Why Scripture?

If "Why do you believe in God?" is the first key question we should ask, "Why do you believe the Bible to be true?" needs to come next.

I definitely think that this is the question that stumps most of us. See, we can defend our belief in God and even Jesus with our experiences, but we have tough time with the Scriptures. I know I do. The truth is, I believe the Bible to be true because I was raised with it.

While that may sound good enough to a lot of you, it simply is not good enough for many others.

I asked myself that question just yesterday. Suddenly, I realized my belief in the Bible as the Word of God- as opposed to the Koran or the Hindu Vedas- was based primarily on the fact that it was what I was exposed to. The question that followed was, "If I had been raised in an Islamic country and believed in God, would I not then find myself accepting the Koran as the Word of God?" The idea that we ally ourselves with the faith of the culture we are born into is a very close relative to the thought that we ally ourselves with the most readily available Sacred Text.

I confess I have not done an exhaustive study of any other Sacred Text, aside from the Bible. I have read passages and attempted to discover the context of quotes I see from time to time, but I have never even read one chapter of the Koran in its entirety. I have read a chapter or two of the Book of Mormon, and actually possess a copy at my home, so I'm doing slightly better there.

So, then, why can I truthfully say I believe the Bible to be true and these other books false, when I have not read them?

Ouch.

It does not matter that I fully trust and believe Jesus to my Savior, that God is One, that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Well, it doesn't matter to anyone but me.

That being said,I don't believe it necessary to have studied all world religions before deciding on the right one. If you believe in God, and you believe He speaks to us and guides us the truth then you CAN believe that the first book you pick up is the right one. Or you may go through many before feeling God point you to the Bible as His Word.

I don't have to read everything, to know the One thing.

But we also do not have the license to immediately dismiss that which we have no knowledge of.

Paul saw truth in the polytheistic religion of the Athenians, when he praised them for their faith in Acts 17. Throughout history, the church has 'borrowed' practices from pagan and other cultures, then transformed them to be in the image of Christ.

There are good teachings in all religions. There are good practices,even if we don't accept their vision of God. I can't say enough about how much I respect the Mormon church's teaching on the community of believers, even if I don't agree with what I have read and spoken to Mormon's about in regards to much of their doctrine. I wish we were as great at it as they are.

I guess what I'm trying to convey is: you need to seek whatever assurance you need to believe that the Bible is truth. I accept it on faith, and you to will come to a point where you will also have to accept OR reject it based on faith. You may spend years investigating (and truthfully, we must seek answers constantly in regards to why we believe what we believe about the Bible), or you simply decide. You need to learn to read it for what it is, not what you think it is- read it within the historical context, not within your biased view. ( We all have a biased view, and we all occasionally read into Scripture what we want it to say, but we must limit this as much as possible.) God's Word is living, so let it speak. Ask God to give you wisdom to understand, to see, to accept.

One more thing- be respectful of other Sacred Texts. They are loved and trusted by millions, as much or more than we love and trust our Bible. To simply shut down conversation with them because you don't agree is wrong. So is continuing the conversation just to argue. If you want them to listen to what your Sacred Text has to say, you better be willing to listen to theirs. You will not win a person by putting down their beliefs or their doctrine as idiotic, stupid or evil. There will come a time to take a stand and say that you don't agree with them, but even that can and must be done in love and compassion.

The Bible itself is a sword, sharp and cutting. Your tongue and attitude is not needed to pierce their heart.