A Biblical response to
“What If I’m Wrong?”,
a chapter from
From Minister To Honest Doubter: Why I
Changed My Mind
John W.
Loftus, carpet cleaner and pool player from Angola, Indiana, claims to be
“fully informed” about the Christian faith, and was a former “strong
apologist.” In his book, Loftus fails to
answer the questions he raises. His own
words reveal a shocking degree of ignorance about the Bible and Christian
doctrine. Most of his questions can be,
in fact, answered from the Bible, indicated as follows.
John Loftus’ text is in red.
What if I’m wrong about traditional Christianity?
Romans
1:20
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power
and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been
made, so that men are without excuse.
What then?
Mark
16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Well, then I will go to hell, however
conceived, when I die. And what did I do to deserve to go to hell?
John 3:17-18
17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the
world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him
is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because
he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
I sinned and I didn’t believe in Jesus’ atonement, however
conceived, and in his bodily resurrection from the grave.
Job 9:1-2
1 Then Job replied:
2 “Indeed, I know that this is true.
But how can a mortal be righteous before
God?
Romans
6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life in [ Or through] Christ Jesus our Lord.
John
5:24
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has
eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death
to life.”
Whose fault would this be? Mine?
Romans
8:6-8
6The mind of sinful man[e] is death, but the mind controlled by the
Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind[f] is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's
law, nor can it do so. 8Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot
please God.
Isaiah
64:6
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all
our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
1 The fool [a] says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.
2 The LORD looks down from heaven
on the sons of men
to see if there are
any who understand,
any who seek God.
3 All have turned aside,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
John
3:19
This is the verdict: Light has come into the
world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their
deeds were evil.
Romans 5:12-21
12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and
death through sin, and in this way death came to all
men, because all sinned— 13for before the law was given, sin was in
the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14Nevertheless,
death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who
did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to
come.
15But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the
trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came
by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16Again,
the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment
followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many
trespasses and brought justification. 17For if, by the trespass of
the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who
receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness
reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
18Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation
for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification
that brings life for all men. 19For just as through the disobedience
of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the
one man the many will be made righteous.
20The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where
sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21so that, just as sin
reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
I have honest doubts.
Romans 3:3-8
3What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify
God's faithfulness? 4Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a
liar. As it is written:
”So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge.”[a]
5But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more
clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I
am using a human argument.) 6Certainly not! If that were so, how
could God judge the world? 7Someone might argue, “If my falsehood
enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am
I still condemned as a sinner?” 8Why not say—as we are being
slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say—”Let us do evil
that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved.
Am I to be blamed because I couldn’t understand
traditional Christianity?
John 3:36
36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever
rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.”
Romans
2:8
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow
evil, there will be wrath and anger.
Psalm 101:7
7 No one who practices deceit
will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely
will stand in my presence.
I tried with everything in me. I even spent
several years earning three master’s degrees and studies in a Ph.D. program to
figure my faith out.
Mark
10:15
I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the
Luke
18:17
I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the
Matthew 11:25
25At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed
them to little children.
Acts 4:13
13When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they
were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that
these men had been with Jesus.
If I
tried to figure it out and I wasn’t supposed to try then maybe educated people
don’t have a chance to be saved?
1 Corinthians 1:17-31
17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach
the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied
of its power.
18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For
it is written:
”I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will
frustrate.”[c]
20Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the
philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For
since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God
was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who
believe. 22Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but
we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to
Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness
of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than
man's strength.
26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of
you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of
noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to
shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He
chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things
that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may
boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ
Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness,
holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who
boasts boast in the Lord.”[d]
John
3:16
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, [ Or his only begotten Son] that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have
eternal life.
1 John 1:5-7
5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God
is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have
fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the
truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from
all[b] sin.
If, however, I’m just not smart enough to
figure it out, then only intelligent people who study it out have a chance to
be saved.
4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive
words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your
faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
12We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who
is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13This
is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by
the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.[a] 14The man without the Spirit does
not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually
discerned.
Maybe the only people who have a chance to be
saved are those who aren’t educated or who aren’t very intelligent?
Matthew
22:37
Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind.”
Mark
12:30
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
Luke
10:27
He answered: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your strength and with all your mind”
Romans
12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be
able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect
will.
But who
gave us our mental equipment in the first place? Didn’t God create us? Does
this mean that when we’re born some of us are condemned from the start because
of our mental equipment leading us to believe, or not?
Romans
3:23
for all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God,
And if God gave it to us, and if only
unintelligent people can be saved, then it’s set in stone the day we’re born
what the possibilities for each one of us are.
1 John 5:9-11
9We accept
man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of
God, which he has given about his Son. 10Anyone who believes in the
Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has
made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has
given about his Son. 11And this is the testimony: God has given us
eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
What if I’m simply deceiving myself about my doubts? What
if they aren’t honest at all, and my claim that they are is disingenuous?
Perhaps unconsciously I’m rebelling against God. Well, I’m simply not
consciously aware of any attempt to rebel against God, nor am I consciously
aware of any attempt to deceive myself at all. I have been a counselor in
churches where I served and I know how to dig into my own unconscious mind
enough to know that my doubts are honest ones. That’s all I can say.
Mark 4:1-20
1Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered
around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake,
while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. 2He
taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3”Listen!
A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed,
some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some
fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly,
because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun
came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants,
so that they did not bear grain. 8Still other seed fell on good
soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even
a hundred times.”
9Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him
about the parables. 11He told them, “The secret of the
” 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'[a]”
13Then Jesus said to them, “Don't you understand this parable? How
then will you understand any parable? 14The farmer sows the word. 15Some
people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they
hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16Others,
like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17But
since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or
persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18Still
others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19but the
worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other
things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20Others,
like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a
crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”
But what if I’m being deceived by the traditional devil to have these doubts?
1
John 4:1
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits
to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out
into the world.
Maybe he is playing tricks on me, making me
think my doubts are honest ones, when they are not? Well, if that’s so then I
have no chance to win a debate with him.
1 John 4:4
4Ye
are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that
is in you, than he that is in the world.
According to the traditional faith he’s much
too intelligent and powerful for me to overcome.
James
4:7
6But he gives us more grace. That is
why Scripture says:
”God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”[a]
7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist
the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will
come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you
double-minded.
1 Peter 5:7-11
“God
opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”[a] 6Humble
yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due
time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he
cares for you.
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy
the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you
know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of
sufferings.
10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in
Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and
make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever
and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 6:10-18
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your
stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so
that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and
after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with
the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of
righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the
readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In
addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take
the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers
and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all
the saints.
If he
deceives me, then I am deceived. The question is why an all-powerful God didn’t
help me. The devil wouldn’t have a chance against God, but why does God do
nothing to help me overcome my doubts?
2Consider
it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because
you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance
must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking
anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives
generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must
believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown
and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive
anything from the Lord; 8he is a doubleminded man, unstable in all
he does.
While I was beginning to doubt I would pray
regularly to God to help me overcome my doubts. Then as my doubts were gaining
a foothold on me I was praying that God would help me know the truth. Now I
pray that I’m not being deceived.
1
John 1:5
This is the message we have heard from him and
declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness
at all.
9That if you confess with your mouth,
“Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and
are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11As
the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”[a]
Proverbs 3:5-6
5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Philippians 4
4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it
again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be
evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is
right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything
is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you
have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.
And the God of peace will be with you.
10I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your
concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to
show it. 11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have
learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it
is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the
secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry,
whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through
him who gives me strength.
Maybe I was being tested with several experiences like
Job but I simply failed the test?
James
5:11
As you know, we consider blessed those who have
persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the
Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
So my
doubts are now my condemnation, and because of them I’m going to hell when I
die. If I failed the test, then I failed the test, and that’s all I can say
about it. But didn’t God know in advance that if certain things would happen in
my life that I would indeed fail the test? Then why test me like that?
3Not only so, but we[a] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we
know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character;
and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God
has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given
us.
2 Peter 1: 1-11
1Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who
through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a
faith as precious as ours:
2Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God
and of Jesus our Lord.
3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and
godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and
goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious
promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and
escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith
goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge,
self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance,
godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly
kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing
measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have
them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed
from his past sins.
10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling
and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11and
you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ.
Why let the devil do what he did, if in fact it
was a test?
Deuteronomy 13
1 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you
and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign
or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, “Let us follow other
gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” 3 you
must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with
all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the LORD your God
you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve
him and hold fast to him.
James
1:4
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and
complete, not lacking anything.
If it was a test then it makes me feel like a
pawn in a cosmic game of chess. Is this really what happened? God was playing
with my life just to win a challenge with the devil?
Isaiah
29:16
You turn things upside down, as if the potter
were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed
it, “He did not make me”? Can the pot say of the potter, “He knows
nothing”?
James 1:12-15
12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has
stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to
those who love him.
13When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God
cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one
is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then,
after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is
full-grown, gives birth to death.
That’s
disgustingly like experimenting on captive prisoners with new drugs and
surgical procedures so that the science of medicine can advance.
Isaiah 45:9
“Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the
potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?' Does your work say, 'He has no
hands'?
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that darkens my counsel
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone-
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels [a] shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt'?
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a
garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the shadow of
death [b] ?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.
19 “What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
or the place where the east winds are
scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,
26 to water a land where no man lives,
a desert with no one in it,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the
heavens
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?
31 “Can you bind the beautiful [c] Pleiades?
Can you loose the cords of Orion?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons [d]
or lead out the Bear [e] with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set up God's [f] dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, 'Here we are'?
36 Who endowed the heart [g] with wisdom
or gave understanding to the mind [h] ?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the
heavens
38 when the dust becomes hard
and the clods of earth stick together?
39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in a thicket?
41 Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?
1 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
2 Do you count the months till they bear?
Do you know the time they give birth?
3 They crouch down and bring forth their young;
their labor pains are ended.
4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
they leave and do not return.
5 “Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who untied his ropes?
6 I gave him the wasteland as his home,
the salt flats as his habitat.
7 He laughs at the commotion in the town;
he does not hear a driver's shout.
8 He ranges the hills for his pasture
and searches for any green thing.
9 “Will the wild ox consent to serve you?
Will he stay by your manger at night?
10 Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness?
Will he till the valleys behind you?
11 Will you rely on him for his great strength?
Will you leave your heavy work to him?
12 Can you trust him to bring in your grain
and gather it to your threshing floor?
13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
but they cannot compare with the pinions
and feathers of the stork.
14 She lays her eggs on the ground
and lets them warm in the sand,
15 unmindful that a foot may crush them,
that some wild animal may trample them.
16 She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers;
she cares not that her labor was in vain,
17 for God did not endow her with wisdom
or give her a share of good sense.
18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
she laughs at horse and rider.
19 “Do you give the horse his strength
or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?
20 Do you make him leap like a locust,
striking terror with his proud snorting?
21 He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength,
and charges into the fray.
22 He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;
he does not shy away from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against his side,
along with the flashing spear and lance.
24 In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground;
he cannot stand still when the trumpet
sounds.
25 At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!'
He catches the scent of battle from afar,
the shout of commanders and the battle
cry.
26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
and spread his wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle soar at your command
and build his nest on high?
28 He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
a rocky crag is his stronghold.
29 From there he seeks out his food;
his eyes detect it from afar.
30 His young ones feast on blood,
and where the slain are, there is he.”
1 The LORD said to Job:
2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let him who accuses God answer him!”
…We humans disagree about all things that can be disagreed about. Some things
are much more important than other things. … Political issues, security issues,
economical issues, family issues, health issues, moral issues, and religious
issues are considered by all of us to have greater or lesser importance for
each of us given our own particular situation in life.
No wonder there are so many different religions, and so many splinter groups of
each religion, or no religion at all!
Romans 3:29-31
29Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too?
Yes, of Gentiles too, 30since there is only one God, who will
justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.
31Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we
uphold the law.
Ephesians 4:4-6
4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one
hope when you were called— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one
God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
John 7:17
17If anyone chooses to do God's will,
he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my
own.
1 John 4:1-6
1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to
see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into
the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every
spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but
every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the
spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is
already in the world.
4You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because
the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5They
are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the
world listens to them. 6We are from God, and whoever knows God
listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how
we recognize the Spirit[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
According to
religious people, whether God is pleased with us and where we will spend
eternity are the most important issues of all.
Romans 8: 1-17
1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus,[a] 2because through Christ Jesus
the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3For
what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,[b] God did by sending his own Son in the
likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in sinful man,[d] 4in order that the righteous
requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to
the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
5Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set
on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit
have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind of sinful
man[e] is death, but the mind controlled by the
Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind[f] is hostile to God. It does not submit to
God's law, nor can it do so. 8Those
controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the
Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the
Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10But if Christ is
in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of
righteousness. 11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the
dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life
to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the
sinful nature, to live according to it. 13For if you live according
to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the
misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by
the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a
spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of
sonship.[g] And by him we cry, “Abba,[h] Father.” 16The Spirit himself
testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17Now if we
are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if
indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
1
Thessalonians 2:4
On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the
gospel. We are not trying to please
men but God, who tests our hearts.
1
Thessalonians 4:1
Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living.
Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.
Hebrews
11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please
God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he
rewards those who earnestly seek him.
And it’s no
surprise we disagree. But if we cannot agree on lesser important issues, then
why is it that we should be any more logical when it comes to religious issues?
The more important the issue is to us, the more we cling to it and the more our
emotions run wild while we try to defend our viewpoint. It would certainly seem
to me that the more important the issue is to us, the less rational we are with
regard to it, and the less likely we’re going to give it up.
James 1:19-25
19My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to
listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man's anger
does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21Therefore,
get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept
the word planted in you, which can save you.
22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do
what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what
it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after
looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But
the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and
continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be
blessed in what he does.
If this is all the case, then it is simply impossible for God to judge anyone
based upon what they believe.
Romans 3:9-26
9What shall we conclude then? Are we any better[b]? Not at all! We have already made the
charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10As it is
written:
”There is no one righteous, not even one;
11there is no one who
understands,
no one who seeks God.
12All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”[c]
13”Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”[d]
”The poison of vipers is on their lips.”[e]
14”Their mouths are full of
cursing and bitterness.”[f]
15”Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16ruin and misery mark their
ways,
17and the way of peace they do not know.”[g]
18”There is no fear of God
before their eyes.”[h]
19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are
under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held
accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in
his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of
sin.
21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made
known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This
righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a
sacrifice of atonement,[i] through faith in his blood. He did this to
demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins
committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his
justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those
who have faith in Jesus.
God cannot judge anyone for not holding to the correct
set of beliefs.
Matthew 7:15-23
15”Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick
grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every
good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good
tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every
tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will
recognize them.
21”Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom
of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many
will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and
in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I
will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
Whether one believes the Koran or the Bible, whether they
are Mormon or Jew, whether they are Catholic or Protestant, there is simply no
way God could condemn someone for not believing the correct things about
religious issues. Period.
Acts 4:8-12
8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and
elders of the people! 9If we are being called to account today for
an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10then
know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this
man stands before you healed. 11He is
” 'the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the capstone.[a]'[b] 12Salvation
is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men
by which we must be saved.”
John
14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the
way and the truth and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through me.”
1 Timothy 2
1I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession
and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in
authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and
holiness. 3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who
wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God and one
mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave
himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time. 7And
for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the
truth, I am not lying—and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.
Why? Because I’m pretty sure most all of us are wrong
about some crucial religious issues. I’m probably wrong too. So why should God
condemn us for being wrong, when the odds are very high that we are wrong?
Romans 9:14-21
14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15For
he says to Moses,
”I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have
compassion.”[f] 16It does not, therefore, depend
on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. 17For the Scripture
says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display
my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”[g] 18Therefore God has mercy on
whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
19One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For
who resists his will?” 20But who are you, O man, to talk back to
God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like
this?' “[h] 21Does not the potter have the
right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and
some for common use?
Romans 10: 1-13
1Brothers, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2For
I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not
based on knowledge. 3Since they did not know the righteousness that
comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's
righteousness. 4Christ is the end of the law so that there may be
righteousness for everyone who believes.
5Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: “The
man who does these things will live by them.”[a] 6But the righteousness that is
by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'[b]” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7”or
'Who will descend into the deep?'[c]” (that is, to bring Christ up from the
dead). 8But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your
mouth and in your heart,”[d] that is, the word of faith we are
proclaiming: 9That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and
it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11As the
Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”[e] 12For there is no difference
between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who
call on him, 13for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will
be saved.”[f]
God cannot even judge us for how we behave, because how
we behave flows out of that which we believe, and that which we believe flows
from the sum total of experiences and thoughts that we have encountered for as
long as we have been alive. I believe all of us—every single one of us—does the
best we can given our gray brain matter, along with our life experiences.
Psalms
14:2-3
2 The LORD looks down from heaven
on the sons of men
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.
3 All have turned aside,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
Romans
8:6-8
6The mind of sinful man[e] is death, but the mind controlled by the
Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind[f] is hostile to God. It does not submit to
God's law, nor can it do so. 8Those controlled by the sinful nature
cannot please God.
Isaiah
64:6
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are
like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our
sins sweep us away.
There can be no harsh judgment from God.
Jeremiah
17
5 This is what the LORD says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who depends on flesh for his strength
and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands;
he will not see prosperity when it comes.
He will dwell in the parched places of the
desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.
7 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
8 He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
9 The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
10 “I the LORD search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward a man according to his conduct,
according to what his deeds deserve.”
If I am wrong about anything I have written in this book,
then I am wrong.
3What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify
God's faithfulness? 4Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a
liar. As it is written:
”So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge.”[a]
5But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more
clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I
am using a human argument.)
And I probably am wrong about some things, and
maybe about many things. I know this. But it doesn’t stop me from doing the
best that I can with this religiously ambiguous universe.
John
14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me.”
Luke
10:22
“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and no one knows who the Father
is except the Son and those to
whom the Son chooses to reveal
him.”
1 John 5:1-15
1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and
everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2This is how
we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his
commands. 3This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his
commands are not burdensome, 4for everyone born of God overcomes the
world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5Who
is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of
God.
6This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did
not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who
testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7For there are three
that testify: 8the[a] Spirit, the water and the blood; and the
three are in agreement. 9We accept man's testimony, but God's
testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given
about his Son. 10Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this
testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be
a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11And
this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his
Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of
God does not have life.
13I write these things to you
who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have
eternal life. 14This is the confidence we have in approaching
God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And
if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked
of him.
For me
it is an intellectual matter.
1 Corinthians 1:17-31
17For Christ did not
send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom,
lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For
it is written:
”I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will
frustrate.”[c]
20Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the
philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For
since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God
was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who
believe. 22Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but
we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to
Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness
of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than
man's strength.
26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of
you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of
noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to
shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He
chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things
that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may
boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ
Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness,
holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who
boasts boast in the Lord.”[d]
I think I am right about what I believe, and I
think I’m right about what I don’t believe. I could be wrong, but I think I’m
right. I am an honest doubter, a sincere doubter, and yes, even a believing
doubter.
May God be pleased with me for doing the best that I can.
Hebrews
11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he
rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Romans
14:11-12
11It is written: “‘As surely as I
live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will confess to God.’ “[a] 12So then, each of us will give
an account of himself to God.
16”For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[f] that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into
the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned
already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.[g] 19This is the verdict: Light has
come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their
deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will
not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But
whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly
that what he has done has been done through God.”[h]
2
Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is
patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish,
but everyone to come to repentance.