What Keeps People From Believing In God And The Bible?
By Brooks A. Harris
Often non-Christians see Christians as people who are to be sinless. Therefore Christians are expected to set the example of how a Godly person should live. But since many Christians live a life which is seen as un-Godly, non-Christians see many Christians as hypocrites and untrustworthy. Why would anyone want to be a member of such a group? What non-Christians do not understand is that all people are sinners; no person is sinless (other than Jesus Christ). Remember that the church is a hospital for sinners and not a club for saints. If you took all the sinners out of church, there would be no one left. We should pray and attend church (to worship God and fellowship with other believers) to strengthen our faith and our relationship with our Lord. It is up to Jesus to judge and handle those who are hypocrites to the Christian morals and laws. To be saved and to enter the gates of God’s heavenly kingdom, we must first sincerely believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, then we must try our best to live with Christian morals and obey God’s laws. A true Christian is a changed person with true desires to follow the laws of God. For those who are not willing to make Christ more valuable than the follies of sin and continue to disobey God’s laws and morals, there is strong doubt that they are truly saved. Broad is the way to a life of corruption and eternal damnation, but narrow is the way to righteousness and eternal salvation. Therefore many people will say that they accept Jesus as their savior and will call themselves Christians in order to supposedly secure their place in heaven. This is their "fire insurance" to keep them out of hell when they die. But unless they also accept Jesus as their Lord and turn their life over to Him, they are not truly saved and will not enter God’s heavenly kingdom. So do not let the ignorance and actions of others keep you from being saved.
A non-Christian interested in the Christian concept is often afraid of what their non-Christian peers will think or say about them if they pursue Christianity. They do not want to be seen as a religious freak. But true Christians learn that what is important and fulfilling in their life is to be pleasing to God and not necessarily to their peers.
Although many non-Christians are not truly happy with their lifestyles, they believe that being a Christian will keep them from having fun. They may be afraid that they will have to give up some of their friends, entertainment choices or certain material possessions. They do not understand what Christianity can do for them instead of to them. God gives us the opportunity to change but does not force us to change. When a person truly becomes a Christian, their priorities and what is important to them will change.
If God exists and is all-good, all-powerful, and all knowing, why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? This keeps many people from believing that God really exists. The truth is that God loves us so much that He gives us the freedom to make our own decisions. Unfortunately accidents are results of bad decisions by us or others. Illnesses, birth defects, and natural disasters are all eventual results of the beginning of sin (Adam’s bad decision) and God’s curse of death and destruction of the earth and all of its inhabitants because of sin. Adam’s rebellion against God caused separation from God and the beginning of the deterioration of all living things and their descendants.
God, by His nature, is very good, perfect, sinless and loving, so He does not cause bad things to happen but He allows consequences to happen since man, by his nature, is sinful and rebellious against God. Also being a Christian does not keep us from having difficulties in our lives; these are what test our faith. Our time in this lifetime is very short compared to eternity. Our being accepted into God’s family and God’s plan for us in His eternal heavenly kingdom is what really matters.
The theory of evolution teaches us that "survival of the fittest" is a natural law, therefore man must be strong and in control of his own life. It is difficult for non-Christians to understand the concept of relying on God to be in control of our lives. Non-Christians often see prayer and reliance on someone else as a sign of weakness. They do not understand the guidance, support, power, peace and joy God can and does provide His believers.
Our society was founded and built on a strong Christian foundation - its laws, morals, and doctrines. The accounts recorded in Genesis - the creation, the world-wide flood, and the dispersion of families at the Tower of Babel - were all understood to be true accounts of our origins and history. Over the past 200 years though, the theory of evolution has become a very strong influence in our society. The Biblical foundation of our origins, history, and morals are being uprooted. Even many Christians are compromising the teachings in the Bible with popular secular beliefs. Trust in the Bible is being questioned as the authority of God is being replaced by the authority of man. Therefore many non-Christians are doubting the reliability and truth of the Bible since many Christians no longer believe that the Bible is entirely true. It is difficult for non-Christians to understand the meaning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, when they do not even believe that the teachings in the Bible, as the origin of sin and its consequences, are really reliable.
Most people do not realize how much evidence there is to support the reliability of the Bible. Most Christians do not even realize that many modern evidences strongly support the Genesis account of creation as well as most other scientific and historic accounts throughout the Bible.
Often liberal students and professors in universities will present seemingly credible arguments for the non-existence of God or Jesus. Those who argue that the Bible cannot be trusted, speak largely on the basis of unjustified assumptions, bias, and/or simple ignorance of the facts. For those who are open-minded, the evidence is more than sufficient to establish belief.
Lastly many people believe that Christians are very narrow-minded and arrogant to believe that you must have faith in Jesus to be saved. They believe that there are many ways, through many different religions to get to heaven. Christianity is a very unique religion with evidence for its trustworthiness which stands far above any other religion.
I believe that people need to be shown the overwhelming evidence which supports the reliability and trustworthiness of the Holy Bible. Once they can realize that the Bible can be trusted in what it has to say about earthly things (our origins, science, history, etc.) then they can begin to study its truth in spiritual things (as who God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are, and the existence of heaven and hell).
