Why I Believe What I Believe (because It Was Far Too Long To Put All Of It In An Answer)

Why I Believe What I Believe (because it was far too long to put all of it in an answer)

 I started out being a Christian because I was essentially born and raised in the church. However, make no mistake : it was my own personal decision to begin the journey of faith in Jesus. But it might be more effective for me to explain to you why I STILL believe in Christianity. I am far past the age where I had to stop coasting on the momentum of my parents’ beliefs and step up and own my faith. If you’re only lukewarm and you don’t really believe this stuff, you won’t remain convicted and active in your faith.

First off, I flatter myself that I am a critical thinker. I’m currently doing a science degree in university and I like to think that I’m inquisitive and smart. And I will fiercely deny any accusations of brainwashing or the like. I sometimes have moments where I literally question everything about my existence and I just wonder, “what if everything I’ve ever believed isn’t true?” and when I was in my early teens I asked myself, how do I know God is real? I attended small groups at my church and I read books and I really started investigating. A great book is called A Case for a Creator, by Lee Strobel, if you’re interested.  Here are the reasons I believe in God:

1. Personal Experience.

It’s pretty easy to believe in something when you see it with your own eyes, and hear first-hand accounts all the time from people who were witnesses to the miraculous. For example, the Holy Spirit is probably the most versatile form of God and He’s the form of God here on earth. He lives in us and works through us as we invite Him to do so. So basically, when we open ourselves up to God, He will come and visit. And the effects of the presence and the glory of God are varied and remarkable.

Let me list some symptoms of being in God’s presence:  -Speaking in a unique language, known only to God and not to any human -Crying uncontrollably -Laughing hysterically -Falling over randomly

I’ve seen all of those symptoms in an average church service haha. That’s why they call us Pentecostal, we’re defined by our belief in the Holy Spirit. The name is derived from the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit first visited the disciples of the early church. *Note: there was a cool study done by a student at the University of Pennsylvania who did MRI scans on people while they were speaking in tongues, and discovered that the frontal lobe was not involved the way you’d think it would be, and that neurologically, the data corroborates the Christians testimony, that we hear ourselves but have no blessed clue what we’re saying. Cool, huh? 

Also, the Holy Spirit gives “gifts” wherein He gives you power for a moment to do something humanly impossible, in order to help someone. Those gifts include… -Healing -Miracles -Prophesy -Knowledge (knowing something about someone’s life that you could never have known if God didn’t tell you)  -Faith (more like a leap of faith, It’s when you step out and do something that could not possibly work if God didn’t intervene) -Wisdom (God granting you the answer to what seemed like an unsolvable puzzle) -Interpretation (being able to understand the freaky Holy Spirit language someone is speaking in and translating it) -Discernment (knowing that something is a lie because God told you)

Obviously, it’s difficult to quantify stuff like Faith, Knowledge, Wisdom and Discernment. Usually things like that happen between the gift deliverer and the gift receiver. However, I have personally borne witness to Prophecy and Interpretation, and have heard many firsthand accounts of miraculous healings. When I stop and think about it, I’ve definitely been present at an event where healings took place, but I didn’t know the individual or the specific situation.

The very people in my life are evidence that God exists. There is a biblical concept called The Fruits of The Holy Spirit (NOT the same as the gifts) which are essentially characteristics of God which increase in a person’s life the more contact they have with God. They are… -Love -Joy -Peace -Patience -Gentleness -Faithfulness -Meekness -Self-control

I’ve met so many amazing people in my life, some who are Christian and some who are not. But it happens every now and then when you meet someone and you just KNOW that they are close to God, and you admire them for it. Because they could not possibly possess such fortitude in the face of adversity, such steadfastness in the face of uncertainty, such grace when dealing with people from all walks of life, or such a passion for loving the unlovely, were it not for God’s influence in their lives.

I’ve had a personal relationship with Jesus for 14 years. And I’ve seen Him heal my friend of an addiction to cutting. I’ve seen Him take away her cravings for alcohol, in the middle of a party, because I asked Him to (yeah that was pretty awesome). I’ve seen a young girl who prayed for a friend in her school who had similar beliefs to her, and literally 30 seconds later (I am honestly not exaggerating), met a girl who fit those exact qualifications. Wild stuff happens everyday and I’m used to it! Because God is a constant in my life. 2. It just….makes sense. 

Nothing else has ever come along that seemed more logical to me than God. I’ve heard the theory of the Big Bang and evolution, and it’s not a flawless theory. There are holes in it. And the odds of the things occurring that they say occurred are…ahem, not great. I can only say that I find it very difficult to swallow that at the beginning of our galaxy, matter and antimatter collided and there was a massive explosion and the residual stardust formed a planet (WHICH just happens to be exactly the right distance from the sun so that we don’t burn up or freeze, and has the right gasses in its atmosphere to make breathable air - oh how convenient!) . And then that on that planet there was some kind of primordial soup with organic molecules swimming around in it like carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. And then, randomly, through some unknown energy source, such molecules magically arranged themselves into a single-celled organism (WHICH are suuuuuuper complex when you think about it. I mean, come on, there are sugars, phosphate groups and nitrogenous groups in a single nucleotide of DNA, arranged in such a complicated pattern. Those DNA nucleotides code for proteins, which bunch together to make organelles, which all function in harmony to create a living, working cell? How does that even happen from elements swimming around in a soup struck by lightning??). And THEN, over millions and millions of years, such teeeeny tiny single-celled organisms evolved into multicellular, microscopic organisms, then into little paleozoic shrimp-like creatures, then into bugs and fish and birds and mammals and monkeys and eventually humans. And ALL the vast variety of life on this planet COME ON! How do we get bumblebees (whom science says shouldn’t even be able to fly) and platypii (egg-laying mammals with venomous feet) and humans (who are animals so highly “evolved” that they’re capable of emotion and altruism and philosophy and music and all this crazy stuff) and all the way back to the single-celled organisms we still have when they ALL evolved from a single-celled organism?? There also exists a theory that the universe is a closed, contained, self-propagating system in which EVERYTHING that happens is a result of something else happening and therefore everything is just one huge, continuous web of interconnected webs of things happening and blades of grass affect the movement of stars and EVERYTHING in the whole universe is linked to EVERYTHING else in the universe and so everything is a product and a piece in the giant working machine of….existence. You following? So the freakyest question in that theory is…how did the universe create a tool with which to know itself? That tool is us. Because if the universe is just one big automatic machine, it has no consciousness. But we have consciousness. But we’re part of the universe, so we were made by the universe and have a role in the universe and yet we’re aware of being a screw in this massive machine? Whoah…my head’s exploding. See, theories like that make no sense to me because they’re entirely circular. And how did this big universe even get started on its Roop Goldberg chain-of-events existence anyway? Excellent question! Yeah, I think it was God.  Everything is just so…perfect. Albert Einstein said that the more he studied the stars, the more he believed in a higher power. I want you to know that I don’t think science and religion are mutually exclusive at all. I am deeply religious, and I love science. And the more science I learn, the stronger my belief becomes. This universe, and this life, leaves me absolutely speechless in awe of the one who designed it. The patterns of life are too complex, too intricate to be the product of mere accident. The universe is so vast, and the cell is so small, and yet each is so complex that it is worthy of millions of years of study to understand it, and we still don’t understand it completely! The planet is the perfect distance from the sun. The atmosphere is perfect for us. The food webs are all so magnificently interconnected. Our bodies literally have a mechanism for every possible necessary function that I didn’t even know was possible. Have you ever studied our bodies? THEY’RE FRICKIN INCREDIBLE! No one could dream up a world like this one, ever in their wildest fantasies. It’s just too amazing and wonderful and mysterious. I CANNOT believe that this was all the product of random chance. I think that it MUST have been the beautiful design of a brilliant and very creative, infinite, craftsman. The bible says that the skies declare the glory of the Lord, and I think that’s so accurate. The skies, the trees, the land. Everything. It’s all just so absolutely, magnificently, breathtakingly gorgeous. I think that He is such an artist. Man, I’m actually blown away by the colours and the textures and the patterns and the lines and curves and visual splendor of Nature. And then I think, “how could something so beautiful not be made by God?”  Because God is…everything. He’s beauty, He’s thought, He’s life, He’s love, He’s music. He is absolutely the purest, most perfect (although there are no degrees of affection), most holy, most wonderful, most lovely, most amazing….essence. He’s not a person or a thing. He’s…everything. And everything is Him. That doesn’t even make, sense, I know. I’m not some new age hippy that believes in the organic energy or everything, or in people’s auras, or that we are all God within ourselves. Don’t get me wrong, I am a very socially conservative (probably politically too), traditional, orthodox, bible-believing Christian. But think about it: Nothing can exist apart from God. We can’t breath or blink or think without Him. He sustains our very existence. He sustains our very universe. It all arose from Him when He said “Let there be light” and there was light. He breathed everything into existence and therefore nothing is possible without Him. God is definitely the most beautiful thing I ever have or ever will encounter.  There is even evidence for the existence of God within ourselves. You cannot deny that everybody is constantly searching….for…something. We instinctively, inherently, detest the shallow, vain creatures we’ve become. We crave something of substance, something of value, in our lives. Everyone tries to be “deep”, you know? With quotes, and song lyrics, and photography, and poetry, and reading, and music, and science, and relationships. I don’t mean that as a bad thing, I just mean that it’s the way we’re wired. We want meaning in our lives. We want to make sense of that crazy, spinning mess we find ourselves in. We want to understand ourselves and each other. We want something…more. Something transcendent. Something ephemeral. Something intangible. Something spiritual. Something eternal. Every human being has a deeply spiritual need, and if you ignore that part of you, you will be unhappy and unfulfilled. And, call me crazy, but I think I have the answer to that craving. That’s called a soul. It’s who you are. Its your entire identity. And I think that it is still connected to it’s creator, Who is a being of spirit, like us. We really are, you know. We’re spirit creators. We just happen to be incredibly limited by the mortal forms we’re confined to at the moment. Anyway, your soul is crying out to be in communion, and in contact with God. It’s what we were made for!  Also, cool science fact of the day! The protein in our bodies, the one that is made to be the intercellular “glue”, the protein that literally holds our bodies together, is shaped like a cross. And there’s a verse in the bible that says that Jesus “holds all things together”

115 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.     He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,[a] 116 for through him God created everything     in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see     and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.     Everything was created through him and for him. 117 He existed before anything else,     and he holds all creation together.

(Colossians 1:15-17). Search it up: Laminin. There is ALSO a galaxy out there in the shape of a cross. Coincidence? Mwahaha, I think not! God, you so sneaky! 

FURTHERMORE!  The bible, which was written, like, forever ago (okay 2000-3000 years) contains some very uncannily accurate science facts! Which were most definitely unbeknownst to the writers of that time. Here is a lovely table for you viewing pleasure: 

I think it was C.S. Lewis who said, “I believe in God the way I believe in the sun. Not because I can see it, but because by it I can see everything else.” He also points out that arguing against God is a completely pointless endeavor because the faculties with which you reason out your arguments were given to you by God so you’re reasoning…against reason. That’s awkward. Classy guy, that C.S. Lewis. Another excellent book I highly recommend is by him, and it’s called Mere Christianity. He started writing it as an exhortation against Christianity. He set out to disprove it but in the process of attempting to do so, found that he could not and was thus converted. His fundamental issue was that all humans have an innate code of ethics. He goes into this in detail in the book, but I’ll do my best to summarize for you. Basically, we all have this standard of right and wrong in us, which is, surprisingly, not bred into us by society. It has nothing to do with societal pressures and is ingrained in our psyche from the time we’re created. 

What was the sense in saying the enemy were in the wrong unless Right is a real thing which the Nazis at bottom knew as as we did and ought to have practised? If they had had no notion of what we mean by right, then, though we might still have had to fight them, we could no more have blamed them for that than for the colour of their hair. 

Where did this standard come from? How could that exist if we were just the product of chance? And how do we even know what’s good and bad? It`s a fascinating read. 

If anyone will take the trouble to compare the moral teachings of the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Hindus, Chinese, Greeks and Romans, what will really strike him will be how very like they are to each other and to our own...Think of a country where people were admired for running away in battle, or where a man felt proud of double-crossing all the people who had been kindest to him. You might just as well try to imagine a country where two and two made five. 

The answer is that there must be some greater standard of good, outside ourselves, that we measure by. That’s God. 

If there was a controlling power outside the universe, it could not show itself to us as one of the facts inside the universe - no more than the architect of a house could actually be a wall or staircase or fireplace in that house. The only way in which we could expect it to show itself would be inside ourselves as an influence or command trying to get us to behave in a certain way. And that is just what we do find inside ourselves.

3. There actually is a great deal of historical credibility to the bible I know you said that there's "no proof of any reality to the bible", but the truth is that if we measured the bible by the same standards with which we measure historical documents, it would far exceed all other authoritative historical manuscripts in authenticity and credibility.  Historical manuscripts are judged on three criteria:  1) The number of existing manuscripts.  There are about 56000 existing original manuscripts which were part of the bible.  2) The Dating of the manuscripts. There's only like a couple centuries between the earliest manuscript and the first copy. In fact, here's a lovely chart I found when doing my research: 

3) The number of variant readings, i.e. the number of discrepancies between multiple versions of the original text. 

99.5 % of the bible is in agreement on theology, and 85% has perfect agreement even in spelling and punctuation! Which is incredible for a text having so many surviving manuscripts. 

Also, and just a side note on number 3 there, with such a vast number of surviving manuscripts, it is important to note also that it was transcribed by 40 different writers, in 3 different continents, over a period of 1600 years, in 3 different languages...and STILL has 99.5% accuracy! I just don't think that's humanly possible.  And finally, there is a staggering amount of prophetical evidence for the bible's veracity. It confirms itself by the prophecies in the old testament, say...Isaiah, being corroborated by the first-hand accounts in the new testament, such as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. FOR EXAMPLE, in the fifth century B.C., a prophet name Zechariah predicted that Jesus would be sold for thirty pieces of silver, which would be used to purchase "a potter's field". 

12 And I said to them, “If you like, give me my wages, whatever I am worth; but only if you want to.” So they counted out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter[a]”—this magnificent sum at which they valued me! So I took the thirty coins and threw them to the potter in the Temple of the Lord.

Matthew's account of Jesus' betrayal, written around 60-65 A.D, confirms this: 

3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.”

“What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s your problem.”

5 Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.

6 The leading priests picked up the coins. “It wouldn’t be right to put this money in the Temple treasury,” they said, “since it was payment for murder.”[a] 7 After some discussion they finally decided to buy the potter’s field, and they made it into a cemetery for foreigners. 8 That is why the field is still called the Field of Blood. 9 This fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah that says,

“They took[b] the thirty pieces of silver—     the price at which he was valued by the people of Israel, 10 and purchased the potter’s field,     as the Lord directed.[c]”

Science tells us that the chances of that being a coincidence are 1 in 10^11....1 in 100 000 000 000. 

Alrighty, so there you go, my three reasons for believing in Christianity. Again, I'm not trying to convince you that I'm right, but I am trying to show you that I am a smart, educated, critically-thinking person who is not brainwashed. I'm a little bit defensive on the topic because my grade 10 chem teacher, although I dearly loved him, used to say that religious people were all like sheep being led off a cliff, and he compared belief in God to belief in garden fairies, which I highly resented.  I hope this has enlightened you, or interested you, or at least amused you! Til next time,  -Katherine