Can we correctly sort them out and then take the rest literally? Perhaps, if we have the correct Big Picture model.
I believe that the Bible tells us not only Who, What, and Why; but to some extent, How and When as well. In every case, however, we see through the glass darkly, because the complete answers do not exist in the 3D world we are living in now. Yet, the better we understand "how" to explain the major issues of our faith, the better we can cope with challenges. The world we live in today presents more challenges to our faith than ever before, and those that refuse to believe the truth will/are being sent a strong delusion, so they will believe a lie and perish. There is no middle road in this. We need to find the truth.
I believe, and perhaps you will agree, that we are more capable of
understanding "how" God is working in our lives now than our
ancestors ever were. Yet, the idea is really to develop a closer relation to
that Creator, not merely to understand more. For me, however, reasonable faith
is prerequisite to a relationship with God. I know it's not necessary for
everyone. Some folks can be close to God with totally blind faith. However, if
they are totally wrong about their understanding of God, then they'll never
know it. The deeper problem is that the children of even sincere believers have
very little logical rationale for following in their footsteps. Our youth will
drift by default, into the New Age Spiritualism – anything goes; moral
relativism; loss of traditional values.
Consider the case with many sincere channelers, fortune tellers, spiritualists,
etc. They are listening to fallen angels and they would know that if they read
their Bibles carefully. Yet, in lieu of that, they discount the Bible up front
and are left with looking for bogus explanations like ET, vibrations, time
travel, inner self, and masters of the universe. To many of them, these things
make more sense than the Word of God.
I say there is a truth in His Word and we can find it, if we seek Him with all our heart. It never hurts that relationship to expect God to be logical.
26 July 2001