CHRISTIAN FAQs
GOD
THE BIBLE
GOD
Can you prove that God exists?
The existence of God cannot be proven by the use of magical formulas or scientific experiments. God reveals himself to us on his terms, not on ours. If God doesn't exist then there is no purpose in life and everyone has the right to live their life the way they choose. But if God does exist, then he will have a purpose for creating us and so we need to live our life according to his will. There are all sorts of arguments and principles that can be used to prove God's existence, but we'll just summarise 4 of them as follows:
- God is revealed through creation
The complexity and beauty of everything we see around us proves that a supernatural being with unlimited power must have created it all. It could not have occurred by chance, e.g. evolution. - God is revealed through conscience
Humans are very spiritual beings. The majority of people believe in a supernatural being and have similar values of right and wrong (e.g. murder is seen as a bad thing by most people). These things show that we have a spiritual connection with God because he made us in his image (Genesis 1:27). - God is revealed through communication
God has communicated to us in many ways: speech, dreams, visions and the Bible. - God is revealed through Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is God (Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1; Hebrews 1:8). He came to Earth to die on the cross for us so that our sins could be forgiven and our relationship with God restored. He revealed God to us (Hebrews 1:1-2).
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God is not a machine, an animal, a plant, energy, or a lifeless object like a rock; God is separate from his creation. God is an omnipotent (all powerful; Matthew 19:26), omniscient (all knowing; Psalm 147:5), omnipresent (present everywhere; Psalm 139:7-12), spiritual, personal being with self-consciousness and will. The Bible is full of examples which show us that God is a person: he has knowledge (1 Samuel 2:3), he talks and creates (Genesis 1), he thinks (Isaiah 55:8-9), he listens (Philippians 4:6-7), he loves us (John 3:16), he communicates with us (Genesis 3:8-19) and importantly, God wants to have a loving relationship with us (Matthew 22:34-38; Acts 17:26-27). God has all the characteristics associated with personality: he knows, he feels, he wills, he acts.
THE BIBLE
The Bible is a collection of 66 books, written by about 40 different authors over a period of 1500-1600 years. The authors include prophets, kings, a doctor and even a fisherman! God worked through these individuals to write the books of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17). It describes a whole range of things, from the creation of the world right through to the end times.
The Bible is divided into 2 sections:
- The Old Testament contains 39 books and was written before the coming of Jesus Christ.
- The New Testament contains 27 books and was written when Jesus Christ came and after he left to return to Heaven.
The Bible reveals to us who God is, what he wants us to do with our life and what the future holds for us.
How do I know that the Bible really comes from God?
This is a crucial question. If the Bible does not come from God, then it is only another man-made book and can be left sitting on the shelf collecting dust - we should forget about it. However, if the Bible does come from God, then we need to be aware of what it says because God is using it to communicate to us. Its message to us will be extremely important - in fact it will be a matter of spiritual life or death. There are many reasons to believe that the Bible has come from God. In summary, they are:
- Bible's Self Claims
The Bible itself claims to come from God. - Christ's Claims
Jesus Christ stated that the Bible came from God. - Writer's Claims
Its authors claim that God inspired it. - Textual Unity
There are no contradictions in the Bible. - Textual Preservation
There are many old copies of the Bible, confirming that the Bible is accurate. - Historical Accuracy
Historical people, places and events mentioned in the Bible have been shown to have existed or occurred. - Scientific Accuracy
The Bible does not contradict science, in fact it confirms it. - Prophetic Accuracy
So many prophecies have come true, and many are yet to come. - Social Impact
The message of the Bible has positively impacted societies. - Personal Impact
The message of the Bible positively impacts individuals.
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