PeterC,
re: “Already answered.”
I sure don’t see where.
BTW, you haven’t said what your “thanks” was for.
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im going to empathize with your post because as someone who used to not believe, your statement would make sense to me. with what ive since learned, i feel differently now, so here’s my take that i hope will explain things to set your heart at ease about the truth of biblically-told Creation.
i dont see in genesis where it says the lake of fire preceded humankind. it appears to me that all the good stuff, including humankind, came first.
so yeah genesis the first book of the bible which gives account of how God created the universe and everything in it. you can read the first 7 days. none of them have anything negative. no lake of fire. so, the order in which God’s thoughts and actions came about, is simply different from the way you presented it. and the real timeline reflects how He loves His creation and intended it for good. He gave us the choice- do we want good as well, or would we choose against Him, given the chance, with our free will? He found that sometimes we choose good and sometimes we choose bad. but the lake of fire, from what i read in Genesis, was not an original part of His creation.
it also never became a matter of, “you meet these requirements or else.” thats not what a loving father would do. a loving father says, “ive given you everything, i hope youll appreciate it, but i cannot allow you to destroy creation any longer, if thats what you choose to do. ill give you time to fix your ways if you go that route, but ultimately, youre going to ruin heaven for everyone else if i let you have that after youve chosen a lifestyle of destruction for those around you.” that, to me, sounds like a loving father who gives and gives yet does not spoil. hope my answer is helpful in some way.
p.s. im now wondering over and over, WHEN was the lake of fire put in place? i dont know offhand. im sure a true answer, even if the answer is “no one knows,” could be found somewhere. something for me to look into some time. does anyone here know the answer offhand? myself, i do have questions about how it all panned out, since the devil and his fall etc are not mentioned until later in the bible. and from what i remember, those passages didnt give a timeline for when they happened, but i could be wrong. lots for me to research there.
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re: “it also never became a matter of, ‘you meet these requirements or else.’ thats not what a loving father would do…”
You say, “ill give you time to fix your ways…” That sound like a requirement to me.
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i agree it didnt change the gist of the post. which is why i began with, “im going to empathize with your post.” still, you gave an order of things, and it changes the scope of what God did. so if you want us to look at your synopsis and tell you what we think, well, thats something that occurred to me:
no, it doesnt change the GIST, correct; but to say that God started with making people and then immediately went to setting he rules for them, well that doesnt sound like a loving God, so i felt it was important to point out that none of the negative stuff came about until after adam and eve’s fall from grace.
allow me to clarify; i wasnt saying that it wasnt required. im saying that the way God went about communicating His requirements for a peaceful mankind, was different from simply, “or else.” a loving father shows his love while still being firm about the rules.
and yeah, requirements are necessary- do you think people should be allowed to rape people, and murder innocent people? a loving father doesnt think those actions are right. so i dont know what you think the world should be like, but maybe you should let us know. i simply was saying that he didnt just lay down the law with a hard, unfeeling fist, but rather, with patience, kindness, longsuffering, and true love, unlike many fathers i know here on earth.
That does seem a little cynical and oversimplified.
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wantthetruth,
re: “i agree it didnt change the gist of the post. which is why i began with, ‘im going to empathize with your post.’”
That’s all I was saying.
re: “…still, you gave an order of things, and it changes the scope of what God did. so if you want us to look at your synopsis and tell you what we think…”
I never had that intent when I posted it. I had just read the nursery rhyme about Solomon Grundy - “Solomon Grundy, Born on a Monday, Christened on Tuesday, Married on Wednesday, Took ill on Thursday, Grew worse on Friday, Died on Saturday, Buried on Sunday, that was the end of Solomon Grundy.” And then the Preacher’s comment in Ecclesiastes 1:2 came to mind: "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
They just seemed to trigger the idea that that was a bit like the default position of man’s life. In retrospect, though, it may be a poor analogy.
re: “no, it doesnt change the GIST, correct; but to say that God started with making people and then immediately went to setting he rules for them…”
Well, He did give at least one rule right from the start: "Genesis 2:16-17 “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
re: “allow me to clarify; i wasnt saying that it wasnt required. im saying that the way God went about communicating His requirements for a peaceful mankind, was different from simply, ‘or else’ a loving father shows his love while still being firm about the rules. and yeah, requirements are necessary…”
That would seem to be the case because something has to prevent people from being included tn the Book of Life.
re: “- do you think people should be allowed to rape people, and murder innocent people?”
Tough question. Let me think about it.
re: “a loving father doesnt think those actions are right. so i dont know what you think the world should be like, but maybe you should let us know.”
OK, I’ve thought about it and I think people probably shouldn’t be allowed to rape people, and murder innocent people.
BTW, does that imply that it might be ok to murder those people who are not innocent?
re: " i simply was saying that he didnt just lay down the law with a hard, unfeeling fist, but rather, with patience, kindness, longsuffering, and true love, unlike many many fathers i know here on earth."
So, you’re saying that He laid down the law with patience, kindness, longsuffering, and true love, unlike many fathers i know here on earth. I don’t know, though, many fathers, who when their offspring didn’t comply with the rules, takes them to a funeral home to be cremated.
This statement reveals a dire misunderstanding at best, or a dishonorable misdirection at worst.
The erroneous assumption in this statement is that God is punishing people for not following His rules, which would make Him unfatherly. The writer says “he knows no fathers like that”. I realize the writer does not believe this statement, but why then rage against something known to be untrue?
I would remind the writer (and reader) that every good father does make rules. Family Law is laid down like “don’t play in the street – you might be hit by a car”, or “don’t horseplay around power tools, - you could be injured”, or “You are not allowed on the roof of the house”, etc. (I can hear my own father’s voice in these admonitions). NO, my biological father would not have me killed for disobedience, and neither does my Heavenly Father. Both warn loved ones to avoid injury or possibly death. Cosmicly, the result of stupid-disobedience is death, separation; sin sends the rebel “…directly to Jail, do not Pass GO”! The love of our Heavenly Father begs us all to avoid pursuing our own destruction, and furthermore is willing to pay for any damages our rebellion may have incured. The road to the crematory is not punishment, but chosen by the one who rejects Holy admonition. God is not sending His creation to the chamber as punishment, people are choosing that road of their own profligate volition.
KP
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So, am I the only one here that recognizes a spirit angry with God? A long time ago, when I was blinded by Satan, I wrote a 20-page dissertation called “The Great Joker in the Sky.” My rage, anger, and attitude cast a long shadow over this young man’s, but the message was right out of the seat of hurt and the ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ - Who does this God fellow think he is, anyway?
What ails you isn’t solved by venting. You must first humble yourself and pray; believe me, you don’t want him to humble you.
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yeah, say, a guy wielding a knife starts going after your daughter or some other innocent person. we wouldnt WANT to kill him or anyone else, but if someone’s innocent life is at stake, it makes sense to do what it takes to subdue the assailant if you must. those kinds of instances. rare.
if not, then what was your intent? i understand if my details were not spot-on, but ultimately, when you post on this site, isnt the point, in part, to see what reactions you get? versus writing it in a personal notebook that no one else sees? thats what i meant by your intent, sorry that i got some specifics wrong.
fun, thanks for sharing some background of what inspired your post.
haha. im not going to open the Bible right now to check this, ill just believe you. if so, you got me on that one. what i meant is, you made it sound like God practically took pleasure in, or at least was a bit heartless about, making a painful punishment ready for eternal sinners, instead of just lovingly warning them about it, so i didnt like that gist of your post. am i wrong?
in that verse you shared, he says they will die; not that he will
as in, his emphasis there is not about what HE’S doing to THEM. at the same time, i gotta admit, He doesnt outright say they will land themselves there. i would think most evil people dont literally want a lake of fire, so i guess it takes 2- God and the evildoer at the same time. but still, like a point i was making, heaven wouldnt be heaven if there were unrepentant murderers within it, and thats how i like to chalk it all up to. my personal beliefs that arent necessarily in the bible- the idea that part of the point is keeping heaven pure for those who want the purity, instead of letting it be muddled by non-heavenly things.
so, yeah, he didnt say so fast that He will cast them out; He warns them they will die, but doesnt go further than that in that instance. it sounds like when i tell my toddler, “dont play with that knife, itll cut you.” rather than, “dont play with that knife, ill cast you into a lake of fire if you do.”
you are being really smart-alecky lol but so was i… the point was, i would figure you, as a hopefully decent person, feels that way; it was rhetorical in order to make a point.
its worth mentioning that God doesnt simply send people to hell who have sinned. its only one type of person He actually sends to hell. its those who deny the Holy Spirit:
“I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matthew 12:31–32).
breaking spiritual laws results in bad things, but none of them lead to hell, except those who deny God. so i hope that helps your heart in understanding what the truth is about hell. i feel if youre not someone who embraces evil to the fullest, you on your deathbed would accept your heavenly Father if he came down and reached out for your hand. but if you hate His love so much that you reject Him even then, well, thats when id say its too late for you- and in my heart I think God only gives up on people when He knows like no one else does that there is literally zero hope for that person to turn around from their evilness. if theres even a shred of hope, He doesnt give up. so i hope that helps you, too. sorry, i realize i had left this important note out of my messages so far.
had to make a new note as my comments i want to add made it too long:
p.s. i actually really appreciate you bringing all your thoughts here. youre making me question a lot of things. i dont want to just blindly justify the bible. let me tell you a bit about where im coming from. ive come to really believe in it because of all the cross-checking i used to do, regarding its mention of kings, ancient lands, events, etc. they all add up even to secular sources of historical information. i had never known the bible was a historical document, before i did all that. i thought of it as a book of stories. at the first bible study i ever went to, i was very much what id call agnostic, and was just humoring my friend who’d invited me. i literally likened the bible to being no more or less relevant to a child’s book on toilet training that happened to be there. i held it up and said they are equally important to me. wasnt trying to be rude or anything, but looking back i might have offended some of the people there lol. i was just being real. and i will continue to do that. now that ive developed an intellectual faith in the bible, and found that the story from front to back really reflects a God that forgives over and over as much as He can, ive really come to love it and believe in it. so i definitely dont want to sound like ill just rebut everything you say. i want you to see how much i agree with your gists, or at least can empathize with them based on what i used to think. that sort of agreeing; understanding and not just rejecting.
i think its incredibly healthy to look hard at things we’ve not taken time to question. youre making me revisit some details that i havent mulled over or at least not in a long time. i have not voiced all of them. you make me see that some things can appear contradictory in the bible. despite the verse about only Holy Spirt denyers going to hell, i do know theres also a verse that speaks differently:
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
this verse is confusing to me because it says all those types of people wont inherit the kingdom of God, despite the Holy Spirit verse. and it goes on to say youve been “washed” from your sins. yet we continue to commit them all the way up to death. so why are we forgiven? i guess thats the difference- those who hate their sins versus those who like i mentioned fully embrace evil:
Romans 7:15-
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”
Ecclesiastes 7:20-
“Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.”
thanks for making me think. it makes me think, as i wrap my head around the information as a whole, that indeed its the truly seeking God’s forgiveness that saves us from the ultimate repercussion of sin.
also, adam and eve did not die immediately when they ate the fruit of that tree. so what did He mean by dying? well, maybe they would have lived in those bodies forever, if they hadn’t eaten it. instead they died hundreds of years later. maybe thats what He meant- that their sins would eventually crush their bodies, not necessarily immediately. so much to ponder. thank you for inspiring me to pull this stuff apart more. its what i used to do more of, before i had any faith in the Bible.
edit: i just thought of my 2 favorite examples of God’s love in the bible, that might be fun for you to chew on, to better understand how God works:
first, the ever-famous Noah and the Ark. Noah was a straight-up DRUNK. which is one of the sins God says He hates. however, in noah’s heart, was still a reverence for God. the rest of the world had become saturated with people who no longer had a shred of love for God in their hearts. did God admonish Noah to quit drinking? no, He saw Noah’s heart, and said, “build this ark,” and Noah did just that. God saved Him and his whole family. he never asked Noah to denounce or even reduce his drinking. it was noah’s FAITH that was enough, when the rest of the world had lost all of it.
second example. Rahab. a prostitute, in the very evil city of Jericho. this was a place that did public killings of babies as sacrifices to their “god.” disgusting, celebrated evil. Rahab, when encountering Hebrew spies, agreed to hide them in her home. she could have easily been killed by the authorities, who were looking for the spies. but still, she lied to them, to save the spies. like the killing of a knife-wielding assailant, God didnt get mad at her for lying, because she was truly protecting the innocent via what normally could be considered a sin. its the intent in our hearts that He sees. and again, like with Noah, God didnt admonish her to quit selling her body for nasty sex acts before He’d help her. when God then destroyed the whole city of Jericho, He saved Rahab and her entire family, no questions asked,simply because of her FAITH in Him and doing that one thing to abide by her newfound faith. later she married a hebrew, no longer a prostitute. i dont remember whether Noah quit drinking. but again, i see no verses of God asking either of those sinners to quit sinning. simply was pleased when they acted on small seeds of faith that no one else around them had anymore. Noah put up with being laughed at, Rahab faced the chance of being violently killed, all for a God that promised to save them, and He did.
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Don’t forget Acts 8:9-24, Simon the evil magician “believed and was baptized v.13” but his heart stayed evil v.21 Salvation is free sanctifcation gonna hurt, trust me on this.
To me this highly condensed and leaky account of Bible history has the feel of a yet another jibe against the Christian faith. If that’s the case I can fully understand why. Decades ago I struggled with such a bitter attitude myself—and as a believer in Christ.
But endless sweeping criticisms and clever quips on social media are nothing more than cheap shots. When we look in much greater detail at the fullness of Scripture there are other aspects of God’s character that should temper the cynic’s point-of-view. The extent of God’s love in Christ’s sacrifice is a good place to start.
Beyond that, God’s sovereign right to do as He pleases remains unanswerable. People may struggle against Who they think He is, but they can change nothing.
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Yes, @Stenos
Hear here.
KPuff,
re: “The erroneous assumption in this statement is that God is punishing people for not following His rules…”
So, if He’s not casting them into the lake of fire for not following His rules, for what reason is He casting them into it?
re: “NO, my biological father would not have me killed for disobedience, and neither does my Heavenly Father.”
Again, why is He casting them into the lake of fire if not for disobedience?
re: "Cosmicly, the result of stupid-disobedience is death, separation; sin sends the rebel ‘…directly to Jail, do not Pass GO’ "
Disobedience with regard to what?
re: “The road to the crematory is not punishment, but chosen by the one who rejects Holy admonition.”
Who would choose to be cast into the lake of fire to be tormented for eternity?
Just to illastrate. Look at Gravity. The truth is that gravity is real. It exists. It is what it is. You can accept it. Reject it. Analyze it. Dissect it. Study it. Teach it. Speak about it. Think about it. Ignore it. Hate it. Whatever you choose to do. But it remains what it is.
Gravity is no respecter of persons. It does not care if you are black or white, male or female, rich or poor. It does not even care if you accept it. Reject it. Analyze it. Dissect it. Study it. Teach it. Speak about it. Think about it. Ignore it. Hate it. Whatever you choose to do. It WILL affect you, me, and everyone else the same way.
We go up to a high place. Gravity says, “Do not step off. You will fall. You will get hurt or even die.” If you obey this “law of gravity” you will not step off. You will be just fine. If I choose not to obey it, I step off, what happens? I fell. I get hurt. Or I die. Why? Because I did not obey the “law of gravity.” I did not accept it. I rejected it.
Now some questions. Did gravity kill me due to my lack of obedience? No. Did gravity choose to kill me because I did not accept it? No. Because you chose to accept it, does that make you a better person than me? No. Simply put, gravity is. This is true. You accepted it. You live. I did not accept it. I died.
God is the same way. He is. He said to tell His people His name is “I am.” He just is. You can? Say it with me, accept Him. Reject Him. Analyze Him. Dissect Him. Study Him. Teach Him. Speak about Him. Think about Him. Ignore Him. Hate Him. Whatever you choose to do. But He remains who and what He is.
" Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons" Acts 10:34
He doesn’t care if you are black or white, male or female, rich or poor. He does not even care if you were born into this or that religion. He IS. I have good news for you. It also doesn’t matter if you accept Him. Reject Him. Analyze Him. Dissect Him. Study Him. Teach about Him. Speak about Him. Think about Him. Ignore Him. Hate Him. Whatever you choose to do? God loves you. He does. He does not want you to die. He has written all of us a love letter. He has given all of us a manual for life itself. All can read it. All can understand it. All can and have to decide what they are going to do. Accept it, or reject it.
God knows we are weak and we cannot save ourselves. So God made that way simple too. John 3:16-18
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
That’s it, Folks. It is just this simple. His name is Yeshua. We translated it as Jesus.
“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved. The Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”Romans 10:9-11
Period. End of story. There is nothing else. There is no confusion. There is no complication. This is true. Accept it and live. Reject it and die. There is no hate. There is no judgment. There is only Truth. Simply put. Easy to understand. “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already” Why? “because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
Peter
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What does it mean to believe in the name (which is Yeshua) as you noted?
And since beliefs can’t be consciously chosen, what is a person supposed to do?
“Believe in the Name” -The Greek Grammar
The Key Construction: πιστεύω εἰς τὸ ὄνομα (pisteuō eis to onoma)
The phrase “believe in the name” appears in passages like John 1:12; 2:23; 3:18; 1 John 5:13. The Greek is not merely “believe about” or “believe that” - it is πιστεύω εἰς (pisteuō eis), literally “believe into.”
Construction Greek Meaning Example
πιστεύω ὅτι (pisteuō hoti) “believe that” Intellectual assent to propositions Rom 10:9 - “believe that God raised Him”
πιστεύω ἐν (pisteuō en) “believe in” (locative) Trust within a sphere/location Rom 10:9 - “believe in your heart”
πιστεύω εἰς (pisteuō eis) “believe into” Directional, personal, relational trust, movement toward and union with the object John 3:16, 3:18; 1 John 5:13
What εἰς (eis) does Here @rstrats…
The preposition εἰς with the accusative (τὸ ὄνομα) indicates motion into, direction toward, and union with the object. It is the same preposition used in:
Matthew 28:19 - “baptizing them εἰς the name” (into the name, into covenantal ownership)
Romans 6:3 - “baptized εἰς Christ” (into union with Christ)
1 Corinthians 12:13 - “baptized εἰς one body” (into incorporation into the body)
So πιστεύω εἰς τὸ ὄνομα means: to move into, entrust oneself into, and be united with the person whose name is Yeshua. It is not merely cognitive agreement (hoti); it is relational self-committal directed toward the person of Christ.
What “The Name” (τὸ ὄνομα) Signifies
In Hebrew/Septuagint thought, “the name” (הַשֵּׁם / τὸ ὄνομα) is not merely a label, it is the person, authority, character, and covenantal identity of the one named. To “believe into the name of Yeshua” is to:
Acknowledge His identity, Yeshua - “Yahweh saves” (Matt 1:21)
Submit to His authority, to be baptized “into the name” is to come under His lordship and protection
Receive His saving work, the name encapsulates all that He is and has accomplished (incarnation, atonement, resurrection, ascension, intercession)
As the Reformed confessions put it: faith is “not only a certain knowledge, whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in His Word; but also a hearty trust, which the Holy Ghost works in me by the gospel, that not only to others, but to me also, remission of sins, everlasting righteousness, and salvation are freely given by God, merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ’s merits” (Heidelberg Catechism Q.21).
You ask “If Beliefs Can’t Be Consciously Chosen, What Is a Person Supposed to Do?”
This is the heart of Reformed monergism (μόνος + ἔργον = “one working”). The Reformed answer is: you do nothing to generate faith. You do everything to hear the Word, because the Word is the means God uses to effectually call and regenerate.
The Biblical Data
Ephesians 2:1, 5 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins… even when we were dead in our transgressions, [God] made us alive together with Christ.”
The Greek for “dead” is νεκρός (nekros) - not “sick,” not “wounded,” but corpse-dead. A corpse cannot choose to resurrect itself.
John 6:44 - “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (ἑλκύσῃ, helkysē - “drags, draws with irresistible force”). The same verb is used in John 6:37: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me.”
John 6:65 “No one can come to Me unless it has been granted him (δέδοται, dedotai - perfect passive, “it has been given”) by the Father.”
Romans 8:7–8 “The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
The Greek οὐ δύναται (ou dynatai) - “is not able.” Not “unwilling” merely - unable. The unregenerate will is not neutral; it is enslaved (John 8:34; Rom 6:17, 20).
Acts 16:14 “A woman named Lydia… whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.”
The verb διήνοιξεν (diēnoixen - “opened”) is aorist active indicative: God opened. Lydia did not open her own heart.
1 Corinthians 2:14 “The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
οὐ δύναται γνῶναι (ou dynatai gnōnai) - “he is not able to know.” Not “unwilling to know” - unable.
The Reformed Distinction: Regeneration Precedes Faith
This is the linchpin. In Reformed theology:
Regeneration - Faith - Justification - Sanctification
Faith is the instrument of justification (Rom 5:1; Rom 4:5), but regeneration is the cause of faith. God does not wait for man to believe and then regenerate him. He regenerates the dead heart, and that new heart necessarily believes. As R.C. Sproul summarized:
“The Holy Spirit changes the inclination and disposition of our wills, so that whereas we were previously unwilling to embrace Christ, now we are willing, and more than willing. Indeed, we aren’t dragged to Christ, we run to Christ, and we embrace Him joyfully because the Spirit has changed our hearts.”
Louis Berkhof: Special grace is irresistible not because it “compels man to believe against his will, but that by changing the heart it makes man perfectly willing to accept Jesus Christ unto salvation.”
So What Is the Person Supposed to Do?
The Reformed answer is not “do nothing.” It is, do what a dead man can do - hear the gospel, for the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Rom 1:16).
Table
What man does What God does
Hears the preached Word (Rom 10:14, 17) Calls effectually through that Word (2 Thess 2:14)
Should you wish, I can give you links on grammar, morphology and syntax, Step Bible a good place to start.
J.
Well, since you want to argue doxastic involuntarism, let’s start with that. We have total control over the inputs that lead to those beliefs. This is where your personal agency comes in. You can choose which arguments to listen to and which books to read. You can deliberately put yourself in situations or communities that look at the world a certain way. If you want to change a belief, you can actively hunt for evidence that contradicts your current view.
So, while you can’t snap your fingers and change a belief on the spot, you can choose to steer the ship toward new information. Eventually, if the new evidence is heavy enough, your mind will automatically shift its belief to align with it.
Now, to answer your question, when you look at the evidence in the universe, of hundreds of trillions of stars and planets, out of all of them, there is our little rock. What makes more sense? A. Something came from nothing, then B. all things came from one something, then we simply and yet accidentally just evolved on a planet that is in the precise location to support OUR life? Which you would have to overcome two completely impossible scientific facts. Of, “In the Beginning, God.”
If you think well, there had to be something for all things to come, then God is the most logical thought process. Now you look at the Bible. One of the easiest ways to disprove the Bible is also one of the easiest ways to prove the Bible is the Truth. There are 1,239 prophecies in the Old Testament and 578 prophecies in the New Testament for a total of 1,817. This is according to “The Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy” by J. Barton Payne.
If the Bible makes all these predictions, and they are proven false, then the Bible is indeed false. However, if the Bible makes all these predictions, then predictions that have been proven correct prove the Bible true. I can supply some examples if you wish.
Since the Bible is true, and it teaches us about God, and it teaches us about Jesus, then we should believe it. When history outside the Bible proves Jesus was real, we have to believe it. When the Bible prophesies about Jesus, long before He came, then it must be true. So then, there is a God, He created all that is was or will be. Jesus is real. He came to save all who believe in Him.
What are you doing? You are actively hunting for evidence that contradicts your current view of evolution, which the world loves to try to teach. Since the new evidence is heavy enough, your mind will automatically shift its belief to align with it. correct?
Peter