But there are logical reasons to believe in the veracity and accuracy of the Bible. In fact, it takes a lot of faith to believe that the world is the result of blind chance and that spontaneous generation of matter started everything.
Here are some logical reasons why evangelical Christians believe the Bible. First, God exists. One has to account for the existence of the universe and life. Origins are a matter of faith, an untestable scientific proposition, whether one starts with God or uncritically accepts the proposition that matter is eternal.
Second, God has communicated to man. If God created an orderly, complex universe, which is apparent from the study of the natural world, the nature and character of God would compel him to tell us what it all means.
Third, the Bible is God's primary communication to man. It is the only document that adequately explains how we got here (origins), why we are here (purpose) and where we are headed (destiny). History and archeology validate the message of the Bible. Fair-minded people, like former Chicago Tribune writer and atheist Lee Strobel, who have examined the scientific and historic evidence, have come to accept the Bible as the word of God. His book, "The Case for Christ," summarizes his faith journey.
Despite ridicule by pompous die-hards, the Bible continues to sell in the millions, is being translated into new languages every day and dramatically changes lives with its message of hope and redemption.
Some are blinded by their pseudo-sophistication. Regrettably, when they see evil and suffering in the world, they conclude either God is powerless to stop the evil, or else he is not a God of love. They have made God in their own image. God must meet their preconceived ideas of him. They push God out of their own lives and attempt to push him out of the public square, rejecting his message, and then turn around and blame him when things go wrong. God is a gentleman. He does not force himself on anyone. He gently offers, "Whosoever will may come."
The Bible is the source of the great social and scientific progress of the modern era (since 1500). Newton, Kepler, Faraday, etc., were great minds who advanced science. And they took the Bible literally and wholeheartedly. The Age of Science flourished following the Reformation in Western Europe and America because the superstitions of the Middle Ages were replaced by a core belief that scientific laws were discoverable and engineered by an intelligent designer.
As Senator and statesman Daniel Webster noted in a speech at the Bunker Hill Monument in 1843, "The Bible came with them (the founders of America). And it is not to be doubted, that to free and universal reading of the Bible, in that age, men were much indebted for right views of civil liberty."
Thinking people realize society needs a solid moral footing. The Judeo-Christian values found in the Bible provide that foundation. Fyodor Dostoevsky put it this way. "Without God, anything is possible."
George Michael is a Big Pool resident who writes for The Herald-Mail.
