The subject of how intelligent people can believe in religion has always occupied my mind.
THE history of religion is as old as the history of man himself. That is what archaeologists and anthropologists tell us. Even among the most “primitive,” that is to say, undeveloped, civilizations, there is found evidence of worship of some form. In fact The New Encyclopædia Britannica says that “as far as scholars have discovered, there has never existed any people, anywhere, at any time, who were not in some sense religious.”
....“new religions” tend to focus on charismatic leaders—not God. Many of these religious leaders claim to have been divinely inspired. But their doctrines are generally little more than a melting pot of Buddhist, Shinto, and other beliefs—with a large dose of the founder’s philosophy thrown in. Their appeal often lies in the promise of a better life and claimed mystical or healing powers. But do such religions give evidence that they are teaching their adherents to worship “with spirit and truth”? Hardly. For one thing, religious cults tend to be here today and gone tomorrow. Their fad like nature gives little reason for taking them seriously.
When people are approached with a religious message, they may react in one of several ways. Some will say: “Absolute truth is impossible to find”; “all religions are only out for your money”; “science has disproved religion”;
“religion is just a crutch for weak people.” (or the uneducated!) These views, and others like them, tend to close the mind and cut off investigation before it has begun. It is prejudice at work.
There is a religion, however, that has been around longer than any other form of worship. It is the religion taught in the Holy Bible. The Encyclopedia Americana says concerning the Bible: “Its light ‘has gone out into all the world.’ It is now viewed as an ethical and religious treasure whose inexhaustible teaching promises to be even more valuable as the hope of a world civilization increases.” But if a book is really a believable guide to the true religion, would you not expect it to have the widest circulation, to be accessible to all truth seekers?
Such is the case with the Bible. It has been translated into 1,928 languages, in whole or in part, and it is the
most widely circulated book in history. Further, it has proved to be
historically and scientifically sound. Archaeology and history testify to the accurate fulfillment of Bible prophecies. It is free from all forms of spiritism and mysticism and the occult. All of this is consistent with the Bible’s own claim that it is divinely inspired.
2 Timothy 3:16, 17 "All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work."
....this is, of course, is just the beginning of my input on this discussion!
