What is Truth?
Is truth absolute or is it relative? Is it intrinsically relational? If it is absolute, then not only can it point out our wrongs and correct us, but it can also bring healing and restoration. If, as atheists believe, truth is determined by observation and scientific analysis only, then it is open to revision and may change based on new discoveries. Christians believe that absolute truth exists and is based on revelation from God who, as creator and sustainer of the universe is the highest authority. This view makes sense because human beings have both a mind and a heart. Truth viewed only as a set of facts catering to our intellect cannot address our emotional or relational needs. [1]
I was thinking about the following two scripture verses and realized that my Faith in God is reasonable and not blind. It is based on concrete evidence such as archaeological artifacts and ancient texts validating people, places and events mentioned in the Bible.
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18)
"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" (1 Peter 3:15)
Most people know about the Dead Sea Scrolls and how they were accidentally discovered in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd boy in a cave at Khirbet Qumran on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. They are believed to have been placed there around AD 70-73 by a Jewish Sect called the Essenes before the Romans destroyed Qumran. Inside the cave large clay jars were discovered that contained ancient scrolls with Hebrew text written on them.
This post was taken from the essay I wrote for the final exam of the online Reasons for Faith course sponsored by OnlineChristianCourses.com.
God is an eternal being and whatever is eternal, transcends space and time.
Can you imagine having a book without an Author or a building without a Builder or a painting without an Artist? Authors, Builders, and Artists are implied to exist because of the existence of their creations. God either exists or He doesn't exist. There are good arguments in favor of God's existence.
Is God the uncaused creator of the universe or is the universe uncaused and eternal? Has the universe always existed? Before the 20th century there wasn't any way to prove which theory was correct. .
The conquest of the Canaanites by the Israelites in the Book of Joshua was ordered by God because of the child sacrifice, idol worship, violence, and temple prostitution that was practiced there, not because of ethnic cleansing of a people group. [1] God judged the Caananites because He had given them 400 years to stop their wicked practices (Genesis 15:13) but their depravity only got worse. God used Israel to judge the people not because of Israel's moral superiority, but because of the idolatry of the people. [2]
Science and faith are compatible in the sense that both are used to define and comprehend life. Many great scientists of the past were committed Christians such as: Nicholas Copernicus, Isaac Newton, Blaise Pascal, Robert Boyle, Michael Faraday, and James Clerk Maxwell. Copernicus even said: "It is my loving duty to seek the truth in all things, in so far as God has granted that to human reason."
