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.