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Post by tim milner on Sept 27, 2009 13:55:06 GMT -5
Dr. Mike,
I had lunch today with a friend. We were essentially talking about pluralism. The whole conversation boiled down to, 'how can we trust the Bible, apart from evidence found in the Bible?' In other words, how do we know the Bible to be God's Word- Do we simply believe it on its own account? He used the example that using reason we would never believe a car salesman who said his car company was the best. We would want somebody not connected to the car company to say that this particular make of car was best.
I was not sure how to answer that. Please help.
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Post by Mike Miller on Sept 28, 2009 15:37:31 GMT -5
Ok. First, we believe the Bible as an act of faith. I don't believe it because someone not connected to it convinced me of its veracity.
Now, having said that, the Bible rings true with and makes sense of the world around us--something no other religious document does. It explains the natural world, the human condition, the nature of evil, etc. In addition, the historical information in the Bible is constantly being verified in the secular realm (history/archaeology/literature).
Also, the Bible makes certain truth claims that render it incompatible with pluralism to any degree. Therefore, the Bible must be either accepted as true or rejected completely. It can't be partially true, and we can't say that it can exist as a source of truth along with any other religious writing or tradition. Its absolutism prohibits that.
Next, I don't buy a car based on what the car salesman says or what some disconnected expert says. Of course, if I know a car is a lemon, I won't buy it, and Christianity is not a lemon. I buy a car, however, that I have approved of after some kind of personal experience. Frequently, I know someone who has that kind of car and approves of it. So, the bottom line with that analogy is that I am a Christian because I have had a personal experience with Christ. The Bible has touched my life. And along the way, Christians have shown their faith to be genuine.
And finally, when someone says, "How do you know the Bible is true?" I say, "How do you know it's not?" No one has yet to disprove the Bible, and it has been under attack for 2,000 years. I don't have to prove the Bible. It stands as it is.
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