20. Have You Decided?

Up to this point, we have examined at length why the Bible and the gospel, which may vaguely seem like a fantastical illusion, are not false but have clear grounds to be the "truth." Among those who have read this far, some of you may truly believe that the Bible is trustworthy, while others may still have doubts.

Although it seems like we have examined it in depth, the archaeological, historical, scientific, and philosophical evidence supporting the factuality and truthfulness of the Bible is too vast, and the part I have introduced is really only a very small portion.

You may say that you still have many unresolved questions and have not obtained satisfactory answers to all your questions and concerns, so you cannot believe. However, if that is the case, no matter how much evidence I present, you will never be able to believe.

This is because, no matter how much rational evidence and proof are provided, it ultimately comes down to a matter of "faith." Your vague thought that the Bible and the gospel lack rational grounds to believe is a major error, and as we have seen so far, the Bible has sufficient rational grounds to believe.

Then let me briefly summarize the contents I have explained so far.

20.1. Are Unreasonable and Supernatural Miracles Possible?

• The Bible records numerous miracles and supernatural events. Moses parted the Red Sea with a single staff, Mary became pregnant as a virgin and gave birth to Jesus, Jesus turned water into wine, instantly healed countless incurable diseases, and fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. It even says that Jesus was resurrected after dying on the cross and ascended into heaven.
• In addition, the Bible is full of countless miracles and various supernatural events that cannot be understood using common sense. On what basis can we believe that these events, which seem to belong in a "fantasy novel," are possible?

Scientific laws implicitly assume that the "natural conditions" related to those laws are invariant and that there is no intervention by a "supernatural being" like God. However, in fact, there is no way to guarantee that this assumption is always true, even though many people implicitly assume it to be "true."

Therefore, the claim that miracles or supernatural phenomena do not exist because they violate natural laws contains a "logical contradiction" of asserting that the conclusion is correct even though the assumption that the premise is always true has not been resolved.

The claim that miracles do not exist and God does not exist because they are unscientific is a "logical fallacy," and the possibility of supernatural phenomena or divine beings can never be denied.

20.2. Questions About the Nature and Historicity of the Bible

• The Bible, which believers in Jesus cite as the basis for their faith, is a "historical novel" or "religious scripture" written against the backdrop of ancient Israel 2,000 years ago, isn't it?
• Why is the Bible not just a religious book but a historical record of historical facts, and what is the basis for this? Are the facts and contents recorded in the Bible historically and archaeologically valid?
• Other religions also have religious scriptures written long ago, and they contain their own mythical and supernatural events. Why do you claim that the Bible should be believed as a historical event, while other religions should be regarded as mere "myths"? If so, what is the basis for this?

The Bible is clearly a historical fact and has been "objectively" proven to be the most accurate historical record not from a religious or theological perspective, but from an archaeological and documentary perspective.

According to the ancient book verification method, the Bible has been proven to be more accurate and error-free than any ancient document in the East or West, and it is the "only" document that has been accurately preserved for over 2,000 years. The Bible has "archaeological" evidence that it is based on historical facts and accurately recorded, more so than any other religious scripture.

Countless archaeological evidence supporting the facts recorded in the Bible has been discovered, and not only in the Bible but also in other documents written at that time, numerous ancient documents have been found that directly testify that the figures and events in the Bible were true, proving the historical factuality of the Bible.

Although the Bible was recorded by more than 60 different authors over a period of more than 1,500 years, it maintains perfect unity without a single error. The countless prophecies recorded in the Bible have been fulfilled exactly as written in history. It even accurately matches the current state of affairs and situation in the era in which we live, and it also mentions in detail the future flow of human history.

20.3. Unscientific Nature of the Origin and Evolution of Life

• In modern science, the origin of life is explained as follows:

Amino acids, the components of living organisms, were accidentally formed by electrical stimulation of the primitive atmosphere, and these combined to give rise to primitive life forms. Through endless evolution, various organisms appeared, and humans are also the product of this evolutionary process.

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• The Bible says that God created the entire universe and all things, and made all creatures, including humans, according to their kinds. Isn't this completely contrary to objective and rational modern science? How can we resolve this contradiction?

The materialistic and evolutionary thinking-based creed of natural science, established in the 19th century before astronomy, physics, and biology developed dramatically, is being exposed as false one by one by the dazzling development of science in the 20th century.

The chemical, genetic, and cell biological knowledge that has exploded since the mid-20th century has proven that the 19th-century evolutionary speculation that life forms originated from the accidental synthesis of compounds and underwent evolution and differentiation into various organisms through accumulated mutations was completely wrong.

The accumulation of mutations does not lead to evolution and development, but rather to degeneration and extinction, and it has been revealed that the basic survival mechanism of living organisms is not the development of genetic information through mutations, but the preservation of genes.

20.4. Contradiction in God's Attributes

• God is said to be righteous and overflowing with love, but if this is true, how can a loving God torture countless people in hell?
• If people go to hell because of their "sin," isn't God the originator of "sin" and "evil"? If God had not created "sin" and "evil" in the first place, would there be any reason for people to go to hell?
• If God is righteous and cannot tolerate injustice, why is there so much suffering and absurdity in this world? Why is the world full of terrible crimes, wars, natural disasters, and lawlessness? Why are there people who live honestly and righteously but live in misery, while others commit all kinds of evil and injustice yet live comfortably and happily?

God is never the originator of "sin" and "evil," and sin and evil are merely the results of choices based on the "free will" given to humans. Since the wages of sin is judgment and eternal punishment, no one can escape this terrible consequence. Nevertheless, God opened the way to save humans who could not avoid eternal hell punishment by personally paying the price for all human sins on the cross.

Even though God opened the way of life for humans and continually gives them opportunities to turn back, the eternal punishment received by those who do not turn away from sin and deny God until the end is entirely "human responsibility."

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

20.5. Sufficient Grounds

You may say that there are insufficient grounds to believe, but there are ample rational grounds. No, it overflows beyond sufficiency. Dear friends, the Bible, Jesus, and the gospel are not simply man-made doctrines or religious philosophies. They are "historical facts" and truths.

If we simply define the concept of religion as a system of thought established by a person to systematize his moral philosophy or discipline to provide mental peace and comfort to humans, all religions are meaningful in their own way.

Buddhism has its own philosophy and ideology, and the same goes for Hinduism, Islam, or any other religion. There is love, compassion, moderation, humility, and sacrifice in any religion. If the being called God is also a "fictional product" created by humans to support the ideological system of the respective religion, we can never claim that only a particular God is the truth.

If we define "truth" simply as "something that can be rationally created by humans," all religions can be said to be truths. This is because religions all have their own valid aspects. From this perspective, truth would never be narrow-minded or exclusive. It would be inclusive and tolerant.

But in fact, that is not the case. Truth is not truth because I think it is correct, but because there is objective evidence and grounds that it is factual. No matter how much I think 1+1 equals 3, the narrow-minded and exclusive truth that 1+1=2 does not change. That is why genuine truth is exclusive.

If religion A claims that god a created the universe and only god a can save humans, and religion B claims that god b created the universe and only god b can save humans, should we accept all of these as truths? No. For us to accept something as truth, there must be "objective" evidence that it is true.

Many people say that Christianity is one of many "religions," but the important difference is that it has been clearly proven to be not an artificially made-up myth, but a historical truth.

There are countless religions that talk about the Creator, virgin birth, miracles and mythical events by apostles. However, no religion has proven that such contents are clearly historical facts. This is the decisive difference.

Numerous religions talk about miracles, unbelievable supernatural events, and the afterlife, but no religion has presented factual grounds that we can objectively verify. They just claim that it is so. The gospel has very clear "historical, scientific, philosophical, and realistic" grounds. This is the decisive difference.

This is why the gospel and Christianity alone claim to be right, rather than being a mere religion. For any other religion to prove that its god actually exists and is true, there must be grounds for it.

There must be historical evidence that the scriptures of the religion were not fabricated or artificially created. If that god is truly an "actually existing omniscient being" and not a fictional product, there must be actual historical evidence of such omniscience, not just in religious scriptures.

It is a big mistake to think that the gospel is the same as the religious philosophies of other religions because it seems unbelievable and difficult to understand using common sense at first glance. The gospel has very clear "historical, scientific, and philosophical evidence." That is why we must believe.

You must now decide. The gospel is never a groundless delusion. The idea that all religions are the same and have their own meaning is only true when religion is defined as a philosophy created and invented by humans. The gospel is a historical truth and a clear fact.

I don't like the idea of a God who sends people to hell, so I won't believe.

Or "I'll try believing because He'll send me to heaven."

Other religions also talk about the afterlife, and I'm drawn to their doctrines, so I'll try believing in that religion.

If religion is just a system of thought created by humans without any grounds, you can freely choose what suits you like shopping in a department store. However, the gospel is different. Honestly, I don't like the gospel that says if you don't believe, you'll go to hell. However, the reason I believe in the gospel is because it has undeniable, very clear grounds, and it is a "fact."

Dear friends, some of you may find the gospel repulsive, unpleasant, and difficult to accept. However, it is not a rational attitude to say you won't believe because it is unpleasant. This is because the grounds for faith are not a matter of my "preference," but whether it is "true" or not.

Dear friends, there are more than enough grounds to accept or reject the gospel. Never neglect this matter. Even if you cannot believe now, never just gloss over it. This is because the result of your choice is a serious matter that determines eternal joy or eternal suffering.

Now is the last time. It is time to decide. The undeniable numerous pieces of evidence we have examined strongly testify that only Jesus and the gospel are the true truth. In the next article, we will examine how to believe in Jesus as the true Savior and live a new life.