The Bible is a book full of seemingly unreasonable stories, and they boggle the imagination. From the first verse to the last, it introduces concepts that challenge conventional wisdom. Ideas such as an all-powerful God existing before anything else, a Being who created everything from nothing, including light. The Bible further mystifies with tales of a talking snake and donkey, people living for almost a thousand years, and a massive flood that necessitated a huge boat to save all living creatures.
These stories, seemingly far-fetched, speak of a tower so tall that it causes God to diversify their languages. It talks about people surviving being thrown into a fiery furnace or a den of lions, or even living inside a big fish for three days. These are all part of the biblical narrative. The element of God's Son becoming human to save us from ourselves, and dying so that we may live forever, is another almost unbelievable story that the Bible tells.
Despite all these hard-to-believe stories, I totally believe in the Bible as the Word of God, and I believe that every story and every part of it is correct. My belief is not based on blind faith, but on good hard evidence. Historical, scientific and mathematical proof along with my own personal experience have all provided me with the logical conclusion that the Bible's seemingly unbelievable stories are, in fact, true, and I have placed my faith in Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, the Creator of the universe.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
One such mathematical proof for me is presented by Professor Peter Stoner in his book, Science Speaks. He illustrates the probability of one person fulfilling just 48 of the hundreds of prophecies pointing to Jesus as the Messiah. The odds of this happening by chance, Stoner calculates, is 1 in 10^157. To illustrate the enormity of this number, Stoner suggests packing 10^157 electrons into a solid ball, which would fill not just our galaxy, but the entire then-known universe (6 billion light-years in all directions) about 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times. The probability of one man finding the one marked electron in this multi-universe-sized ball on the first try is akin to the odds of one person fulfilling all 48 prophecies by chance. Again, that’s only 48 of the hundreds of prophecies pointing to Jesus as the Messiah. (see details here)
Our understanding of the universe, vast and mysterious as it is, can be enriched by considering both the facts gathered through systematic scientific study and the proven narratives presented in the Bible. True science provides a platform for gathering facts about physical reality, while the Bible offers explanations and predictions about our origins and destiny. Both these perspectives, when considered together, contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of our universe, where we came from, where we are now, and what’s going to happen in the future.
The Bible's incredible stories, coupled with fulfilled prophecies (which give historical, logical and mathematical proof), plus my own personal experiences give credibility to the truth it contains. To me, this intersection of the Bible, science, mathematics, and personal experience serves as a testament to the complexity and wonder of our God.
Dan
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