Conversation on a Plane

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it here on my blog, but 25 years after first attending college right out of high school, I have re-enrolled in college in pursuit of an Organizational Management - Christian Leadership degree.

The following is from a paper I submitted this week for my first class. The class is an overview of world views, and in the instructions we were to provide a response to the person sitting in the seat next to us on a plane ride. During the conversation, she had stated she was an atheist, and then proceeded to ask what you believed about God. We were to also compare and contrast her worldview with ours.

Because this paper was for a college course, and because the college requires I follow the APA Style of writing, this will not be in my "usual" writing style for this blog. Please forgive the "formality" of some of my responses. I was writing more for a good grade than to actually capture a true conversation with someone on a plane.

So, here is my response to an atheist asking, "Do you believe in God?" while I flew cross country on a plane (remember, this is a scenario, not an actual event).

I believe there is a God, but not just any god, I believe in the “One True God” described in the Bible. I have considered other options, having read the holy works of Islam, Judaism, Mormonism, and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. I have taken a tour of a Hindu Temple and a Shinto Shrine in Los Angeles, California. I have also read works by Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Marx, and Bertrand Russell. In the end, I found the only worldview that is credible in all areas of consideration-scientific, ethical, historical, and spiritual-is the God of the Bible.
Now, I am sure you are thinking, “This guy is nuts,” but let me take a minute to explain why I feel so strongly about the God of the Bible.
As I said, I found Biblical Christianity to be true scientifically. I assume that as an atheist, you follow the naturalistic worldview. Naturalism affirms the importance of the physical world. (Phillips, Brown & Stonestreet, 2008, p. 67) However, Paul de Vries notes that the scientific method “cannot pretend to provide answers to the ultimate questions. At some point in every explanation of phenomena, the question why can no longer be answerable within science.” (Phillips et al. 2008, p. 69) Science holds strongly to the theory of evolution. However Dean Kenyon wrote in the forward to The Mystery of Life’s Origin, “The authors believe, and I now concur, that there is a fundamental flaw in all current theories of the chemical origins of life.” The Mystery of Life’s Origin (as cited in Strobel, 2000, p. 93) James Tour, a nanoscientist and  professor at Rice University said, “…the deeper and deeper I have probed into the awe-inspiring wonders of the molecular level [I see]: the fingerprints of an Intelligent Designer. Only a rookie who knows nothing about science would say science takes away from faith.” (Strobel, 2000, p. 111) So, science does not disprove God, it actually leads man towards God.
I found the God of the Bible to be ethical. Again, I am sure you are thinking, “This guy is nuts,” so let me explain. Yes, many people believe the Bible does condone slavery, mass murder, genocide, racism, and polygamy. However, taken in its entirety, these “socially unacceptable” actions were taken by people in direct violation to God’s commands. The Bible includes these stories to demonstrate that despite man’s flaws, God remains faithful and loving. It was man who sinned against God, not the other way around. And all throughout the Bible, we read of God reaching down to restore mankind to Himself.
Many people have tried to disprove the Bible using the historical record. However Albright writes that “archaeological and inscriptional data have established the historicity of innumerable passages and statements of the Old Testament.” Albright, 1938 (as cited in McDowell, 1999, p. 370) Additionally, when you consider the manuscripts of the Biblical text with manuscripts of other ancient texts, the Bible stands in a league of its own. There are currently 5,686 Greek manuscripts in existence today for the New Testament. The first copy of an original New Testament manuscript was made within 100 years of the original document. Compare that to the closest ancient manuscript, the Iliad (by Homer), which only has 643 copies in existence today, with the first copy having been created approximately 500 years after the original (Slick, 2013). So, archaeological and literary sources support the validity and accuracy of the Bible.
Proving the spiritual truthfulness of the Bible is the most difficult challenge. Naturalists have consistently struggled with the implications of their worldview as applied to certain facets of man’s nature. (Phillips et al. 2008, p. 71) So, naturalism does not have a strong defense of spirituality either. When it comes to spirituality, one could argue that a definitive truth does not exist. However, as I read through the Bible, I found a consistent theme. God loves humankind! He loves us so much that He desires to be in relationship with us. This is evident from the beginning of the Bible, where we read about God coming to walk with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8) to the promise in Matthew 28 where Jesus says, “I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day, right up to the end of the age.” (The Message, v 20) In fact, God wanted to be in relationship with us so much, He felt sending His only son to die in order to pay the penalty of my sin, was not too great a price. Love like that has never been seen before, and will never be seen again. Even though spirituality is difficult to define, I believe God has sufficiently proven His desire to redeem humankind.
I hope I have shown you that the only worldview that is credible in all areas of consideration (scientific, ethical, historical, and spiritual) is the God of the Bible. Science leads us to God. The God of the Bible is a God of love, pursing humankind despite our continual rebellion against His laws. Historically, the evidence supporting the validity of the Bible’s history and the evidence supporting the accuracy of the text we hold in our hands today is overwhelming. Spiritually speaking, is not a God who loves us so much, no price was too high to pay for our redemption, proof? While I respect your right to not believe in God, I hope I have shown you there are many unanswered questions in your naturalistic worldview; these questions do have answers when you look to God.

One more thought before I leave. In addition to "writing for a grade" I was also limited to writing a 1-2 page response. As usual, I went over the assigned page number, ending at about 2-1/2 pages of text. Unfortunately, the page limitation required me to be more brief in some of my responses than I would have liked. Maybe some day I will "flesh out" this conversation through multiple blog posts here at the 10:10 muse ...

Anyhow, I'd love to hear your feedback and thoughts. Post below to join in on the conversation.

Love God, Love People

The phrase, "Love God, love people" has been showing up virtually everywhere I look of late. It is the primary topic of the Love Does book by Bob Goff. It was the main topic of the sermon this past week at SoAcres Church. And it pervades some of the daily devotional and blog pages I read.

Not that I want to "jump on a bandwagon" for jumping sake, but when the message is so vital as "Love God, love people," who am I to miss out on an opportunity? Besides, if this message is coming at me so frequently, it means God wants me to learn it AND act on its message.

So, what does Love God, love people look like?

That, my friends, is the hardest part of the entire message. Loving God is the easiest part of the task. He loves me, and proved it by coming to earth to be like me in order to save me. While there are many, many people in the world who refuse to accept the overwhelming evidence supporting the validity of the Bible; the truth is, God came to earth to provide a path of redemption for His beloved children.

So, if this evidence is so overwhelming, why do people miss it? How are people still refuting, in their minds at least, the story of love God shares through His word? Why do people simply choose not to believe?

It all comes down to one thing. People are blinded. In I Corinthians 2:10-13, Paul writes: 

"The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along. Who ever knows what you're thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God—except that he not only knows what he's thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don't have to rely on the world's guesses and opinions. We didn't learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we're passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way." (The Message)

People are not able to understand God without the working of the Holy Spirit. However, for some reason that is far too deep for me to cover here in today's blog post, God only shares the Holy Spirit with those who have first accepted Him. Time and time again throughout scriptures the Spirit of God descends on those who have already accepted Him.

So how does a world blinded to the truths of God have hope? Through the love of the people who have accepted God's gift of grace. 

When we accept God's freely given gift of salvation, we are covered in God's grace. And because so much has been forgiven, our hearts long to share with those around us, especially those we love the most, just what God has done in our lives.

However, just like the new car wears down, just like last year's electronics are forgotten and placed on a shelf, just like our shoes and clothes wear out; so does our love for God. Unless we renew it every day.

I love my iPhone. I was a "hater" when the iPhone first came out. And when I finally went to the world of "smart phones," I started with a Samsung product, followed by a Blackberry product. It wasn't until four years after the iPhone was on the market that I finally purchased one.

And now I can't imagine what took me so long.

I use it every day, so many times every day in fact, I can't even guess at how much usage I get from my iPhone. It has become a part of me, and if I lost it or broke it, I would immediately go out and replace it.

That is how God should be in our life. If you connected with God as often each day as you connect with your smart phone, what would your life look like to those around you?

I mentioned Bob Goff at the beginning of this post. Bob is an infectious guy. In a comment I read about him, someone said he must drink a lot of energy drinks prior to going on stage because he has so much excitement when he speaks. If you want a better understanding, look at Bob's profile picture on Twitter.

I don't think it is artificial energy, I believe Bob is so connected to the Holy Spirit, he just exudes the energy of God.

And as Bob spills God all over the place, love is spilled. Because God is love.

Loving people is hard, but if we connect with God daily (that is why love God is listed first), God's love will spill out of us and we will love people.

Simply dialing a prayer in the morning, simply reading a devotional or passage of scripture in the morning, simply saying "grace" over our meals is not connecting with God. Well it is, but it is not sufficient for us to become covered in God's scent. The only way we can be covered in God is to roll around with Him, to really be in His presence.

So today, each time you grab your smart phone, take some time to also reach for God. And every day from now on as you reach for your phone, also reach for God. In a few days you will begin to "smell" like God.

And when you do, then God's love will leak out of you and onto others. And when you love people, they begin to understand who God is and how much He loves them.

Love God, love people.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. And I really want to hear your stories of how you grew in your love for God and how that love spilled out onto other people.