The Bible's Applicability

[km]

Hi Dr. Miller,
I am a student at Tulane who recently heard you speak at the BCM, and thought you would be a good resource to answer a question that a friend brought to my attention. A good friend of mine who was raised in a Christian home has recently begun to question the legitimacy of the Bible and the existence of God. While arguing with him, one of the biggest problems he had with the Bible was his belief that it wasn't applicable to problems we have in present time. I firmly believe that not to be true because I believe in God's eternal omnipotence and I have witnessed the applicability first hand, but I'm not sure how to respond to him when the "Because God says it's right forever" answer isn't good enough for Him. Is the Bible truly eternal and timeless? If so (as I think it is), how do I rationalize that to a friend who is struggling with the existence of God?

[Mike Miller]

Hi, km. Thanks for the question. I think the first place I would start with your friend is by asking questions. Does he have specific examples of where he believes the Bible is irrelevant. It could be that some of his problems have to do with some basic misunderstandings, and I would be glad to help you with those.

However, as just a kind of primer on this topic (and again, you can feel free to follow up with specific questions), I typically try to show people just how relevant the Bible is by demonstrating how a biblical worldview is really the only worldview that makes logical sense of the world today. What I mean is that of all the philosophies and belief systems in the world (including atheism and naturalism), the Christian philosophy of life is superior. For example, the Bible provides the best (most logical and most helpful) answers for the problem of evil and suffering in the world. Biblically, we conclude that the ultimate problem is sin and that all persons are sinners by nature. Those who believe people are good by nature have a hard time explaining the innate tendencies in a toddler to be selfish and exhibit bad behavior. No one has to teach a child to sin. It's natural. And theories that other factors cause bad behavior fall apart when tested. Perhaps someone says that people do bad things because they are poor or under-educated. Then how do they explain all the evil perpetrated by highly educated wealthy people. Only the biblical answer makes sense.

I can also point them to biblical morality. While the morality taught in the Bible is considered to be antiquated today, we can easily show how advanced the biblical way of life really is. Think about it. What if everyone in the world lived by the Bible's standard for sex and marriage? We would eliminate sexually transmitted diseases, broken homes, prostitution, pornography, illegitimate births, and unwanted pregnancies (since all children would be treasured). Also, orphans would only exist in extreme cases of both parents dying with no stable family members to provide. Can anyone deny that society would be better? How applicable is that?

I could go on and on, but I'll just wait to see if you further questions. Feel free to ask away.